If you’re looking to generate more leads online, we can help. We’ll walk you through the process and show you how to get more leads and sales.
If you had X number of followers on Twitter, could you turn every single one of them into a sale?
Interested?
Let’s start with some basics before we get into it.
We need to first establish what a lead is to know how to generate them for our business. They are important to generate because ____.
So here goes.
Basics of Lead Generation
What exactly is a lead?
A lead is someone who expresses interest in a company’s product or service.
For example, have you been registered for a free trial at Agorapulse?
If you are interested in social media, you should sign up for the Agorapulse newsletter.
If you have signed up to receive a monthly newsletter from a website, you have probably entered your email address and clicked ‘sign me up’. These newsletters are usually filled with interesting content from the website.
You’re now a lead!
Agorapulse will send you content they think you will be interested in if you give them your email address. This also helps Agorapulse manage your social media platforms.
You will no longer have to search through many different blogs to find interesting social articles because they will be delivered to you.
And, rather than Agorapulse blindly working on content, unsure if anyone will even read it let alone benefit from it, they know they’re writing for you: an engaged and interested audience. This way, they can ensure that the content they’re creating is actually helpful and interesting to you, rather than just blindly creating content without any purpose.
It’s a win-win for both parties.
But, not all leads are created equal …
Three Key Types of Leads
Some leads are seen as more valuable or “warmer” than others. The warmer a lead is, they are more open to you and your product and easier they are to sell to.
The Lead’s temperature refers to how far along they are in their customer journey, and what you offer them at each stage of that journey.
Awareness Stage Leads
The people in the awareness stage of their customer journey are not familiar with the company. They are curious about what the company has to offer but need more information.
If someone is interested in you, they might show it by subscribing to your blog or following you on social media.
Common leads that are known to be good for marketing are called MQLs.
MQLs have interacted with your brand, but they are not yet ready to make a purchase or sign up for a free trial. These leads are considered to be “lukewarm.”
Interest Stage Leads
People who are in the interest stage of their customer journey are more than just aware of your brand, they are actively interested in your brand.
They want to know the specifics:
- “Exactly how will your product benefit me?”
- “What can this product do specifically, to help me achieve my goal?”
- “Precisely how will it solve my problem?”
If someone is interested in you on a dating website, they may reach out to you by sending a message or chatting with you online.
These leads are known as Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs).
They are showing signs that they want to buy your product and are interested in becoming a paid customer. These leads are warmer than others.
Decision Stage Leads
These people are ready to buy, but they’re still considering their options and aren’t sure if you’re the right fit for them yet.
They may express their interest in you by trying out the free version or asking questions about paid features and pricing plans.
These leads are often called Product Qualified Leads (PQLs).
They’re saying that they would like to purchase your products or services, which likely means that they liked a sample of your product or have tried it and liked it.
Everything a business does should be geared towards acquiring new leads, as they are essential for success.
Why Do Leads Matter?
The sales process begins with a lead. A lead is someone who is interested in your brand and what you have to offer.
By taking proper care of your leads, you can turn them into sales.
If you give the person content that is interesting and relevant to them, they will want to know more about your product.
So, that might encourage them to spend more time on your website and submit a couple of questions about your product via live chat.
If you answer those questions correctly, it will make them more likely to sign up for a free trial.
If they’re impressed by the free trial, they’ll become a paying customer.
How to Generate Leads
Generating leads is important. There are many different ways to create leads for the different stages of a person’s customer journey.
Let’s look at a few of them:
MQL Leads
To create compelling content that will engage your audience, start by brainstorming ideas for blog posts, videos, and podcasts that will be both interesting and informative. Once you have a few ideas, start creating your content and be sure to share it widely across all of your social media channels. By doing so, you’ll be sure to reach the widest possible audience for your content.
Publish downloadable gated content like ebooks and whitepapers.
You should produce a newsletter and try to get people to subscribe to it.
Make your social media presence more robust and always include links back to your website.
SQL Leads
Incorporate live chat into your website.
Provide an accessible contact us or questionnaire form.
Run Q&A webinars and product demos.
PQL leads
Give people a free trial of your product.
Provide product discounts or offers.
You’re a Scrappy business. But if you’re reading this, you’re not just any business. You’re a scrappy business.
If you are reading this, it is likely that you work for a social media agency or have a business that is focused on social media.
There are a few ways you can get more leads through social media- By sharing helpful and relevant content that will appeal to your target audience, you can build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your field. This will make people more likely to do business with you. You can also use social media to connect with potential customers and build relationships. If you can establish a connection with someone, they are more likely to do business with you. You can also use social media to run ads targeting specific demographics of people who are more likely to be interested in your product or service.
How to Use Case Studies as Online Lead Generation Tools
A majority of B2B marketers use case studies from customers to help with customer acquisition and sales.
What is a Case Study?
A case study is an analysis of an individual unit, usually a person or community, which focuses on developmental factors in the unit’s environment. For SaaS companies, case studies are usually conducted by interviewing customers who have had success with the company’s product or service.
A case study is an in-depth analysis of a customer that explores how your product or service has made a beneficial impact on their environment.
Once created, they can be used across your entire company as sales enablement content, and as powerful lead generation tools to attract prospects and close deals. Case studies can also be used for:
- Outbound sales
- Repurposing into the blog and social media posts
- Staff training
- Onboarding
- Marketing material at conferences and trade shows
- Inspiring your customer success team
Creating Lead Generation Tools
The perfect place to present case studies to generate leads is on your home page. Different ways to present these to viewers can include:
Quotes and testimonials pulled from the main case study
may be just what your business needs to increase traffic, conversions, and ROI. If you are looking for ways to increase traffic, conversions, and ROI for your business, then using lead generation forms with the case study as a lead magnet may be a good option for you.
, is a powerful way to increase leads and persuade website visitors to contact you. If you want to increase leads and persuade website visitors to contact you, add a call to action (CTA) that links to a case study, or your case studies page.
A dedicated page on your website helps visitors find, read, and download your case studies. Having a dedicated page makes it easy for visitors to see your success stories and helps you promote your product.
Social Media as an Online Lead Generation Tool
Generating leads by sharing amazing case studies on social media is a popular method. If you have relevant statistics or impressive success metrics, include them. If you don’t have them, use interview quotes. Either way, encourage readers to click through.
Repurposing Case Studies
Case studies can be used to generate leads in many ways. You can write blog posts about them, incorporate links to download your case studies in other blog posts, and even write guest blogs on authority sites using examples from your studies and linking directly to your case study landing page. E-books, guides, and templates can also be used to generate leads online.
Case Studies Drive Sales
If a potential customer is hesitant about buying something, sharing a case study may convince them to go ahead with the purchase. According to Search Engine Land, 88% of customers look for social proof before making a purchasing decision, and a case study is a good way to reduce the risk of making a purchase.
If your sales team is armed with case studies, they can provide more value on calls with prospects. It’s estimated that customers go through 70-90% of the buying journey before contact a vendor, so having success stories about customers from similar industries and businesses can help close deals.
Using a Case Study Video to Generate Leads
Video case studies are more engaging and more persuasive than text-based case studies. They are also more likely to be remembered by viewers.
In other words, case study videos are an effective tool for boosting conversions.
Tips for Creating a Case Study Video
According to a case study, viewers retain 95% of the content they watch in a video. However, simply making a case study video will not guarantee lead generation. There are some things to keep in mind when creating effective case study videos.
Effective Case Study Video Do’s
Make sure you know what you are selling and how it can help people with their problems.
Make sure to identify your most relevant customer segments so that your case study will be relatable to your audience. Choose the best candidates for each segment to film so that your audience will be able to connect with them.
You should prepare a list of questions to make sure the interview goes in the right direction. The best questions are open-ended. You should also make sure you listen actively to the customer and let them tell their story.
Make sure your lead-in image for your case study is high quality and visually appealing. Poor quality images, those with awkward poses or boring subjects, can make it harder to generate leads.
Effective Case Study Video Don’ts
Don’t just list the features of your product—focus on how it benefits your customer and their business. Be clear about the value your product brings during each stage of the customer journey, and use case studies to show this in action.
The right people for your case study video are those who are most compelling on camera. Screening potential customers will help you to find these people.
Don’t forget to edit!
Don’t keep your case study videos a secret. Share them and make them easy to download so you and your customers can get the most out of them.
Case Studies Are Powerful Online Lead Generation Tools
If you’re not using case studies to generate leads or close deals, you’re missing out. Having case studies available on your website, landing pages, or on social media allows these client-driven customer success stories to do much of your heavy lifting. They can drive awareness, build trust, and encourage prospects to choose your products and services over the competition.
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