Have you ever heard of a marketer having a problem with too many leads? We didn’t think so. Even though you can’t have too many leads – or do too much marketing – it still gets overwhelming when you try to take on too much. This is easy to do with advertising, considering that there are so many types available and not all of them are easy to track.
Thankfully, inbound marketing strategies are beneficial for startup companies and small businesses like your own. They can be inexpensive (if you play your cards right) and they can be easy to track (providing you know what you’re doing).
Let’s take a look at a few inbound marketing strategies that can generate quality leads and take your business to a new level. Just be sure to toss out the outdated marketing strategies – cold calling, TV and radio ads and billboard ads – in their place!
Building a Brand
Every successful business has an identifiable brand, but don’t expect this to happen overnight. It can take years to build a brand, but you have to start somewhere. The best way to start building or reestablishing your brand is through inbound marketing techniques such as how-to guides, infographics and podcasts. Great content will be shared on social media with likes, shares and comments.
The more quality and shareworthy content you create, the more brand mentions, inbound links and exposure you’ll receive. This starts to build out your brand and establishes you as a thought leader in your industry. People will know who you are, what you stand for and what you bring to your audience.
Engaging on Social Media
Consumers are on social media all day. They use it to interact with friends, read blogs and learn about the products they love. When they are on social media, it’s purely about having fun, connecting with others and learning bits of information; they are not in a mood to listen to sales talk. Make sure you use these channels carefully. They are intended to engage with your audience, not directly sell to them.
If a customer leaves you a comment, you should follow up quickly. If you don’t, the customer will probably find another option and you’ll miss out on an opportunity for a sale. All feedback should get a response – good, bad or just a simple hello. You should also take the time to follow others and show an interest in what they have to post. The more you interact on social media, the more traffic you’ll drive, and this results in more conversions.
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is a powerful tool for inbound marketing. Many people will tell you that guest blogging is good for building links, but this is just one advantage of the process. When you write a guest blog, you reach a much larger audience and are viewed as an expert in your particular industry. The owner of the blog isn’t going to choose just anyone to contribute to their blog after all.
As traffic comes to your site from your guest blogs, visitors will look at you as a trusted source and be more likely to convert. Having opt-in offers is a quick and easy way to get visitors to convert fairly quickly. Guest blogging opportunities also build your brand and bring your company more exposure.
Offering Freebies
People love getting free things, so offering valuable items at no charge is a great way to start building relationships. Start with how-to guides or e-books that provide value to your audience, and offer them in exchange for an email address. The key is providing materials that have value. Think of topics that may not be covered online, or something that your company has a unique perspective on.
Also keep in mind that your how-to guides or e-books should be related to your industry. Some companies will put out reading materials that are high quality but don’t relate to their industry. You know your consumer best, so stick to a topic and tone that is written specifically for them.
Collecting Email Addresses
Pop-ups aren’t the highlight of any website, but there is a time and a place for them. Traditional pop-ups that interrupt visitors while they are reading content or exploring your website are annoying and intrusive. But pop-ups that appear when a visitor is about to leave your website are in a different category. They are a great opportunity to capture last minute leads. And, you have nothing to lose since the person is leaving and the pop-up isn’t going to interrupt their experience.
The goal of these pop-ups is to collect an email address at the last minute. If you do, it’s one more lead to add to your list, and the person is already familiar with your brand and has taken some time to explore your website. When they do receive an email from you, they’ll know who you are and what you have to offer.
Generating Quality Leads with Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing strategies are effective ways to drive targeted traffic to your website so that you may convert them into leads, sales and revenues. It’s true that marketing strategies are constantly changing, but there are tried-and-true practices that continue to be effective. For instance, you may want to change how you collect email addresses or the types of freebies that you offer, but the original intent is the same.
When you have a great company with a great product or service, you want to share it with others. Inbound marketing strategies allow you to do exactly that while generating leads that will take your brand to a new level.
