The digital world has revolutionised the relationship between businesses and their customers; people now have a deeper understanding of marketing techniques and are more aware of the different approaches that a company might use to increase their sales.
Cold emails, traditional tv placements or sharing flyers are now only a few of the methods that marketers use to increase brand awareness and get more leads. These strategies, keep in mind, do not always attract the attention of quality leads and as the digital marketing world keeps evolving, so must your techniques to get the customers that are genuinely interested in your services or products.
So what is the next step in your marketing strategy if cold emails are not increasing your business’ sales? That’s when lead generation plays an important role in helping you identify the right target audience, which is interested in your services and is willing to make a purchase.
What is lead generation in digital marketing?
Before we talk about why lead generation is important in digital marketing, let’s look at what a lead actually means in the digital world. Put simply, a lead is a person who is familiar with your brand and has shown interest in your business.
A lead in digital marketing is the act of targeting potential customers and cultivating a relationship with them before they become your actual customers. The ultimate goal of lead generation is to increase the conversion rate of your company’s sales and have a positive impact on your business ROI.
How does lead generation work?
Since the ultimate goal of lead generation in digital marketing is to attract and nurture high quality leads, the first step is to identify your buying personas and how to best reach them.
The next step would be to create online content based on your buying personas’ so you can cultivate a deeper relationship with your audience and build more trust. The content can be online content on your website, social media ads or designed email marketing campaigns.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all your website visitors will be willing to immediately talk to your sales team or send an inquiry about your products. In the beginning of a buying persona’s journey, the top priority should be to provide them with informational pieces with strong CTAs (Call-To-Action).
During your potential customers’ journey it’s essential to keep your messaging confident and deliver on your promise when they are ready to make a purchase. Building a strong relationship with your audience might take more time than you think but is definitely worth it for long term success.
Why is lead generation in digital marketing important?
Lead generation is an essential part of any digital marketing campaign and its success depends on carefully examining the massive pool of potential clients for your business and targeting the smaller number of people who are more likely to show an interest in what your company has to offer.
All digital marketers understand the importance of lead generation in a sustainable way, since its success highlights one essential element; customers are engaging positively with your business and being willing to pay in order to receive the services your business provides.
Customer engagement and genuine interest in your services or products is what will increase your business growth, build your brand’s reputation and deliver a consistent stream of leads.
If your business marketing strategy fails to take into account the importance of targeting the right audience, then you will end up wasting your budget on people who have zero interest in your promotional activities.
Lead generation as an organic approach
Lead generation in digital marketing should be analysed through the lens of organic approach, meaning that usually online-savvy potential customers will be unwilling to spend their money on cold sales pitches if they have never heard of your company before.
That’s why a returning customer is always more likely to dedicate their time in order to learn more about your business and decide to make a purchase; targeting someone who has already shown an interest in your services or products is what we call an organic approach.
How to get started with lead generation?
The first thing you need to know when you think about getting started with lead generation is that it can happen on different platforms and take many different forms.
This means you can use multiple channels, such as email marketing, social media, or target people landing on your website through Google. Specifically, social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn have proven to be really effective in bringing in quality leads by displaying compelling adverts.
If you, on the other hand, have an existing list of loyal website visitors or engaging followers on social media, then mastering email marketing could be the right funnel for your business in generating more leads.
Lead generation trends – what to keep in mind
Lead generation in digital marketing requires your approach to be as dynamic as the audience you are targeting. That’s why it’s important to keep up with online trends, have a strong, up-to-date online presence and always be prepared to experiment with content production ideas, designs or advertising channels.
Having an up-to-date online presence and strategy will strengthen the relationship between your customers and your business.
Do you need a lead generation external consultant?
If your company is not familiar with the concept of lead generation in digital marketing and the approach behind it, then working with an external digital marketing agency could be really beneficial for your business. You might have an amazing product or offer excellent services, but if you don’t have the right strategy to promote it and get in touch with potential customers, then you will be unable to build a strong online presence with high conversion rates.
An external lead generation expert could carefully analyse your brand’s needs and help you identify high-quality leads that will actually increase the conversion rate. Your business wouldn’t have to worry about finding new customers again.
Here you can find a useful detailed guide on how to generate unlimited leads online.