Leads

Looking to generate leads?

Going beyond social media and PPC campaigns there are many other ways to generate leads that can help bring a constant and steady stream of visitors to your site or landing page.

Here are 5 of the most tried and true:

1.) Infographics

Visual content is definitely the way of the future as more and more, internet goers are looking to access information quickly, easily and effectively.

This trend can also be backed up with the fact that Instagram recently overtook Twitter in terms of the number of monthly active users, proving that visual content is key.

To generate leads, consider turning your popular blog posts and written material into easy to read infographics, slide shows or visual images. There are many online services that will design these for you almost instantly, but you can also use photoshop and other programs like PowerPoint.

Keep your visuals simple, effective and easy to understand. This way you have a better chance of hooking in your audience. Also make sure that your infographics are easily shareable on platforms such as Pinterest and Facebook.

Facebook Ads has some strict rules about the types of posts that can be ‘boosted’, so also keep this in mind when designing your infographics.

2.) Comment on Forums

In order to engage a community you have to be a community member first. This is why it is important to establish a presence on relevant blogs, sites and forums and engage with followers there.

This is not about spamming other sites, but rather it is about building a voice in your relevant community and establishing yourself as an authority.

Start by commenting, asking and answering questions on relevant pages and groups on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. You can also branch out and join forums and other community sites like Reddit. Retweeting and replying to tweets is also another great way to establish yourself as a community player.

Remember, your comments will help others to know what you stand for and the message behind your brand, so keep this in mind when asking and answering questions.

3.) Testimonials

It doesn’t matter what type of product or service you are selling, you should always have testimonials from legitimate customers that can back up the claims made on your site.

Make the testimonials easy to read and keep them short, sweet and to the point. Try to also feature testimonials that show the unique skills or talents that your company or product can offer.

Taking it that one step further, you may even want to consider offering Case Studies on your website that highlight past successes.

To do this, give a brief description of the client, the challenges and how your products or services met those challenges. Then also include the end results and any new relevant updates.

This offers direct proof to your leads that you are good at what you do and allows them to know how you meet and handle certain challenges.

Just make sure you get permission before using your clients names and details for your case studies.

4.) Teach

When you share your knowledge you not only build up trust with your clients and visitors but you can also help attract leads to your site.

You can do this through having a blog, an ebook, a podcast or a newsletter. Typically, a good strategy is to offer these free services in exchange for an email or contact details in order to help you grow your list.

On a bigger scale you can also design and teach an e-course to help draw in leads and turn them into valuable, life long customers.

There are many platforms that can help you construct an e-course, one of the biggest being Udemy. Statistics from Udemy show that some teachers go on to make thousands a month from their e-courses, however you can also offer your course for free.

When it comes to creating a highly engaging e-course, start with having plenty of videos and visual materials. You may also want to consider accompanying your e-course with an ebook or podcast. This helps to increase the perceived value of your course and establishes you as an expert in your field.

5.) Competitions

Everyone loves a good competition, which is why it is such an effective way to build leads and a strong presence on social media.

The incentive for your competition will of course depend on the industry that you are in, but it can include anything from a gift card to a free product or service. Remember, the aim here is to get your audience engaged so go big when it comes to the grand prize.

When it comes to constructing your competition, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Having your followers create something or come up with a short story etc. can be a great way to keep them engaged. It can also be an effective way to collect email addresses and build your list.

If you want to keep it simple, you can also get users to share or post an image or comment using a relevant hashtag on social media.

There are many ways you can generate leads however these 5 will definitely help you to hit the ground running.