Are you craving fresh new leads? Lead generation is tricky business – you need the right ingredients and method for it to really be successful. Most marketers, about 9 out of 10, don’t believe their lead generation campaigns are effective, according to Hubspot research.

So if you’re hungry for a mouth-watering lead generation strategy that actually works, follow this recipe and let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Original Content
• Social Networks
• Calls to Action
• Landing Pages that Convert

Total Time:

However long it takes to get that qualified lead. Patience is a virtue.

Total Yield:

Lots of leads for the lucky marketer (that’s you!).

Directions:

STEP 1: Get found. Optimize your website for search engines based on relevant and attainable keywords. Go for the long tail keywords, which are a combination of several words (3-5) that are specifically targeted to your products and services and tend to rank more easily in search engines. And don’t stop at your website – optimize all of your landing pages, your blog, and your content as well.

STEP 2: Cook up premium, original content. In addition to short-form content like blogs and product information, you need to create in-depth, highly useful content pieces your target market would be willing to sacrifice their contact information for. Things like white papers, webinars, ebooks, demo videos and templates that give your users the information they seek will help you to capture those leads.

STEP 3: Mix in some social media. Social networking sites are a great way to funnel leads to your website. Select social media channels that are relevant to your business (don’t forget about blogs!) and use them to funnel users to your optimized website and killer content.

STEP 4: Add a sprinkle of CTA (Call to Action). A call to action is what gets your website visitor to take the next step and actually download your delicious content. A CTA can be a button, image or text link that asks the user to take action (“download this ebook today!”) and directs people to a landing page (discussed more in step 5). CTAs are what help you convert website visitors into qualified leads. They can be located practically anywhere on your website and should be on your blogs, social media pages and your content pieces.

STEP 5: Top it off with some landing pages. Now it’s time for the conversion. Your potential customers have found you, either through an organic Google search or on a social media channel, you’ve interested and enticed them with your incredible content, they’ve clicked on a call to action button and ta da! They arrive at a landing page, which should be specifically designed to 1) fulfill the call to action and 2) capture their information. You need a landing page for each CTA. The page should tell the user why they are there (to download an ebook, template, etc.) and include a form that asks for a name, email address, phone number, etc.
Once they’ve completed the form – BAM! You just got a lead. Bon Appétit!

About the Author

Natalie McCatty is a content writer for Solutions 8, Arizona’s fastest growing internet marketing firm offering search engine marketing, video production, web design, social media and more. Follow her on Twitter @nmccatty8 or read more of her work on the Sol8 blog.