What the Best IT Pros Do To Generate Leads Online (and You Should Too)

Generating leads online is as much an art as it is a science. It takes research, collecting data, as well as being creative. And, of course, that makes it difficult to get right. Fortunately, there are many people out there doing an excellent job of generating leads using IT right now. They understand how the game works, and they’re not afraid to use their knowledge. The pros are always looking for ways to accelerate customer relationships and generate exposure. So what are they doing?

Publish Content On LinkedIn Pulse

Recently LinkedIn has gotten into the business of helping people self-publish. The idea is to provide a platform where industry professionals can share their thoughts and expertise. LinkedIn announced the platform back in 2014. And since then it has been used by countless writers and industry professionals to post content. Transforming oneself into a guru on the platform is an excellent way to generate leads. It takes you from an unknown expert and throws you into the fray. You can access Pulse by clicking “publish a post” on your LinkedIn homepage.

Email And Social Together

For years, businesses have been using both email and social networks to generate leads. Using them together helps to boost the effect of each. One idea is to send out a newsletter and connect that to your business’s social network. This gets another audience in front of your regular newsletter. The last thing that your company wants to be doing is preaching to the crowd. And so spreading your content over social media sites is a way to get it in front of more people.

Collect Data

In many ways, companies have more potent tools to generate leads online than they do offline. Here’s where IT support can be used to target customers more effectively. First, the pros segment markets and target audiences with specific tastes and desires, based on the data. And then they make sure that their marketing is timely in order to generate leads. This rests on the company’s ability to generate and interpret the data it has. Data on ad clicks, comments on social media, and the profiles of people who respond to your calls to action are critical. But they need to be interpreted in the right way if you’re going to use them effectively.

Timely Calls To Action

Calls to action are a mainstay of professional online marketing, used by professionals the world over. Granted, most businesses are already using calls to action. But they tend to do so only before customers have signed up to newsletters or services. That’s fine, of course. But the pros take it a step further. They use calls to action even after customers have made a purchase or signed up for a newsletter. Why? It comes down to the fact that the clients have already shown intent. They’re clearly interested in what you’re doing. And so the best time to generate new business is often just after you’ve done business. It’s simple to convert your “thank you for signing up” screen into a call to action. Say thank you, of course. And then go on to suggest other products or services that your new customer might find useful.

Promote Good Causes

Corporate responsibility is a big buzzword in the media right now. It seems as if everybody is pushing towards it. Starbucks has been printing it’s good deeds on its cups for years to try to entice customers. According to a report by Mintel, companies can influence purchasing by how it behaves. So that means that companies should probably promote good causes. You want to find something that is relevant to your industry. If your business uses a lot of packaging, perhaps you could connect with the Rainforest Alliance. If it serves food, then getting food RSPCA certified is another option.

Connecting to a good cause doesn’t take much effort from a digital marketing standpoint. Just make sure that the logo of whatever cause you’re involved in is clear on your website. It’s certainly not going to put people off your brand. And, for ethically conscious consumers, it may even help promote it.

Use Trendjacking To Promote Products

Right now is an opportune time to talk about the powers of trendjacking. Here we are in the midst of a Pokemon Go craze, and businesses all over the world are benefiting. For instance, Costa Coffee in the UK has seen a 30 percent rise in footfall since the advent of Pokemon Go. Why? Many of its outlets just happen to be Pokemon stops. And that’s enough to draw in the crowds.

The basic idea behind trendjacking is to weave yourself into the conversation. Costa got itself in on the action in two ways. First of all, it benefited from being at the centre of a cultural storm. But then it also drew attention to the fact. Pokemon Go, it pointed out, is actually good for business. And this blew up places like Twitter. Suddenly, it occurred to people that Go wasn’t just a game; it was so big it could drive the economy.

Team Up With A Complementary Company

Companies aren’t always in competition. Sometimes it’s a good idea to team up with one company or another. Let’s say you’re a company that provides online tuition to students. Great. But what if those students also want mentoring or help to find a school? You’re stuck. However, if you’d partnered with a mentoring company, you could direct there yourself. And you might expect to be paid commission as a result.

But this transaction works both ways. If you happen to be the tuition company, partnering with another online company in a related area helps generate more leads. You pull in business through the recommendation of a firm that people already trust. And that contributes to building your client base.

Trudge Niche Social Networks

The digital marketing industry seems to be obsessed right now with the big three social networks. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram get all the attention. They’re obviously worthwhile targets for generating leads. But they’re certainly not the only targets. Take ActiveRain, for example. Here’s a social network specifically designed for real estate agents, inspectors and lenders. It’s perfect for anybody in the real estate industry. And right now it’s approaching 300,000 members. That’s a significant audience of interested people.

Or what about Avvo. This is a social network designed exclusively around helping people get legal advice. And it allows people to rate lawyers and attorneys on the site itself. For small legal startups, it’s potentially a great marketing tool.

Then there is Deviantart. This site, as the name implies, is for creative and artistic professionals. Here passionate, creative types can promote their designs and artwork. And with 35 million members, it’s by no means an insignificant player.

Do The Rounds On Podcasts

Podcasts were once hot news in marketing circles. But there’s been a lull in interest recently, perhaps because other marketing methods looked shinier. But podcasting is an excellent way to fashion oneself into a trusted expert and promote your business. Of course, becoming an expert on anything takes a significant amount of time. But if you have the experience, then doing the rounds is a great way to find new audiences.

Many podcasts are targeted to your industry. And they can be used to great effect. Take economics and finance podcasts. These would be a perfect place for any investment broker to start spreading their message. Or if you are in the fitness industry, there are dozens of fitness podcasts that could put you in front of a new audience.

There are many reasons why the pros still focus on podcasts. Podcast listening grew by a staggering 23 percent between 2015 and 2016. And it has been experiencing double-digit growth for the last six years. The audience for podcasts is also enormous. According to statistics, the same number of people listen to podcasts as use Twitter in the US. That’s an estimated 57 million people. In other words, it’s gold dust for marketers.

Create Live Discussion

Businesses now have the tools and the internet speeds to host live events online. These events are again a great way for your business to connect with new people. Most companies stick with generic apps like Skype or Hangouts. But there are more suitable apps out there, like Zoom. Zoom, for instance, is especially good at seminars. The leader of the workshop has control over the room in which people meet. And the stability of the connection tends to be better than it is with the competition.

Use Infographics

For some reason, people love infographics. And it just happens to be a great tool for businesses too. It turns out that infographics are a great way to help people really see why they need your product. Here we’re not talking about creating the impulse to buy. Instead, we’re talking about helping people make rational decisions that make their lives better.

Many companies think that infographics are best left to artists and designers. It’s not for them, they think. But there are tools out there, like Piktochart, that make them easy to create.