How Industry Leading Brands Use Content To Drive Lead Generation
Did you know that only 44% of B2B content marketers know what successful or effective content marketing looks like?
Let that sink in.
That means that 56% of content marketers are aimlessly creating content without any direction or end goal. This content is not generating traffic, leads, or sales.
So what does proper or effective content marketing look like?
For businesses that rely on quality leads, effective content marketing is a massive opportunity for growth. The right strategies and tactics can have your content working overtime for you.
That's why I'd like to share with you 3 of the primary ways industry-leading brands use content to drive lead generation.
Content Lead Generation Tip #1: Source-specific landing pages and CTAs
Content is as much about promotion and distribution as it is creation. So while you're busy getting your content out into the world, you'll be receiving traffic from many different sources.
Outbound activities, like content syndication and guest posting on websites with large audiences, are a big opportunity for site personalization.
According to CrazyEgg, landing pages with personalized content convert more than four times better than ones without.
Take a look below at how Groove greets their visitors with source specific messages and content. For a guest post on Copyblogger, Groove set up a landing page filled with targeted content for Copyblogger readers. It includes popular blog posts, testimonials, and a personalized message from Groove CEO Alex Turnbull at the bottom PLUS an exclusive offer only for Copyblogger readers.
It's one powerful example of how you can combine your content with source-specific tactics and drive lead generation.
A landing page building tool can help you get landing pages built and published quickly for all of the specific traffic being sent back to your website. It's an easy way to add personalization and audiences appreciate it (and are more likely to convert as a result).
Content Lead Generation Tip #2: Content upgrades
Content upgrades are bonuses attached to a piece of content to incentivize lead generation.
In exchange for lead information, readers could receive…
- Bonus ideas or tactics
- A downloadable infographic
- A worksheet or checklist
- A downloadable PDF for offline reading
- An audio readout of your blog article
- A free starter template
Supplementing your content with content upgrades ranks high as an effective lead generation tactic by many marketing pros. The great thing about content upgrades is that they're flexible and can be applied to almost any type of content.
Brian Dean of Backlinko is a big believer in content upgrades and is sure to include them in all of his blog posts.
In the example below, he includes an encapsulated call-to-action after the intro and lets his readers know that this post is 3,142 words long and can be downloaded in PDF format for easy reading.
Create a list of content upgrade ideas that you could insert into every blog post. Even something as simple as a PDF download can contribute to your lead generation efforts.
Content Lead Generation Tip #3: Inline CTAs
Continuing on with the theme of targeting your audience with content to generate leads, inline calls-to-action consistently rank as one of the most effective conversion tactics.
Why inline CTAs?
Inline CTAs convert much better than others because they directly relate to the content at hand. They're placed within a piece of content so as to mesh naturally with whatever topic you're touching on.
A blog post on "10 Instagram Best Practices", for example, could include a mention of your new eBook called "Instagram Images Done Right." After being primed with excellent Instagram tips, your reader is more likely to convert on an eBook that is related to the topic they've just read.
In the example blog post from EnchantingMarketing below, the author is elaborating on the most effective copywriting formulas.
After detailing a few of the formulas the author makes sure to insert a CTA for her book "How to Write Seductive Web Copy" for the reader to convert on. If the reader has read most of the post already and arrived here, they'd be much more eager to learn more writing skills.
Look for ways to insert relatable offers/content upgrades into your content for an instant spike in conversions. Remember that the more it relates to the content you're producing the more impact it will have.
Wrapping up
If you're one of the 56% of marketers out there aimlessly creating content without goals or measurable metrics, you need to stop and reassess your strategy.
The right content strategies, approached in the correct way, can effectively drive lead generation.
To recap these top three ways leading brands use content to drive lead generation, they were:
- Source specific landing pages
- Content upgrades
- Inline CTAs
What are some of the ways you use content to generate leads? What tactics do you deem the most effective? Share your thoughts with me below!