The process through which companies seek out new clients has been irrevocably altered. The cold call directory, print advertising, and exhibition booth remain but do not hold the same clout that they used to because every credible client now begins its quest on the Internet before ever speaking with a salesman.

Companies that realize this reality and allocate funds to digital marketing programs can develop a pipeline that works predictably, scales easily, and provides qualified leads without the vagaries of old-school prospecting.

What Digital Lead Generation Actually Means

There seems to be some misunderstanding about how to do proper digital lead generation apart from putting up some social media ads and waiting for the leads to come in.

Proper digital lead generation is a holistic process that entails the integration of several key elements such as outbound marketing, content strategy, advertising, search optimization, and nurturing. The process ensures that your company is continuously reaching out to, engaging with, and qualifying prospective clients through a combination of these strategies.

Each of these aspects works together. Content helps you establish your authority. Search helps you capture active demand. Paid marketing helps you reach your exact audience. Outbound marketing helps you initiate contact. Nurturing helps you stay relevant to your prospects until they are ready to make a purchase. The end product is a steady stream of leads rather than a stream that relies on referrals, good market conditions, or the motivation levels of your exhausted sales force.

The Core Channels of Effective Digital Lead Generation

Knowing which digital channels work best for your particular type of business will enable you to effectively prioritize how you should spend your budget.

• SEO - The companies that rank well for the keywords their target customers are using attract highly qualified traffic that converts in higher percentages compared to the leads from any other digital channel. SEO is one of those investments whose value grows and grows over time as it does not become more expensive for better results.

• Pay Per Click Advertising - Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads can place your business in front of the right audience right when they are looking for services or products you offer. With quick wins and tangible results to show, PPC is a tool that cannot be underestimated.

• Outreach and Social Selling on LinkedIn - If you represent a B2B company, you can consider LinkedIn to be your direct link to key players in just about any industry and region. An approach that combines connecting, messaging and valuable content will bring conversations you wouldn’t have through organic posting.

• Email Marketing and Nurture Campaigns - When used correctly, email marketing is one of the best channels for generating leads online because its effectiveness increases tenfold when it’s personalized and offers something of value to the recipient instead of a generic mass email that gets instantly dismissed.

• Content Marketing - Blog posts, case studies, white papers, video content, and downloadables are used to reach out to people who are currently searching for solutions within your industry. If you provide information that actually helps people, you build your credibility and become an obvious option when they’re ready to buy.

• Retargeting Campaigns - Most people who visit your site don’t convert to a customer on the spot, but retargeting campaigns ensure that your company is seen by those same people wherever they go online.

Why Most Digital Lead Generation Efforts Underperform

Companies spend money on digital lead generation, don’t get the desired results, and write off the medium as being ineffective for their industry. This is never the case, and the truth lies in strategy rather than the medium itself.

Consistency is the key to success in digital lead generation campaigns, but businesses often fail to maintain it, and their efforts suffer for it. Running campaigns for eight weeks, taking a break, changing course, and then starting again is not going to produce positive results.

Lack of target specificity means wasted spending and a false sense that digital marketing channels aren’t effective at all because companies are using them to reach broadly defined audiences with messages that appeal to no one.

Without nurturing strategies, most potential returns are lost through the campaign. Not all prospective customers are ready to purchase your product or service, and companies not nurturing them will lose them to competition.

Build a Digital Pipeline That Delivers Every Month

The companies that keep on succeeding in their respective industries are not necessarily those with the most innovative product or the most popular brand. It is those with the most professionally managed digital lead generation process that brings in qualified leads month after month, no matter how much referral traffic or how harsh the market may be.

At Incinque Business Solutions, we can help you succeed in building genuine visibility, gaining qualified leads, and growing your revenue consistently by offering you a results-oriented and strategy-led digital lead generation solution.