Generating More Leads Through Content Marketing

Lead generation is a huge part of running a successful business. But how does one generate leads? How do you grow your sales funnel and grow your audience?

While you can’t overlook tried and true organic traffic and paid advertising, that is no longer enough. One option that is relatively low in cost and has the potential to really grow your sales funnel is content marketing. But what is content marketing and how can you use it to generate leads?

Content marketing has become an important part of the marketing mix. Your content marketing strategy should be based around high-value content that your target audience will find informative and worth sharing. There are so many options when it comes to content marketing. Infographics, whitepapers, videos, blog posts, webinars… the options are endless. Each medium is going to have different pros and cons and all can add value to your marketing plan if executed properly.

Infographics

Pros: Infographics are a great way to share facts and figures in an engaging and fun way. They are easily digestible and usually generate a lot of shares.

Cons: Infographics have gained a lot of popularity and freemium services have popped up to help you create them. While these services can be great it also means your infographic can look generic. For a truly successful infographic, it needs to feel original. Infographics also often lack a clear call to action. You’re doing content marketing to generate leads and if your content isn’t funneling people into a marketing flow it’s not accomplishing your goals.

Blogs

Pros: Blogs are a great way share your knowledge and educate your audience. They can be long form or short form and if well written and informative, they’ll keep your audience coming back for more.

Cons: Content overload. There are a billion blogs out there and it can be difficult to have your content cut through the noise. It’s important to target your blogs to your audience and things they will be looking for. Sharing your blogs via aggregate sites and social media can also help you reach your audience.

Webinars

Pros: Webinars can be a great option for content marketing because they allow you to have a direct connection to potential customers and you get immediate qualified lead generation. Any opportunity to directly engage with your potential clients is very high value and worth the investment.

Cons: People’s time is valuable and it can be difficult to get people to take an hour out of their day to participate in a webinar. To combat this, your content needs to be engaging and you should keep your webinars as brief as possible. Let people know exactly what they will gain by attending your webinar and you’ll get qualified leads that are immediately actionable.

Videos

Pros: Like webinars, videos can be very engaging. They can be short and to the point which is useful for those who don’t have time to spend a half hour or hour on a webinar. They are also a great way to recycle content, perhaps you boil an hour long webinar down to the 2 minutes of the most important content.

Cons: Videos, unlike webinars, don’t give you the opportunity to directly interact with your potential customers. The conversation is one directional which while still valuable isn’t the same as the two-way connection webinars offers.

White Papers

Pros: White papers are very high-value content and can be great for generating leads. They provide an in-depth look into something that matters to your potential customers and can be a great qualifier for leads.

Cons: White papers can often be expensive and time-consuming to create they also aren’t as shareable as other content because they are often behind a lead generation form.

These are just some of the content marketing options out there, but they are a great place to start when building your content marketing strategy.