5 Bold Content Marketing Lead Generation Strategies

Leads don’t appear out of thin air, which is why it’s so important to have a strong lead generation strategy as part of your sales funnel. Focusing on bringing in new leads allows you to build a wider customer base and gives you more opportunities to convert those leads to sales.

What is content marketing?

Lead generation is possible with an appropriate content marketing campaign. Content marketing, which is the strategy you use to interact with and engage a target audience, gets you in front of the people who may want to use your products or services. It includes developing blogs, videos, and social media posts to name a few. Then, through this creation of social proof and brand awareness, you gain leads.

What is lead generation?

Lead generation focuses solely on generating interest in your services or products. Your goal is to convert that interest into sales.

Through your content marketing plan, you’ll gather information on leads. This process is the basis for a strong business, as you generate warm leads who are, at the very least, interested in what you have to offer.

What is content marketing lead generation?

Content marketing lead generation is a combination of content marketing and lead generation in one. This marketing strategy is designed to create content with the underlying intention of capturing leads from your target demographics.

Good content marketing lead generation campaigns aren’t fluff. They use highly relevant content and create value for the target audience. By doing this, your company shows why it’s an expert in its field and creates an obvious reason for potential leads to work with it rather than a competitor.

6 Benefits of Content Marketing Lead Generation

Companies that use content marketing lead-generation techniques benefit from them in several ways. Content marketing lead generation:

Produces Better Leads

When you create good, relevant content, it brings in higher-quality leads from your target audience. Why? Those who are truly interested in what you have to offer will pay attention to your business online and begin engaging with it. They may make a purchase from you, use your products, and even become a fan of what your business does on a higher level. Then, those leads may pass on your information to others requiring the same services or products (often with a good review to go with that referral). As a result, even your referrals are more likely to be qualified leads, saving you time, energy, and money.

Increases Brand Awareness

A good content marketing lead generation campaign also helps you build brand awareness. Your content helps you further establish your brand, but it also builds trust with your preferred audience. With your brand content, you get to share what makes your business special, whether that’s a unique mission, your company’s values, or products your customers won’t find anywhere else.

Better SEO Rankings

Another reason to build up your content is because of the SEO ranking you stand to gain. Search engines boost businesses that have high-quality content. While you work on your content strategy, remember to update your content regularly and to keep it relevant. When you have relevant content and a high SEO ranking, people will more easily find your site and view it regularly. They may even bookmark it to come back and check for updates to your blog or catalog. With that kind of activity, search engines will receive signals that your site is gathering views, and that interest can mean even higher rankings (and more search traffic) as a result.

Improves Social Media Engagement

Another benefit of developing a strong content marketing and lead generation campaign is that you can improve engagement with your target audience. When you create engaging content, people are more likely to share it. When they share your content, it extends your reach and boosts engagement. Comments give you insight into what your audience members like or don’t like, and the referrals you get from shared content signals if your message is hitting home.

Boosts Direct Sales

When you create content describing how to use your products or what people can gain from your services, you give them the details they need to make good purchasing decisions. By creating excellent content, you guide your potential customers to the solutions you have to offer, making direct sales more likely.

Enables Personalized Marketing

Finally, with the right content marketing lead generation strategies, your business benefits from the option to personalize your marketing efforts. When you see how your audience members respond to or engage with your content, you get much-needed data to help you define (and refine) your targeting. Additionally, with insight into your content’s performance, you can make data-driven decisions regarding your company’s future content with your ideal audience in mind.

5 Incredible Content Marketing Lead Generation Strategies

Your company can generate leads through many content marketing strategies, not just through an online blog or via TikTok videos, for example. Here are five excellent options to help you get started on your content and how they can help you capture the attention of your target audience.

Publish an Ebook

One of the first things you can do to create good content for your target audience is to produce an ebook. An ebook can take some time to create, but with it, you create a product of real value that you can give to your audience. Some businesses charge a minor fee for ebooks, and others opt to give them away for free or in exchange for a person’s contact information. What you do will depend on your marketing strategy.

In either case, an ebook is helpful because it allows you to showcase your expertise in your industry. And, for the people who download it, everything they’re wondering about your company or services is all in one place. It’s a win-win.

Offer Guides and White Papers

Another excellent type of content to offer as a part of your lead generation campaign is a guide or white paper. These kinds of content go more deeply into your products or services. For example, a guide will walk a user through using a new tool, service, or product—sometimes even step-by-step. Whereas a white paper will provide more specific and helpful information about your business, your products and services, and how they all tie into your industry.

In your guides and white papers, don’t forget to include a call to action (CTA) as part of your follow-up strategy. You want people to be able to contact you for more information or to ask questions when they have them.

Write a Case Study

A case study is another kind of content that gives insight into what your brand does. It shows the true value of your brand by showing how your brand has helped others. For instance, if you have a tool that makes someone else’s work faster, showing how much easier their life is because of it can be an excellent case study.

Take a look at other case studies from your industry to see if it’s the right option for you. You may find that the buyer persona you’re trying to attract prefers a white paper or guide instead, but a case study can still be an excellent piece of material to keep on hand to prove your business’s value and build trust.

Produce a Webinar

If you’re ready to talk to people online live or to create videos about your content, a webinar can be an excellent choice. A webinar is unique because not many businesses produce them, but when they do, they are interesting and are great for engaging audience members. Webinars are also good choices because they require potential viewers to sign up, and that sign-up process gives you important data (such as addresses, phone numbers, and other details about the viewers).

When a webinar focuses on a topic that’s important to the audience, there is an opportunity to focus on engagement. And, once your leads see your webinar, they may reach out to you for more information, to schedule time to chat, or even to buy your products directly. Focus on providing real value during your webinar, and you can see impressive results.

Host an In-Person Event

A final option you may want to consider is hosting an in-person event. This isn’t exactly marketing copy, but it is an excellent way to get leads together where you can interact with them directly. With an in-person event, you make real-life connections. You generate interest in your products and services and network with other businesses and service providers who may refer people to you in the future.

And while an in-person event isn’t digital, that doesn’t mean it will hurt your lead-generation strategy. In fact, in-person events can be very productive, especially if it’s in an area or part of a larger event where your target audience will be present.

Generate Leads With Podium’s AI Employee

Your lead generation campaign can mean the difference between interacting with fresh leads every day and struggling to find the leads you need to help your business succeed.

Podium’s AI Employee has lead-generating and managing capabilities to help you take your content marketing lead-generation strategy to the next level. In fact, with Podium’s AI Employee, you’ll get 30% more sales as it turns every lead from email, phone, text, web, and third-party sites into conversations to drive sales. From tackling tough customer questions to responding to incoming leads overnight, Podium’s AI Employee has what it takes to be an extra helping hand on your team.

Ready to see what Podium’s AI can do for you? Watch a demo.