How to Generate More Leads for Less Budget

When the going gets tough, the marketing budget gets going; so when times are hard, marketers everywhere pull on their thinking caps and ask one question: how can I generate more leads with less budget?

Since the rise of the digital age it’s become much easier to make more out of a budget better off kept in a jam jar under your bed. So instead of running for the hills, consider one of these top penny-pinching tips that are sure to give your online marketing a boost.

Tip 1: Make the Most out of Landing Pages

Landing pages; the woefully misunderstood online portal to lead generation. So, what are they? They are focused, customised digital sales pitches, designed to transform your website visitor into a business lead. A good landing page targets a specific audience and allows you to capture a visitor’s information through a lead-capture form.

And when it comes to landing pages, it’s all about more, more, more!

• Businesses with 31 to 40 landing pages get 7 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages

• Those with over 40 landing pages get 12 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages

• 44% of clicks for B2B companies are directed to the business’ homepage, not a special landing page

Tip 2: Crack Social Media Marketing

Social media is big, really, really big. In fact, it’s been predicted that by 2016, Facebook may be the largest country on Earth. With an additional 130,000 people signing up for a Twitter account each day, it’s easy to see why businesses are tackling social media head-on. To get started, create profiles on the places where your prospects hang-out and start talking.

• The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64 year age bracket

• Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn

• 93% of marketers use social media for business

• Almost half of online customers expect brands to provide customer service on Facebook, but only 23% provide it

• Social Networks Account for 23% of time spent online

Tip 3: Content Rules the Waves

Content: the marketing buzzword of the past two years. Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing and Lifecycle Marketing have done away with the older, push marketing techniques and in their place left pull marketing.

Pull marketing is a technique that uses intelligent, high quality content to encourage people to visit and seek out your website and products, rather than showering them with thrice daily emails and a daily telephone call to boot.

To really crack online lead generation, you need to distribute lots of content, and not just any old content. Only high quality, fresh and relevant content will do. This is where blogging really comes into its own.

• 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day

• 54% of brand don’t have an on-site dedicated content director

• Each month, 329 million people read blog content

• Content from reputable sources is most shared

• Clicks from shared content are 5 x more likely to result in a purchase

Tip 4: Blogging

From fashion forward teens, to amaterur chefs and even Gwyneth Paltrow, blogging and bloggers are taking over the digital landscape, and if you haven’t started yet, start now!

For good old fashioned B2B lead generation, blogging’s become the reliable wingman that will stand by your side come rain or shine.

• Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages

• Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links

• 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs

• B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who do not

• 61% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog

• Once you write 21-54 blog posts, blog traffic generation increases by up to 30%

So is it worth it?

Simply put, yes. Diving into the deep end of social media marketing takes time and a little thought, but that’s it. For new and established businesses the digital landscape opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

By developing and implementing a smart and flexible social media strategy will transform your business and prove that social networks can deliver lead generation.

For a more detailed look at how you can generate more leads for less, read our How to Generate Leads from Social Media eGuide.

Read more:

• Generating More Leads: Why You Need a Monthly Marketing Budget