Lead Generation For Dummies
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Inbound marketing tactics such as content marketing, social media, SEO, and website optimization are truly leading the pack when it comes to where marketers are spending their lead generation budgets.

What exactly is inbound marketing? According to Jon Miller, VP and cofounder of Marketo, inbound marketing is "the process of helping customers find your company — often before they are even looking to make a purchase — and then turning that early awareness into brand preference and, ultimately, into leads and revenue."

Content marketing

Content, which often takes the form of an ebook, video, infographic, or slide deck, is the fuel for most (if not all) of your lead generation campaigns. No matter what channel you choose — whether it's your website, blog, or email marketing — you need a high-value offer to pique the interest of your lead. Quality content that shows a true understanding of the lead's business challenges is the perfect way to grab the customer's attention, begin building that needed brand awareness, and entice her to fill out a form at the same time.

Website

Your website is where you want to drive all of your lead generation efforts. It is your home base and where a lead can find everything he needs to know about your company. Your website is also where you house your contact information for leads that you want to contact you right away, and where you can attempt to capture lead information through forms. If it's done well, your website can really show your personality and attract the attention of your prospects.

Blog

Your company blog is where you get a chance to inject your personality and build credibility as the thought leader in your space. By leveraging subject matter experts from within your organization, your blog can be a destination spot for potential customers looking for best practices in your industry.

Your blog is also a great place to capture lead information by prompting them to subscribe to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed or engaging with them through the comment feature of your blog. Be careful though. If you have no subject matter experts on your team, don't try to fake it with a bunch of buzzwords. Instead, work to train them on becoming experts and encourage them to follow industry blogs and their own research. Remember, it's about establishing your company's expertise in the space.

Social media

Social media is a great platform for you to share your voice and spread the word. There are many channels to choose from, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, and each one enables your business to build an organic following and attract brand ambassadors. Social channels are a great place to share your content, blogs, and other product or service-specific information, while also adding your brand's personality to the tone of the message. Paid advertising on social channels enables you to collect lead information and get your message seen by many, based on specific targeting criteria.

Search engine optimization

SEO (search engine optimization) plays a crucial role in attracting potential leads to your website through organic searches on search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. By choosing to set up business-specific keywords, you can optimize and build your website so that when a lead searches for one of your keywords on a search engine, your website pops up on the first few pages of Google.

This may help a lead find your company, but you've got to present her with knowledgeable content in order for that visitor to go deeper into your website and keep coming back.

About This Article

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About the book author:

Dayna Rothman is the senior content marketing manager at Marketo, a leader in the marketing automation space. Dayna leads content creation and strategy at Marketo and is the managing editor for the Marketo blog, which receives more than 400,000 unique visitors per year. Dayna has also been featured as one of the top 25 content marketers to watch according to Kapost, and one of the top 50 content marketing influencers according to Onalytica.

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