Business-to-Business lead generation is harder than ever before. The marketplace is more crowded. You have more tactics to choose from than ever before. But you still have only 24 hours in your day. So which B2B lead generation tactics should you be using to acquire leads for your business? Let’s look at the top tactics.
1. LinkedIn Ads
According to the Content Marketing Institute, LinkedIn is the top social media platform that businesses use to reach out to business buyers. LinkedIn Ads let you target your marketing messages based on industry, city, job title and other vital criteria that are valuable to B2B marketers. Sponsored InMail is a unique ad format that lets you deliver personalized, relevant content through LinkedIn Messenger.
2. Facebook Lead Ads
Another social media platform that is effective for some B2B marketers is Facebook. Facebook Lead Ads, as you might have guessed, are designed to capture leads. They capture leads right inside the Facebook platform with just a few clicks. This means potential business buyers can sign up for your offer in just a few taps on their phone, or a few clicks of their mouse, without leaving Facebook.
3. Pay Per Click
When you hear the phrase pay per click, or PPC, you likely think of Google Ads, those ads that appear at the top and bottom of Google search results. But PPC also includes ads that appear on the Google Display Network (the ads appear on websites you visit). You can also target potential buyers with PPC ads that display on comparison shopping and product review sites and trade publication websites.
4. Blogging
In B2B marketing, buyers are sometimes 70% down their buyer journey by the time they pick up the phone and talk to a salesperson. This is because the information that they used to get only from talking with salespeople they now get on their own, online, usually with a search. Blogging helps you meet these potential buyers where they are by writing posts that answer the questions your prospects have. They key to turning a blog into a lead generator is to write content that answers the questions that your leads face, and to include a strong call to action at the end of every post, typically directing the reader to a landing page that features a compelling offer.
5. Email
Strictly speaking, email marketing isn’t a form of lead generation, is it? After all, a lead is simply a person who meets two criteria:
- they might need your product or service
- you know their name or email address, or both
A lead, by definition, is someone who has responded to your marketing in some way, either by asking for information, downloading a white paper, giving you their contact information, and so on. This means that if you have someone’s name and email address, you already have a lead. Which means email is not for lead generation. Email doesn’t generate leads. Email is for lead nurturing. The only exception to this is cold email outreach, where you email a business that you have no prior relationship with, which may contravene anti-SPAM laws in your country, or emailing an opt-in email list that you rent from a reputable list broker, which is legal.
6. Webinars
Online seminars are another tool in your toolbox for generating B2B leads. Webinars have the advantage of positioning your business as an authority and a helpful supplier at the same time, a soft-sell combination that encourages leads to raise their hands and ask for more information. Compared with other B2B lead generation methods, webinars typically involve the greatest investment in time and effort, but they pay off.
7. YouTube
YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world after Google, and is owned by Google. YouTube is effective at engaging potential customers during the early stages of their buyer journey (or at the top of the funnel, to mix my metaphors). Helpful, practical videos that describe a challenge or demonstrate a solution are effective at engaging potential buyers. Depending on your industry or niche, competition is likely fierce.
8. Direct mail
Direct mail is old school, but it still works at generating B2B leads. The main advantage of direct mail over paid online advertising and content marketing is that direct mail lets you target an individual in a company by name. You can put your marketing message and offer right into the hands of your potential buyer. As the marketplace for PPC ads and content gets ever more crowded, direct mail is proving effective once again, especially among businesses that practice account based marketing.
B2B lead generation best practices
Regardless of which tactic you choose to generate business leads for your business, you have to get a few things right, right from the start.
- Target your efforts: Whether you go with paid advertising or with organic SEO and content marketing, target your ideal customers. Discover what they need, the pain they want to eliminate, the challenges they must overcome, and aim your marketing messages and offers at these business people alone.
- Create compelling offers: Generating B2B leads is easier if you offer something of value in exchange for a name and contact details. Don’t simply say, “Call us today” when you can instead say, “Call us today for a free consultation.” Don’t write, “Ask us for a quote” when you can instead write, “Ask us for a quote now to receive your free, no-obligation design consultation.”
- Automate: Landing a new B2B customer can rarely be automated. Most B2B transactions require human interaction somewhere along the buyer journey, especially as the buyer approaches a purchase. But many steps in B2B lead generation can be automated. A PPC ad, for example, can run 24 hours a day, directing leads to a landing page that automatically captures the lead’s contact details, forwarding those details into a CRM that automatically sends the lead a welcome email, delivers the lead magnet, and follows up with a series of automated email messages that move the lead down the funnel.
- Measure: Measure your results with each tactic you employ. Each tactic has its own metrics. With PPC ads, for example, a key metric is your click-through rate, namely, the percentage of people who see your add who also click on it. In email marketing, a key metric is open rate, the percentage of email recipients who open your email. The most important metric in B2B lead generation, though, is conversion rate, the percentage of leads who become customers.
- Test: Along with measuring goes testing. Every B2B lead generation tactic can be tested against itself and against other tactics. Test multiple PPC ads, landing pages, offers and so on to find the winner. Test multiple tactics against each other to find the one that delivers the most leads at the lowest cost.
If you happen to be looking to generate more business leads for your business, give me a call. I am a B2B lead generation copywriter and consultant. I’m not an expert in every tactic, but I am an expert at crafting copy that converts. My number is 519-500-9746. Or visit me at www.sharpecopy.com.
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