Leads are individuals or groups which have a high likelihood of becoming future customers. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to acquire them is not through cold prospecting, but through relationship building. They must become aware of your company and what it does and this, in turn, must spark their interest. The next step is for you to take them through the consideration, intent, and purchase phase, all of which takes knowledge and experience. One of the best ways to acquire leads is through social media.
While many businesses and entrepreneurs have heard of social media, only a few of them truly understand it. It is a form of digital style marketing that incorporates popular platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to attract potential clients while spreading the company’s message.
To truly be effective, social media campaigns must engage the users by fomenting likes, sharing, and comments involving posts or messages which are made by a company. The goal is to build brand awareness, and the best way to encourage viewers to provide their email address or sign up is by giving away a freebie which gives them an incentive to do so. This is referred to in marketing circles as lead magnets and can come in many forms.
Examples of great lead magnets or freebies include free consultations, white papers, trial subscriptions, special reports, or sample products. Once the prospective customer has given out their contact information in exchange for the lead magnet, the marketer can then use their contact info to transmit additional messages to the prospect which will entice them to eventually make a full purchase.
Artificial intelligence is extremely powerful, as it lowers costs while boosting morale and offering multiple opportunities for targeting, testing, and experimentation. It offers email outreach where sales teams will be able to leverage the best three percent message sequences, from more than 12,000 campaigns, while the social outreach will drive higher conversion rates via unique strategies which are dialogue driven.
While modern approaches such as social media and AI should be utilized to acquire leads, this doesn’t mean that one should neglect more traditional methods. For instance, studies show that classical networking in person is still a highly effective way to generate leads. Industry-based trade shows offer a plethora of opportunities to do this, along with regional chambers of commerce.
Disseminating info regarding services or products in local media sources can also be very useful. Another way of generating leads is through a method called social responsibility. Entrepreneurs and businesses who manifest social responsibility by doing things such as donating their time, supplies or effort to local causes, charities or non-profit organizations will reap the rewards that come from helping others while also garnering name recognition with numerous parties, who in turn can provide contacts which can eventually develop into sales leads.
