In our first article in this series we introduced you to Amy, a fictional business owner who became quickly discouraged with her online marketing strategy. Amy didn’t take the time to establish clear marketing goals, develop content aimed at meeting those objectives, and measure her results using the correct key performance indicators.
We have talked about some of the different goals in online marketing, such as building brand awareness and driving traffic to your website. You have also learned how to measure your progress toward those goals. Now that you have learned how to build an audience and get their attention, it’s time to talk about generating leads that you can nurture into profitable relationships.
When your goal is lead generation, ask yourself the following questions about your content:
- Will this content interest my audience?
- Is this content valuable enough that people will be willing to give me their contact information in exchange for accessing it?
- How can I improve my content to increase conversion rates?
When you create content for lead generation purposes, keep in mind that each piece of this content will have its own landing page on your website. It should be a downloadable e-book, a handy tool, or a helpful resource such as a spreadsheet or checklist. The key is to create something your audience will want. In order to access this material, they must be willing to fill out a short form on your website.
Remember that Amy wasn’t sure her online marketing campaign was working, because she didn’t notice an immediate uptick in business. Lead generation won’t lead to that type of results, either – not yet! But what you will gain is the ability to nourish a relationship with people who are interested in your products or services. Your lead generation offers should pay off in the form of contact information from your audience. Now you can use their email addresses to continue developing a relationship with them. This puts you in the driver’s seat!
As you may have guessed, the KPIs for lead generation are fairly simple. You should use your website analytics program to measure:
- the number of leads generated by each piece of content
- conversion rates for each landing page
Like Amy, you may be feeling anxious to see in increase in clientele and profits. We have good news for you: In our next article in this series, we will discuss how you use the information gained from lead generation material to turn leads into clients.
