Today, marketing is about getting quality information to the right people, at the right time, in the right place. It is more about education and offering value than it is flashy graphics or catchy slogans. In order to use your B2B marketing strategy as a lead generation system, you need to know who your ideal customer is, where he/she hangs out online and how he/she likes to interact with digital content.
Any B2B lead generation system needs to start with an ideal customer profile in mind.
An ideal customer profile details the demographics of your target audience in terms of geographical location, job title, industry, company size, etc. By having a clear understanding of the exact type of person you are targeting, it is much easier to create quality marketing content that will speak to his or her needs. For example, are you targeting C-level executives or junior IT personnel? Do you want to talk to the fast-paced New York businessman or the small-town, southern gentleman? Knowing the difference will affect the length of your content, your tone of voice and your conceptual complexity.
The next steps in developing your lead generation system are creating your content and then getting that targeted content to your ideal prospects. There are many ways to do this; obviously, buying lists and executing email marketing campaigns can work. You should also push all of your marketing content through your company website and blog as well as the various social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+).
However, don’t only post your content to your own social media profiles. You can significantly increase your reach by sharing content in relevant “groups” or “circles”, making sure you are using hashtags when appropriate and ‘tagging’ your content with keywords. Another strategy most B2B companies forget about is guest-blogging. By asking to publish an article for an industry-leading blog, you gain the chance to be positioned as an expert, which will inspire trust and ultimately, generate leads.
This is a brief overview of using content marketing as a lead generation system. If you would like more detailed content, you can download our new white paper, called The New Rules for B2B Sales & Marketing in 2013. To learn more about the lead generation and content marketing services we provide, you can visit our services page.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
