3 easy ways to turn strangers into your brand’s biggest fans.
Old-school sales tactics like the door-to-door salesman and the dreaded dinnertime telemarketer call have undoubtedly gone the way of the dinosaurs. These days, drawing customers in takes a more nuanced approach called lead generation.
Let’s break it down: Lead generation is a key tenant of the inbound marketing methodology. A lead is a prospective customer or client. Lead generation is the inbound marketing process that converts prospects into customers. A shiny, new website is great, but it’s not doing you any favors if there’s no way to nudge visitors through the lead generation process. You need contact information from leads, but potential leads need an incentive to give it to you.
Lead generation bridges the gap, with audiences getting something in return for their contact information—like a downloadable guide for example. It can look different depending on your product, audience and industry, but here are a few common strategies to consider.
#1 Offer Premium Content
Make use of your industry expertise, and offer premium content to your audience. Have tips for using your product in unexpected ways? Share them in a downloadable guide. Be sure to lock the offerings. In order for someone to receive the goods, they must provide their name and email. That way, you grow your leads and your leads get something in return.
This mutually beneficial method is a great way to introduce potential leads to your brand and establish your credibility. This is exactly what our client Rose Paving does with its exclusive guide to cracksealing. Potential clients provide their name and email, then receive access to the ultimate cracksealing guide at absolutely no cost to them. Down the road, this helps Rose Paving contact that person again to try and convert them from a lead to an actual customer.
#2 Host a Giveaway
Who doesn’t love free stuff, amirite? Decide on a service or impactful product from your company or a partner to give away to your loyal followers. Be sure to promote it on social media and in email newsletters. Similar to premium content offers, giveaways fulfill a need. The lead enters into the contest for a chance to win, and you get their contact information. Let’s put it this way: If someone is interested in a giveaway that is related to your company, why wouldn’t they be interested in doing business with you in the future?
Our client Ashland Women’s Health recently partnered with aLoo, a reusable valve designed to prevent bacteria from contaminating unconsumed breastmilk, to host a giveaway. Two winners were given their choice of a three-pack of Dr. Brown’s or Avent bottles, a three-pack of aLoo valves, and an aLoo t-shirt, onesie and bib. A few weeks prior to kick-off, Ashland sent an email introducing the giveaway to their email subscribers, then directed them to a landing page, where they could enter their contact information for a chance to win. Shortly after entering the contest, they received a “thank you” email with relevant breastfeeding and breast pumping articles, plus a quiz on how to choose the right insurance-covered breast pump all on the Ashland site.
#3 Leave a Call To Action
Lead generation is all about drawing in prospective clients. But once you have them, what do you want them to do? Use a clear and simple call to action (CTA) at the end of a social post, website or a blog. Concise phrases like “click here for more information,” “follow us on social media” or “contact us today” get the job done. Here at Yakkety Yak, we strive to include a call to action in every post, blog or webpage to give our audience more ways to connect with us and learn more about our company and our services.
Contact Yakkety Yak. We’d love you help you turn leads into satisfied customers that keep returning to do business with your business. (See what we did there?)
