B2B Lead Generation: Effective Tactics to Capture Quality Leads

B2B lead generation is tough, that’s something every experienced marketer knows. In fact, 61% of B2B marketers think that generating high-quality leads is one of their biggest challenges.

And yet, lead generation is the backbone of a good B2B marketing strategy.

It all begins with leads. Without them, there are no customers, no revenue – nothing. So, the obvious question is: How do you get leads? Or, better yet, how do you get quality leads?

Here are 6 effective ways to help you generate qualified B2B leads.

1. Build Visibility with Content Marketing

While we agree with the saying “Content is king” 100%, we believe it is especially true when it comes to B2B marketing. See, B2B buyers value useful information that could help them do their jobs more efficiently or even advance their careers.

By creating high-quality, relevant content, you’ll be able to establish yourself as an expert in your field, and build credibility with your target audience at the very start of the buyer’s journey. In general, the B2B audience prefers educational content such as detailed ebooks, research-backed guides, white papers with in-depth insights, etc.

Don’t forget to come up with a content promotion strategy in order to increase the effectiveness of your content and reach a larger number of prospects.

2. Optimize Your Content for SEO

Considering the fact that over 70% of B2B researchers admit that they start their buying process with a generic search, it is safe to say that SEO is one of the few sustainable ways for B2B companies to build an audience, generate leads, and, ultimately, close customers.

Having in mind that the benefits of SEO increase over time, it’s one of the few marketing strategies that actually become more effective with time. While tactics such as paid search require you to spend money in order to continue generating leads and sales, with SEO, the resources you put in only add up over time ensuring a great return-on-investment.

Of course, SEO tactics such as producing great content and building links require investing a substantial amount of time, effort, and maybe even a separate budget, but the great upside of SEO is that it will help you create and maintain an advantage over your competitors.

If you decide to go down this road, make sure to use proper tools that will help you step up your SEO game.

3. Leverage the Power of Social Media

Considering the fact that more and more B2B buyers tend to use social media to research and consult before making a final decision, establishing a strong social media presence is highly important.

Social media has the potential to generate leads for your B2B business while being cost-effective. Here are a few tips for more effective social media lead generation for B2B:

• Identify which networks your target customers are using
• Treat each social platform differently
• Build engagement with your content
• Use action words in your messaging
• Be consistent.

However, venturing into the world of social media marketing requires time and patience which you, as a B2B business owner, probably don’t have. Luckily, if all this sounds overwhelming, you can always hire a professional social media agency that will take care of all things related to social media marketing and let you do what you know best, to run your business.

4. Use LinkedIn to Target Quality Leads

For many B2B companies, LinkedIn is the most effective social platform because of its professional focus, and because it allows you to segment audiences by job title, company name, location, interest, and expertise. In fact, lead generation from LinkedIn was successful for 65% of B2B companies.

Here are some of the ways you can use LinkedIn to attract quality leads:

• Create a profile that emphasizes your expertise and offering
• Connect with prospects and share a lead magnet or your content
• Position yourself as an expert authority in group discussions.
• Use LinkedIn’s paid ads (sponsored posts) to target a specific audience.

To make the most of LinkedIn, consider using an effective automation tool. Tools like LinkedHelper offer features like LinkedIn bulk connection and LinkedIn emails extractor to help you achieve your lead generation goals faster.

5. Get Referrals from Happy Customers

If you are lucky enough to get a steady stream of recommendations coming your way, your results are going to explode! Word-of-mouth marketing is the best and cheapest marketing out there, so why not take advantage of it?

Consider offering exclusive content and/or set up a referral program to encourage your customers to tell their colleagues and friends about your product or service. Finally, when you have one-to-one interactions with your customers, don’t forget to ask if they know anybody who could benefit from your product/service. By making sure you offer post-sale customer care, you will be able to get many qualified leads through customer referrals.

6. Use Review Sites to Increase Your Credibility

Make sure to get as many positive reviews on review sites like TrustRadius and G2Crowd. This will increase your chances of being noticed by prospective customers who are looking for products/services similar to yours.

Moreover, review sites usually have high domain authorities, so getting reviewed and listed on them could help you get discovered in organic search.

Ask your customers to post positive reviews and monitor these review sites regularly to make sure you respond to all comments. This will help build trust and confidence with your prospects.

Final Words

When it comes to attracting quality B2B leads, it’s all about delivering a relevant experience to your target customers. By combining different tactics like SEO, blogging, and social media marketing you’ll be able to create an effective approach to generating quality leads and grow your brand.

lead generation concept -DepositPhotos