In the world of digital marketing, businesses value customer service. We've all had to read emails full of marketing pitches, so it's understandable that most potential customers have little time for cold calls and marketing material that doesn't meet their needs. This is why digital marketers focus on identifying potential customers.
A lead is someone who has shown an interest in your business. They may have interacted with your brand in some way, such as responding positively to a social media post. This increases the likelihood that they will engage in follow-up marketing efforts.
What is lead generation in digital marketing? It is the process of targeting those leads and generating their initial interest in a particular product or service. The overall goal of lead generation is to convert the prospect into a buyer and increase sales for your business.
Lead generation in digital marketing can happen through multiple channels, including email and social media. Prospects can be further defined by the following categories:
- Information Qualified Lead (IQL): A prospect who has provided information about their specific needs
- Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): Prospect engaged in the activities of your marketing team
- Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): A prospect who has expressed a desire to become a customer
Why is lead generation in digital marketing important?
Lead generation is an integral part of any digital marketing strategy. It is not enough to come up with a marketing campaign and launch it expecting positive results. As a digital marketer, part of your job is to narrow down a large group to a smaller subset of people who are more likely to become paying customers.
Businesses without an established lead generation strategy often resort to cold calling, which can damage their brand reputation. Think of it this way: if you keep getting promotional emails about a product you're not interested in, you're not going to rate that company's marketing efforts very highly.
Additionally, savvy online customers are afraid of blatant sales pitches. In most cases, they will be hesitant to commit to a company that seems more interested in their money than fixing their vulnerabilities. Reaching out to someone who has already expressed interest is a much more organic approach.
If your business is new to digital marketing lead generation, an outside consultant might be the answer. They do extensive research on your brand to help you identify quality leads that ultimately turn into actual sales.
What Is 360 Digital Marketing?
Are you curious about implementing 360 degree digital marketing for your campaigns? It's hard to find the perfect marketing strategy to reach as many potential customers as possible, but 360 Digital Marketing can offer a great solution.
Simply put, 360 Digital Marketing is an integrated campaign with targeted messaging across multiple channels. The main idea is to make sure your strategy doesn't leave big gaps that could cause you to miss leads or quality lead generation. Ideally, your customers will receive the same message at multiple touchpoints within a multi-channel marketing campaign.
What does a 360 digital marketing campaign contain?
A 360 degree digital marketing campaign can include the following elements:
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Posts
- Website Pages
- PPC (pay-per-click advertising)
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Outbound Email Campaigns
- Cultivating New Perspectives
To fully understand what each element of 360 digital marketing entails, let's dive into each element and discuss how they can help you reach new customers.
1. SEO: An estimated 93% of all online experiences begin with organic search. If your website doesn't use relevant keywords, your business may not appear at the top of these results and potential customers may have trouble finding it.
2. Content Marketing - This can include resources such as infographics, videos, guides, blog posts, and eBooks. These provide your customers with useful information, increase brand awareness and increase your leads.
3. Social media posts – Not only is social media useful for increasing brand loyalty, but it can also help your business reach very specific audiences. For example, LinkedIn can be used for a B2B audience, while Instagram can be a great way to promote lifestyle brands.
4. Website Pages - The key here is to use your web pages to showcase your product's features to appeal to specific types of customers, along with important information such as price. It's also important to make sure your website is mobile-friendly and has enough calls to action to generate leads.
5. PPC - This is a way to ensure your brand appears in a specific search query by paying for a display banner or paid advertisement. The advantage here is that you can define a very precise budget and target group.
6. CRM – Refers to the after-sales service you provide to your customers and is a means of ensuring a high level of customer retention and giving your customers the information they need to be successful.
7. Outbound Email Campaigns – A form of lead nurturing, email marketing allows you to send highly personalized emails to your customers, talking directly about their pain points and how your product can help solve these problems.
8. Nurture Inbound Leads - This is typically used in conjunction with the CRM to ensure your inbound leads are receiving consistent messaging prior to purchase.
By implementing a 360 degree digital marketing campaign, you can reach customers at key times in your business when they are actively looking for a solution to their problems.
White Clover Markets