First 2 of a 4 part series discussing the four steps of inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing is now the most effective marketing method for doing business online. Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, buying email lists, and praying for leads, inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that brings the right people toward your company and product.
So you’ve brought the right traffic to your site through blogs, SEO, social publishing, and other tips we discussed last week. Great! Now, you need to convert those visitors into leads by getting their contact information. You need a way to continue your communication with these potential customers, ideally with an email address. Contact information is the most valuable thing you can have as an online marketer. In order to convince visitors to offer that information, you need to offer them something in return! This trade-off comes in the form of content, like whitepapers, tip sheets, eBooks, or any information that would be interesting and valuable to potential customers.
There are a few different tools you can use to convert visitors into leads. Try out a few to see what works for your company:
FORMS
Make an easy to ready form that asks visitors to submit their information. Make sure the process is as easy as possible. Try not to appear too pushy, and inform the visitor what they are signing up for. Perhaps promise to send them a video or blog lesson if they fill out the form.
CALLS-TO-ACTION
Calls-to-action are buttons or links that encourage your visitors to take action, like “Attend a Webinar,” or “Download a Lesson.” Your calls-to-action need to be enticing and offer something a visitor would actually want, or it won’t generate leads. The link should be brief, with no more than five words, and action-oriented, beginning with verbs like “Download” or “Register.”
LANDING PAGES
After a visitor clicks on a call-to-action, it should take them to a landing page. This is where the action is fulfilled and where the visitor submits information that the sales team can use to begin a conversation. Again, keeping this form succinct and easy-to-follow is key to make sure the visitor actually enters their information. Once a visitor fills out a form on a landing page, they become a contact.
CONTACTS
As you gain leads, keep track of them in a centralized marketing database. There are many options when it comes to this. Having all your data in one place helps you make sense out of every interaction you’ve had your contacts. You can track if you communicated through email, landing page, social media, or otherwise, plus other details you’ve collected, like location, job title, and more. Using this information you can figure out how to optimize future interactions to more effectively turn those leads into dollars.
Now that you’ve turned visitors into leads and obtained their contact information, stay tuned for part 3 to close those sales!! Head to the GiraffeBuilder blog next Friday for a continued discussion on inbound marketing. If you need assistance with your inbound marketing, please contact us for SEO, social media, web design, and more.
