The 7 Best Content Marketing Strategies for Generating Leads

Harnessing the potential of your marketing material can significantly improve the visibility of your brand and draw in important leads for your business. But which content marketing strategies are best for generating leads? Here's everything you need to know:

1. Thorough market research
2. High-converting landing pages
3. A focused content creation process
4. Content promotion methods
5. Social media outreach
6. Email marketing
7. Lead nurturing via email

1. Thorough market research

Market research is imperative to make informed decisions and is the first step in creating a great product. You must ensure that what you’re designing will have an audience who’re actually interested in it: there’s nothing worse than creating something that serves little or no purpose. Increase your chances of tapping into these valuable customer circles by understanding your customers’ needs: what they want, how, why, where and when.

This is where keywords come in. Keywords are useful to know what your intended audience wants to discover and their intention behind a purchasing decision. This is known as demand generation media marketing.

Let’s suppose that you’re a video creation expert in Delhi and want to find potential customers. Simply visit Google Ads Keywords Planner and enter the main keyword (e.g. ‘video expert in Delhi’). Run a search and see what this yields. With this search, you’re purely focusing on what matters and by putting yourself in the mind of your customer, you’ll know where and what they’ll be looking for and be able to engage and actively reach out to them via a social media channel.

Such a specialized Q/A approach will fulfill any niche following who’re curious to know more about your product or service. You can then pursue any such followers as leads who can then be potentially converted into customers. By responding to their queries, you’re demonstrating your customer service skills and prowess in the public domain. Garnering such an avid interest fueled by curiosity will build your brand reputation and provide you with automated ranking, ratings, reviews and testimonials.

Social media is a powerful tool that can generate ROI, create new revenue streams and monetize sales. People need answers to their questions and usually seek these using search engines. This enables you to empower your own brand to be that first answer that they find.

2. High-converting landing pages

In order to have a high conversion rate on your site, you need to optimize your landing page first (which is where many sites fail to maximize their potential).

The structure is imperative and should start with a punchy title that engages readers, enticing them to continue browsing the rest of your page. Well-designed pages offer seamless functionality and universal operability for brilliant user experiences. The journey should be an engaging and memorable one to improve retention, increase revisits and garner word of mouth recommendations.

Whilst visual aesthetics including color themes always help, vetting leads to offer them specific incentives is key. Convince customers that you’re good for them and provide great features to keep them returning to your site.

You also need to ensure your website has an optimal loading speed, otherwise, you risk losing leads via abandonment. This, along with convenient navigation, concise and digestible material, CTAs and personalized merchandising all make a brilliant recipe for success.

3. A focused content creation process

Making your content more specific to your domain or niche is the best way to engage people and make it more appealing as well as desirable. Here are some tips:

Identify desirable user content

We can never be entirely sure what our users are looking for, but by analyzing particular factors and their activity or behavioral trends, it becomes easier to cater for them. Without doing this you’ll merely be directionless and weighed down by redundant content.

Always research and find what users want to see or read - look at trends. Peruse what online draws the most attention, has minimal bounce/abandonment rates and encourages the most comments. It’s also worth checking and noting whether there’s an element of search engine-based marketing or social media (or a combination of both). Your aim should be to maximize the time spent on your site and discourage people from leaving - keep them interested: increase your retention rate. For added measure, why not access Google Analytics?

Don’t forget that it’s not just a case fulfilling what people want or need. Nevertheless, this remains a responsive and scalable content marketing strategy. The simplest and most effective way is to just ask your readers what they want to see. This direct feedback enables you to broaden your subject matter with affiliated topics. Ultimately, you’re trying to answer their questions or help address any issues they may have.

Study effective content headlines

Research suggests that while the majority of visitors will view your content, they’ll only proceed beyond the headline if they’re convinced to do so. It’s your responsibility to instill confidence within your readers that remaining on your site is worthwhile. This warrants investing sufficient time into perfecting your headlines.

Acquiring the skill of producing engaging titles will help you to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Understanding the psychological aspects involved to swing someone into being interested in your content is imperative. This art can be honed and learned from top bloggers and copywriting experts. ..

Browse online publications

Magazines and newspapers offer brilliant inspiration when seeking ideas for headlines. Search established media marketing where hefty investment has taken place. Use a keyword for the headline and browse through enticing covers. This is a kind of test run to recreate and simulate what real readers would experience. You can then apply such templates for your own use.

Why not go a step further and polish your title by posing a specific question to really hit home? For example, instead of simply writing ‘SEO tips for a successful site’, you could say ‘What SEO tips have you been omitting on your website?’. See the difference? Your audience will certainly feel it and that’s exactly what we want!

Search top-ranking headlines

Observe high ranking results upon performing a search with a specific query term or criteria. What makes these effective and how can you do the same? Try to identify what sets these apart from the rest. Aim to design your headline to be calibrated with current SEO trends for maximal compatibility. . Try modifying the tone, person and varying the active or passive voice you use for your title. For instance, instead of ‘SEO boosting strategies’, why not try ‘SEO tricks that transformed my business’? Evoke that personal touch for added impact.

Collect your data and stats to analyze

You need to collate information in order to design great content. Intelligence-based material augments generating vetted leads by using meaningful data.

But just how do you go about obtaining such details? Go through your Google Analytics account and look for the user plus page to view volume yielded by your site over a period of time.

Keyword ranking, bounce and exit rate and proportion of new vs. returning visitors can help you gauge the effectiveness of your content on social media. Diversify and deploy data from various sources to hone your personalized content. A detailed analysis of a topic can reach new heights when supported by a powerful social media presence.

Design your own content and expand

You’re now ready to publish your article. Ensure that there’s a coherent structure to go by, which incorporates sufficient detail to satisfy Google’s ranking (in terms of depth as well as data-based intel). While there’s no specific or prescribed length, around 2000 words appears to be ideal, as this achieves a balance between comprehensiveness and readability. Add graphical and visual representations, including imagery for ultimate engagement, citing sources wherever required. You can even direct to external links for optimal performance.

4. Content promotion methods

Varying your content helps you to promote better and allows you the flexibility to use whichever framework you desire. In the case of various formats (including ebooks, articles, videos, blog posts, whitepapers, online courses and infographics), it’s important to make them appealing. Engage people via content marketing with blogs to drive lead conversion. Focus on quality and only deploy social media if it really adds value to your campaign.

Choose the type of content that suits your audience

Of the multiple content forms available and for your marketing investments to be productive, a suitable strategy is required. Generating traffic or leads are the main outcomes, with the two working in tandem.

Blog posts

This can generate traffic for your site and make it more valuable to increase readership as well as add indexable pages into your domain. You can also use this as an accessory tool to direct visitors to sales or landing pages.

Video content

Videos are yet another solution to drive traffic to your site. Make them interesting and audience driven to boost the share volume. Capitalize on YouTube, owing to its vast search engine integrated base. Optimized content can really generate traffic to your site.

Social media posts

It makes sense to distribute material in the form of posts to promote traffic, as almost half of the global population uses social media. In order to do so, you need to hone your social profiles, engage with other users and harness the power of ads to engage your audience.

Podcasts

A newer contender into the market with promising potential and unprecedented scope. Podcasts create a more interactive experience and subsequently attract more traffic to your site.

Infographics

Infographics can significantly boost your web traffic and increase in engagement more effectively than conventional guest posts. Visual trends have brought lead generation into further force, so what are you waiting for?

Guest posting

Guest posting empowers you to invite a coveted industry expert to share their wisdom on your page. Not only does this attract interest, but it also helps to advocate for your own worth.

Case studies

From an analytical and academic perspective, these are factually backed, authoritative as well as autonomous. They allow you to demonstrate your brand value by its benefits or improvement of a process. For instance, ‘what was the issue and how was it resolved?’ This approach equips you to answer a whole series of issues. It’s especially useful for B2B, wherein data with pictorial diagrams can be easily presented and interpreted.

Free reports

These are great, as they inform you exactly what’s happening in your site regarding performance and other metrics. This helps you to gauge and improve accordingly.

Webinars

Create new leads and encourage them to share their contact details to warm up to the idea of attending future sessions – a great example of retention.

Mini-courses

A great way to teach something new to an audience by instilling knowledge and skills.

Quizzes

Create an interesting and interactive environment for the ultimate learning experience.

Free trials or demo of a product

This is especially useful for pricier categories to prove to viewers that the product/service being discussed works and converts accordingly. Free trials are great for establishing a base of loyal customers as per the quality you can demonstrate.

Select your distribution networks

It’s not just about designing content but also delivering it to people who’re willing to view it. You need to select the appropriate marketing avenue or combination to share your material. These are categorized either by organic or paid channels.

Organic distribution channels are free from inception, which is useful if you’re financially constrained. This is somewhat offset by the drawback that it can be time-consuming to acquire that online command and reputation. Growth can be slow prior to actually witnessing any real or visible progress.

Don’t forget though that it’s not necessary to deploy multiple methods simultaneously when distributing your content. The buyer persona concept empowers you with valuable knowledge of customer behavior. By performing research, you’ll know where they tend to invest their time most and be able to target those areas.

While paid distribution channels need an initial financial investment, they reap instant rewards. By optimizing your PPC campaigns well you’ll observe an immediate increase in traffic.

Some of the most popular paid distribution channels include:

• Social media ads
• Search ads
• Display ads
• Native ads
• Content discovery networks

Lead generation can be made more sustainable and trendier with both approaches.

Some of the most popular organic distribution channels include:

• Search engines
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• LinkedIn
• Quora

Focusing on long-tail keywords

In order to amplify your headline’s engagement and conversion rate, polishing long tail keywords really helps, as these are often ranked higher in Google’s results. It’s also important to understand how SEO operates now with current updated trends for maximal output. Targeting underused, unknown or omitted keywords will be the key to competing with rivals.

How to perform long tail keyword research:

• Visit the Google Ads Keywords Planner and search for your seed keyword
• Access the ‘Keywords Tab’ to uncover related keywords
• Some keywords are ready to use, whilst others can be refined by searching further
• Look for these keywords to boost your search traffic

It’s imperative to look for the user intent. During content promotion, you need to explore beyond your social media channel. Guest blogging can capture other blogs and siphon their followers to your site, so you should definitely capitalize upon this.

Try designing ego baits (a blog post category when other authority bloggers get promoted and link their blogs to grow an audience). This will create suitable leads for your business and increase referred traffic. Social media channels can boost blog post readership from Facebook or Twitter, provided you have dynamic followers/audience. Contemporary media marketing demands an array of the aforementioned methods. Social media initiatives plus responding to questions on Quora will enrich your personal brand and boost the likelihood of drawing pertinent audiences.

Produce lead magnets and (gated) content upgrades

Focus solely on what your audience desires and deliver that.. Entities such as reports, ebooks, webinars, course studies, quizzes and free trials/demos can always augment this process. With specific enrolment forms, you can boost your conversion rates. Upon perusing your blog for instance, offer a complimentary gift which then entices them to share more about themselves, owing to the specificity. With various formats and sporting fidelity videos, subscriptions, plugins/themes, codes/licenses and podcasts, it’s no surprise there’s so much hype around this.

5. Social media outreach

This is a key element for successful lead generation. All industries rely upon collaborating with people to forge other connections to promote brand awareness. Social media can set off this sequence of events. The rate can be exponential, as each visitor to your site will have their own followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Achieving a balanced process of pitching for sales, whilst also abiding by norms is important.

1. Follow industry experts on social media networks and begin communicating with them
2. Connect with such bloggers by clicking on their image and being directed to a Twitter feed
3. Then see follower volumes (the more the merrier) and start following them
4. Visit their blog and contact them directly
5. Keep to specific interest areas to refrain from troubling unwilling followers

Always remember that a greater quantity of followers doesn’t equal qualitative ones. Social media analysis helps to connect with influencers and comment on their blog, distribute among readers, recommend their product and send updates. Investing your time in this establishes a rapport, boosting engagement.

6. Email marketing

Wondering how to collect email addresses? Here are 7 great ideas:

• eBooks - educates about your product or service and purpose (including B2B/whitepaper)
• Video series/webinars - interactive learning topics with questions
• Quick quote/withhold the price list - encourage them to share their email for further info
• Competition/prize draw - entice people to promote your product with free giveaways
• Email series - informative and promotional newsletters with regular updates
• Free trial/sample - encourage people to opt for paid services beyond a free period
• Special offer/discount - limited time promotions to really get the ball rolling

7. Lead nurturing via email

Bloggers and content marketers often wonder what’s the next course of action upon obtaining leads. This is where essential nurturing comes into play. Without this, sales can be hindered, as one-off contact is simply insufficient. Priming and informing customers about your product enables them to consider it further. You need to convince people why they should invest their time and resources in your entity. Funnel and market your campaigns to finally convert or even create customer champions/brand ambassadors. Now you can make informed decisions.