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For B2B Leads, Launch a Consistent Content Marketing Program
Content marketing is a great source of B2B leads. You just have to do it right. Here are some of the best ways to generate valuable leads through content marketing—I have sorted these by time-to- create/results—with the ones that take the least time and product the best results first.
Blog. A blog, as long as you do it right, is more likely to appear in search results than any other form of content—with the exception of media releases (see below). In order to dominate search engine results, improve your stature in the industry, and gain recognition from those who matter, you need a blog. It’s just that simple.
Media Releases (writing and distributing online). There is a learning curve to writing a good media release, but the payoff is big. They will do everything blog posts can do and a whole lot more—including driving high value backlinks to your site, boosting credibility and solidifying your brand with almost no effort. One of the downsides is that there is a fee for online distribution. However the fee varies widely (with very little difference in results). So spend a little time finding a service that will distribute your release for $100 or less.
Videos. There’s no question that videos are the content with the most viral potential and popular appeal. YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine (and LinkedIn isn’t far behind). If you neglect videos, you are neglecting one of the largest sources of lead-generating content available.
Host a webinar. Find a topic that will appeal to your marketing segment, and plan a webinar on the topic. Webinars aren’t for selling your product. They are for informing your audience about something that they are already interested in. A webinar is a relatively low-cost way to get your message in front of a huge audience, and attract a small number of high value leads.
Publish research reports. They can be a good source of lead generation. This is going to take a lot of time, though and you will need access to experts whose time is extremely valuable. An alternative would be to find an existing report in the public domain and customize it.
All of these content marketing techniques work together. For example, you can publish some of the
results of a research report on your blog. You can publish a video extract from your webinar. You can announce your webinar on your blog. The bottom line is that more B2Bs are using content marketing than ever before. It is one of the most effective forms of marketing.
Much of the above is from an excellent Crazy Egg article on lead generation. Read additional effective ways to generate leads in subsequent blog posts here. For a no cost discussion of your situation and the volume of quality traffic we can drive to your website via organic search call 630-363-8081 or email jeanna@smartprcommunications.com.
