Are you struggling to generate leads from your content marketing efforts?
So do many newbies and even experienced marketers and business owners.
The good news is that implementing strategic content marketing tactics can improve your chances of generating leads and meeting your marketing and business goals.
Data backs this up, with 67% of marketers saying that content marketing generates demand and leads.
Whether you're getting started with content marketing or looking to take your efforts to the next level, this post is for you.
This guide covers the four effective ways to generate leads from your content marketing efforts, including essential tips for improving lead generation.
Let's dive in.
1. Create compelling content
You can’t simply post content and expect passive readers to convert into leads.
You need to offer content that captures your target audience’s interest, reel them in, and provide benefits to convince them to become leads.
Create interesting, informative, and valuable content for your prospects.
Start by understanding your ideal customers, their pain points, and the kind of information they want.
Use tools such as Google Trends to learn the popularity and demand for specific topics online.
Once you have your information, create content that speaks directly to your potential customers and addresses their needs and pain points.
Consider mixing up your content types and formats to keep your pieces fresh and catchy.
For example, create short videos for your social media posts and incorporate infographics into your blog post.
Create your own content or work with professional agencies with corporate video production services.
Outsourcing to reliable service providers can ensure you get quality content for your lead-generation efforts without spending too much time and resources.
You can also incorporate several proven and tested topics for content writing to help win your audiences over.
Some of these popular topics include how-to guides, listicles, life hacks, pain points, and brand stories.
Remember to include a clear call-to-action (CTA) at the end of each piece. Add a link to a landing page, a sign-up form, or a button that takes your readers to other content.
A clear CTA helps you capture lead information that you can use to fuel your marketing and sales efforts.
2. Use the right marketing channels
To increase the chances of your content successfully generating leads, promote your articles, videos, social media posts, and other content pieces.
However, you can’t just promote your content anywhere.
You must promote your content designed to generate leads through the right marketing channels.
Determine where your target audience spends most of their time online and use that information to get your content in front of them.
For example, if your target audience is mostly on social media platforms, focus on promoting your content through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social channels.
You can create a company page on Facebook, share your content on Twitter and Instagram, or even run paid lead-generation ads.
If your target audience is more interested in long-form content, consider promoting your content through email marketing and guest blogging.
Nail your copy to optimize your content promotion across multiple channels by following time-tested content writing tips.
Also, use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, such as incorporating your target keywords in your content. It can improve your website's visibility in search engines, which helps bring more organic traffic to your site.
3. Offer lead magnets
Create a lead magnet, such as an e-book or webinar, and use it to capture contact information from interested prospects.
Follow these tips to use lead magnets effectively.
- Identify your target audience’s specific pain points and needs and create a lead magnet that addresses them. It helps make your offers more irresistible, amplifying your lead generation initiatives.
- Ensure your lead magnet is highly valuable and relevant to your target audience to increase their chances of converting.
- Use a clear, compelling headline and visually-appealing design to grab attention and entice people to act on your offers.
- Make your lead magnet easily accessible by placing a prominent CTA on your website and linking it to your email signature and social media profiles.
- In exchange for the lead magnet or offer, use a form to capture contact information, such as a prospect’s name and email address.
- Use a double opt-in process to confirm the email address and ensure that only people who are truly interested in your product or service are added to your email list.
Doing so helps reduce bounce rates and lowers the chances of your emails getting flagged as spam.
The email from the men’s footwear brand Greats below is a classic example of a double opt-in email.
Image source: automizy.com.
- Follow up with the leads after they download or act on your lead magnet and offer to keep them engaged and interested in your products or services.
- Continuously update and improve your lead magnet to ensure it stays relevant and valuable to your audience.
4. Monitor and measure your results
Tracking and measuring your lead generation results helps you understand your content marketing efforts’ effectiveness.
It also gives you valuable insights to make data-driven decisions to improve your lead generation performance and results.
For example, you can monitor and assess whether your blog post and review of ExportYourStore are effectively generating leads.
Use reliable tools that can help you track your key content marketing metrics to assess lead generation success, such as Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Ahrefs.
The tools can give you information and insights into how well your content is performing and help you identify areas for improvement.
Also, track your Return on Investment (ROI) to see if your content marketing efforts are paying off.
It helps you understand your content marketing efforts’ value and make better decisions on allocating your budget and resources in the future.
Turn your content into a lead generating machine
Successfully generating leads from your content marketing efforts doesn’t happen overnight.
However, applying the best strategies, following time-tested tips, and using the best tools puts you in a better position to succeed in your content marketing and lead generation efforts.
Test and refine your approach and try new things to amplify your content marketing and generate more leads.
Author bio: Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for SEO Turnover.
