Fundamentals of online lead generation

This blog post discusses the fundamentals of online lead generation every marketeer should be aware of.

Generating leads - both high in quantity and quality - is a marketeer's most important objective.   Therefore it is crucial to understand the mechanics behind it.  

Let's walk through the steps of lead generation process: 

• A visitor discovers your business through one of your marketing channels: social media, blog, website, etc.
• Call-to-action: A call-to-action (CTA) is either text, an image or a button that links directly to a landing page so people can take some sort of action
• Landing page: A landing page, unlike normal website pages, is a specialized page that contains information about one particular offer, and a form to download that offer.
• Offer:  An offer is a piece of content that is perceived high in value. Offers include ebooks, whitepapers, free consultations, coupons and product demonstrations.
• Form: You can’t capture leads without forms. Forms will collect contact information from a visitor in exchange for an offer.

Of course, much more is needed to make your campaign stand out.  

How to build those fundamentals and make them stand out

Your four fundamentals are all revolving around the central piece that makes your offer. When you have determined an awesome offer, then creating a CTA, a landing page and a form are important, but much easier. 

But how to define which kind of offer will stand out?

•  Define what your audience is fond of. This might require some testing and analyzing, but what you'll get out of it will be worth it!
• Depending on what kind of quality of leads you want, focus on the topics that interest your customers at that particular stage of their journey. 
• Choose wisely the form of your offer. 

What kind of support can you choose? 

1. White papers

White papers are long pieces of content that elaborate one concept. It is particularly adapted when you know that it is worth going deeper in a subject on paper. Particularly if you know that this file can be reused and that your audience can come back to it to search for informations, or for a guidance...

2. Webinars

Webinars are online seminars. You can invite a guest to talk or do it yourself. This type of content has two interesting aspects : you can have a visual support to the talk, and you have attendees with whom you can interact. Webinars can be seen like an event, so the vibe is also different. Record it and make it available to your audience so that they can watch it in replay.

3. Podcasts

Podcasts are emerging more and more in the business world. Similar to the radio, this support is easy to listen to while multitasking. This is a force that you cannot neglect. If your target is very busy, it can be a good way to propose them longer content that they can still follow.

4. Calculators

Calculators are there to evaluate your audience on one particular subject. This way, they can relate to your service or subject and see exactly what they need to improve. It is also a great way to suggest them a solution that you can bring to them.

5. Comparators

Comparators are great to help your target audience to make a choice. By doing the research and proposing the criteria of choice, you give them a basis and offer your advice on it. Being part of the decision process is an interesting place to be because the people are on the edge of buying, so you have more chances that the relationship will end with a purchase. 

Now that you have the fundamentals of online lead generation...

...you need to make them accessible to your target audience.  Read our blog on Facebook lead generation for more information on how to do it on this platform.

Want to learn more, then please download our ebook "17 lead generation tips, tricks and idea's for Marketeers".   

The tips in this ebook will cover each of these elements so that each component is fully optimized to help you generate the most leads for your business.