If you find yourself struggling to generate quality leads, know that you aren’t alone. Many marketers grapple with regularly introducing quality leads into their sales funnel that can then be effectively nurtured towards conversion. It’s a difficult job, but not an impossible one.
Inbound marketing has become the favorite path for those looking to generate new leads. While traditional (or outbound) marketing focuses on sending a broad message out, inbound flips the script and focuses on pulling leads in. Think blog posts and social media instead of mailers and billboards.
Just because you decide to adopt an inbound marketing strategy doesn’t mean you will be successful. In fact, the overwhelming majority of marketers today are engaging in inbound marketing whether they realize it or not. You probably are as well! And that’s great. If you aren’t happy with your results, don’t give up just yet. By making some tweaks to your strategy and incorporating some new techniques, you can expect a nice boost in leads.
If you are looking to really get serious, here are 5 new inbound marketing techniques to generate more leads.
Referral programs are an excellent way to generate quality leads. If you check out the chart above you will see that 33% of marketers rated leads generated via referral as very high quality. Another 26% list referral leads as high quality- meaning nearly 60% of marketers agree that these types of leads are some of the best.
With that info alone you should at least be interested in implementing a referral program. These programs work incredibly well because they harness the power of your existing customer base and allow you to generate some quality social proof/word of mouth marketing. Over 80% of consumers agree that a recommendation or referral from a friend makes them more likely to purchase.
By crafting a referral program that rewards both the existing customer and the new customer, you are sure to jump start your lead generation. This is one of the best inbound marketing techniques to take advantage of, so make sure you aren’t missing out.
These days, you can’t go very long without hearing someone talk about influencer marketing. If you have been hesitant to get on board, we recommend you reconsider. Nearly 90% of marketers list their influencer marketing ROI as either comparable to or better than other marketing initiatives they engage in.
Influencer marketing has become one of the best options for brands looking to reach a new audience and draw in tons of new, quality leads. The key here is connecting with the right influencers and having them share the right content. Clearly, the influencer needs to be present in your same industry so that their audience is similar to yours. The trickier part is determining what type of content to have them share.
There are numerous types of influencer marketing campaigns you could engage in. You’ve probably come into contact with most, if not all, of these at some point while on social media. Some of the main types of influencer posts are sponsored posts, review posts, takeover posts (that take place on your own social platforms), and giveaways.
Above is an example of a review type of influencer post, which we happen to think is best. A simple sponsored post is not likely to give a user enough information to convince them to check out your brand. An engaging review (preferably video) gives more detailed information and a more immersive look at your product or service. It is a great way to introduce your brand to a new audience.
There’s a reason ‘unboxing’ videos are so popular these days- it’s because they are so effective! Brands love them because they show off their products in more detail than any regular post could, and consumers love them because they get a better idea about new products before committing to buy. What’s not to love?
This next inbound marketing technique is perfect when you are specifically trying to generate more leads. Gated content, as the name suggests, is content that is not freely accessible to your audience. Instead, they must provide their information in order to access it.
This specific type of inbound marketing draws leads in by promising valuable content that they can get for basically free- the only thing they have to do is provide their information (typically, their name and email).
Not only does the content you decide to gate have to be incredibly valuable, it also has to be unique. If a user can easily find your content (or content that is incredibly similar) on another website for free, why would they give up their information to get it from you?
The flowchart above gives you a quick way to consider if your content should be gated. If you are looking to also increase brand awareness, this is not the strategy for you (instead, we suggest adapting it for something else like influencer marketing). However, if you are strictly looking to generate leads, this can be a perfect strategy.
Pro tip: Need some inspiration on what type of gated content to create? Head this way to see our top 5 lead magnet picks.
We briefly mentioned videos earlier when discussing influencer marketing, but video marketing should also be part of your inbound marketing strategy as well. Video isn’t just for influencers, it’s for everyone! Over 50% of people list video as the content they want to see from brands they support. So, give the people what they want!
Video content is one of the harder types of content to create, but is well worth your time and budget. There are also plenty of tools out there that make it easier than ever to get on board with video, even if you don’t have any experience or an in-house video production team.
Once you’ve got your video content, be sure to share it everywhere. It is a great inbound technique that will help you draw in so many new, qualified leads. Expect it to perform well, especially on social media, where video gets on average 1,200% more shares than text and image posts combined.
Retargeting remains one of the most effective inbound marketing tactics, and utilizing web push notifications is one of the best ways to make it happen. Web push gives you one of the quickest and easiest ways to capture your audience. All they have to do is click or tap one button to opt in to your notifications. Once subscribed, you can retarget them in order to accomplish a variety of marketing goals.
Use web push to advertise your lead magnet, ask a user to finish completing a form, retarget an abandoned cart, share new content, and so much more. Web push is so effective because it delivers instantly to a user, eliminating the risk of getting lost in a crowded email or text inbox or social media feed.
Craft smart, personalized campaigns by segmenting your audience according to a variety of factors, including geographical location, pages visited, device type, and more. This is one of many positives of inbound marketing, as you have more control over the message and your audience. Don’t broadly target everyone, but rather, target various groups with specialized messages that are more likely to resonate with them and encourage them to click back to your website, and eventually, become a customer.
There are plenty of people out there that will have an interest in your brand. These inbound marketing techniques to generate more leads will help you draw them in. By creating a referral program, getting on board with popular marketing trends like influencer marketing and video marketing, creating some quality gated content, and smartly retargeting via web push notification, you will absolutely start generating more leads than ever before.
Do you have a personal favorite inbound marketing technique? Share it with us by sending a message!
Are you interested in getting started with web push as part of your inbound marketing strategy? Get started for free with Aimtell, or learn more about web push by reading our Beginner’s Guide.