Three Lead Generation Strategies that Actually Work

Google’s recent updates to their search engine algorithms have changed the content marketing game. Fresh, original, and relevant content is more important than ever, and content marketing has proven to be highly effective at both SEO and lead generation efforts. So how can you better use your content marketing for lead generation?  What types of content drive better results? And most importantly, how do you use different types of content to capture those leads?  

E-Books

PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that the total revenue from e-book sales will grow to around $8.7 billion by 2018, an increase of over 3,000% in ten years. And in the United States alone, they expect that there will be over 112 million e-book readers by 2020. It should be no surprise, then, that the e-book market has vast potential, not just for revenue but also for generating leads as they become more common and frequently consumed. Offering free e-books can help you to educate your customers on your products and services, provide value, and position your business as one that understands their challenges and can offer solutions for them. And placing your free e-book behind a data capture wall is an easy way for you to generate leads.

Webinars

Like e-books, webinars provide an opportunity for you to position your business as a thought leader in your field and one that adds value to your client relationships. The signup process for your webinar is your opportunity to capture basic prospect data, as well as ask any qualifying questions that might help you to better understand your leads and where they might be in their buying cycle. Once you have hosted your webinar, be sure to archive it so that it remains available to view for any potential audience in the future. This is a good opportunity to extend the life of your content from seasonal to evergreen. For an example of a webinar that provides value to your customers, ImageX recently hosted one in partnership with Acquia and Trinity University to present a case study on how we leveraged the power of Drupal. You can view it by clicking here.

Host or Participate in Real-Life Events

Don’t forget that your content marketing strategy should include offline components as well! Industry conferences, events, or other opportunities for your company’s representatives to interact with prospective leads face-to-face are invaluable to building bridges and have the added benefit of people being much more likely to remember who they met in person than online. The content of the event is what will ultimately drive its success, so it’s similar to any of your other online content marketing efforts. Connect with people, demonstrate that you understand their challenges, position your business as one that can solve them, and add value to their experience. Here at ImageX, we regularly participate in industry events such as DrupalCon and have found them to be just as, if not more, beneficial to making connections and generating leads.

Wrapping Up

There are many ways to use content to generate leads for your business, both online and off; but remember that no one solution will apply to every situation. A balance of content marketing efforts, such as e-books, webinars, hosting or participating in events, and other tactics like white papers, case studies, and videos provide you with different opportunities to connect with your prospective customers and generate qualified leads.