Long gone are the days of a website alone being enough to market your business online. With consumers relying heavily on online research before making most purchases, they’re looking for more than a website. Consumers are savvy and will be searching in multiple places and expect to find quality information, value, and content. Your website is an extremely important piece of this puzzle but it needs other forces at play in order to capture those leads.
How lead generation helps your business.
Lead generation gets prospects one step closer to hiring you. Once you capture those leads, you are able to then stay in front of them, warm them up, stay top of mind, so when they are ready to buy, you are the first person they think of. But where do you start?
Where can I find leads online?
One of the best ways to get in front of leads online, and easily drive more website traffic, is from an active social media presence. You can use social media to humanize your brand, connect with your audience and give valuable information, an inside look, and a preview of what you can offer. Use this strategy to drive people to your website for even more valuable information. Learn more about how to use social media to boost website traffic from my friend, Joel, over at Growing Design.
How to get leads from your website.
Once a prospect lands on your website they are going to be looking for more information and expect a user-friendly experience.
Drive them to your website with a promise; A promise of more value. This could be a newsletter sign up, a free guide they can download, a helpful checklist. Anything they would find valuable and relatable to what you offer. A freebie. In return for this valuable, free information, require an email address for them to access it.
Your site should be easy to navigate and should guide them towards taking action to access that information and give you an email address. Encountering too many road blocks can cause a prospect to leave too soon. Give them a clear path, a path of least resistance.
Once you have that email, you have your lead.
Now what?
What to do once you capture a lead.
The most important thing you can do once you have a lead is to stay in front of them consistently.
Consistency is key. Keep in mind that they may not be ready to buy just yet, they may simply want to learn more or maybe they are waiting for the perfect opportunity. So you need to warm them up, stay in touch, and stay top of mind to convince them you are the answer to what they need. Since you now have their email, you can easily do this with email marketing.
Email marketing is a great way to stay top of mind and provide further value to your prospects. It is a great way to position yourself as an authority in your space, to become a resource for them, and make them feel confident in reaching out to you when they are ready.
Email marketing can be as easy as sending one weekly email update, or even bi-weekly update, with tips, news, promotions, anything that your target audience would find valuable and will position you as the expert.
Pro tip: Don’t be too salesy with your email content, continue to keep the content valuable to your prospect but within those emails it’s certainly ok, and encouraged, to briefly mention your offer and how you can help and encourage them to learn more.
Does lead generation work?
The short answer is yes! But it is not instant. Remember leads are people. They need time to make their decision, to get familiar with you and your offer. Many times businesses will become discouraged with marketing efforts assuming it’s not working, yet leads are watching and waiting!
For example, you could capture a high-ticket lead today, but they may not be ready for 6 or 12 months from now. If you stop staying in front of them, no doubt someone else will capture their attention and win that business.
I’ve had leads say they were watching me for a year yet weren’t ready to work with me. But by keeping my marketing consistent and staying in front of them, they knew they could reach out to me when the time was right for them (I’ve had other professionals tell me they share this same experience).
Stay consistent. Every market is saturated and you can easily and quickly be forgotten. Remember, if you are out of site, you are out of mind.
Do you get leads through your website?
The purpose of your website, your online presence, as a business, should be to get leads and win new business. Otherwise, what’s the point of having a website, right?
If your website is just sitting there without benefiting your business let’s talk about how we can change that! Reach out for a free consultation and we can put a plan in place to help make your website a lead generating machine!
Want more information on creating an effective online presence?
I recently sat down with my friend Joel Sousa of Growing Design where we discussed purposeful marketing and how having a holistic digital marketing strategy can drive traffic online to bring in new leads for your business. Listen to the episode below!
Now what?
Time to put a plan into action and make it happen. Too busy to take it all on? If you’re looking to outsource, reach out. I’d love to help you and your small business create a digital strategy that works for you!
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