How to start an online marketing campaign that will attract the right leads
When we mention the words “marketing campaign” you might start hearing the theme song from the Carlton Draught beer commercial “This is an ad, a very big ad” start to ring in your ears. But generating quantitative leads doesn’t mean you need to have a catchy jingle, or a large advertising budget in order to build a highly successful campaign. What is important to the success of any lead generation initiative and what helps to determine the type in which you implement is knowing who you are targeting along with what stage they are in the buying cycle.
Once clear on these two areas you can begin to look at the elements required to put together a targeted campaign that will not only improve the amount of leads, but also the quality (higher conversion rates).
As we go through and combine each component you will begin to see why having an audience in mind and an idea of their buying stage is important to the outcome and success of the campaign.
First things first “The offer”. I think this is where a lot of campaigns fall short and the line between success and failure are blurred if the audience and buying stage haven’t been considered. While your offer may succeed in increasing traffic to your website and obtaining details, this is only one half of the story. How many of these potentials are converting?
The reason that offers have the ability to generate leads that ultimately aren’t converting is due to the buying cycle stage in which the individual is currently at when they come across the offer. An offer that is attractive yet far removed from your product or service gains to attract an audience that wasn’t yet within the buying cycle. While the offer can bring attention to your product and services and draw people into your buying funnel, a majority of these leads are only there due to the attraction of the offer. Leads always need to be followed up and nurtured, but why waste time on those that have no real interest in the core value of your business.
So, what is the advantage of considering the stage of the lead in a buying cycle when it comes to developing an offer?
By considering the buying stage you begin to look at an audience that is already interested in your product or service, this means you will already be focusing on your target audience. These people may be in the process of, or have already completed some form of research and gathered information about your product or service. Having an offer that is relevant to your audience and related to your business may be considered valuable and become the deciding factor between you and a competitor, resulting in great leads that value what you do and can be easily converted.
While campaigns are used to build and strengthen brand awareness, there is always an action we want our audience to take for the results we desire. With a lead campaign the desired result isn’t just to have prospects come to your website as a visitor, you want them to take action. Which is why Specific ‘call to actions’ are another crucial part when putting together a campaign.
‘Call to actions’ are required in order to drive the audience to your offers. You also want prospects to make a connection, see the value and receive direction as to exactly how to obtain it. You may be offering a free trial period, a free download or asking them to sign up for free webinars and events, by having clear thought out ‘call to actions’ you can help your leads and motivate them to act.
