5 Lead Generation Tips for Small Business

With many customers active online, marketers have to come up with effective ways to attract prospects online, turn them to leads, and convert them into buyers. But there are many obstacles to these strategies, such as increased competition, customer reviews on social media, and the evolution of customer behaviors when interacting with ads.

Here are 5 tips to help you generate quality leads.

1. Use Strategically Placed CTAs

The best way to leverage CTAs (Call To Action) in lead generation is to keep them above the fold and directly in front of the customers, across all screen sizes, and focus on one CTA per page. Placing your call to action above the fold and in plain sight will generate higher conversion rates because all your visitors will see the offer. If a visitor is required to scroll down the page before they see the offer, your conversion rates will be comparatively low.

Don’t hide your CTAs at the end of long-form content because this will reduce the number of people who see the offer. Make sure customers won’t miss your offer even if they’re viewing on a desktop monitor or the small mobile screen.

2. Be Responsive on Social Media

Today, social media is the customer service go-to medium when queries come up. Customers expect businesses to provide customer service through social media and they want fast answers to their questions.

Actively monitor your social media and reply to all questions; this will help you build strong relationships from the onset, which in turn will make customers trust you. This will lead to more prospects converting to leads because they’re comfortable requesting more information on products or services you offer.

3. Create Landing Pages that Attract Social Shares

Many marketers underestimate the power of sharing in lead generation. Most social shares focus on blog content, but you can leverage this power to drive more traffic to your landing page and generate more leads.

Be creative and leverage the same power of social sharing to drive more traffic to your offers. Offer compelling rewards and watch your landing pages get increased traffic and leads.

4. Highlight Social Proof

Showcasing social proof next to your CTAs will help generate more consumer trust, thus boosting your conversion rates. These third-party opinions help improve conversions because customers turn to one another to get approval opinions.

Placing reviews, testimonials and even awards and recognition near your CTAs will encourage visitors to move forward, converting them into leads for your brand.

5. Publish Video Content

Video content is one of the most effective forms of content. Customers love it because they can consume it on the go and it requires little effort. And marketers love it because they can publish it with little cost and promote it across several channels.

Create videos that explain and entertain too, and focus on a unique angle to get results. Share different video angles and content concepts on social media to see what your audience responds well to.

Combating Fake Followers In Influencer Marketing

Today’s digital marketing environment is one that has seen influencers pave the way for brands to make money through the appeal of mass social media followings. With influencer marketing becoming a major part of brand sales and growth, the digital space has also seen the rise of bad practices by influencers who take advantage of the new digital landscape by purchasing fake followers.

This means that many brands are building business relationships with influencers who are not actually creating authentic relationships with their followers.

Fortunately, there are companies out there who are aware of the bad practices going on in the digital landscape, and they are determined to combat them. Four such examples are Unilever, Samsung, eBay, and Diageo, who are committed to creating meaningful and positive experiences for the people buying their products. This includes being transparent about who they partner with while refusing to partner with influencers who participate in bad practices and fraudulent activity such as purchasing followers.

All three companies have publicly made a commitment to combat influencers who purchase fake followers, promising to work with partners who give consumers a voice.

“At Unilever, we believe influencers are an important way to reach consumers and grow our brands. Their power comes from a deep, authentic and direct connection with people, but certain practices like buying followers can easily undermine these relationships,” Keith Weed, chief marketing officer at Unilever, said at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

eBay, Samsung, and Diageo reflected this sentiment during a panel session at the festival.

“What I want to do is give our sellers a voice, rather than influencers who have a following and are willing to write a post. It should be from people who are authentic and genuine. I am going to try and shift our influencer spend to that class of influencers, they are specific to eBay and authentic and their stories will be helpful to buyers,” said vice-president and chief marketing officer of eBay EMEA, Godert van Dedem.

Chief marketing officer of Samsung Electronics America, Marc Mathieu, stated at the panel that Samsung wants to tell a story about creators. Diageo also has a unique approach, which is to focus on influencers – but only selectively.

Influencer marketing is changing. It’s no longer about signing the biggest influencers and using them to sell or endorse a product. Influencer marketing is shifting towards a focus that builds relationships with consumers by working with influencers who truly care about a brand and its customers. It’s about partnering with influencers who share common interests that resonate with people on a deeper level than just purchasing a product.

Brands are now determined to work with influencers who are authentic and have an engaging audience. This means working with influencers who have an audience that actually engages. Influencers who purchase followers just to increase their following don’t have this type of engagement – and it’s obvious.

Consumers and brands alike are starting to be able to tell the difference between authentic influencers and influencers who are in it for the money. This is why many brands are now partnering with influencers who have authentic reach while distancing themselves from influencers who participate in fraudulent activities to gain followers.

It has been reported that 48 million of all active Twitter accounts (a whopping 15%) are automated accounts designed to look like real people. Facebook has also reported that there are roughly 60 million fake accounts, while in 2015 Instagram disclosed that the platform had up to 24 million fake bot accounts. These numbers are pretty staggering.

With the rising number of bot accounts appearing on various social media platforms, it is becoming more and more important for brands to rethink their influencer marketing strategies by starting to develop meaningful connections with consumers.

Edward Kitchingman, author of Influencer Marketing, a Journey, suggests changing the way brands partner with their influencers. Kitchingman states that brands should start off by disregarding the size of an influencer’s following, instead looking at the community itself and the engagement it produces. He also suggests focusing on how an influencer can creatively contribute to a brand while focusing on long-term growth and relationships.

Tips to Improve Your Social Media Visual Strategy

An important aspect of an effective Social media strategy is the visual impact it delivers. After all, what you see is what you get. It could be any product related information, a campaign or just a simple idea to be shared. Visual appeal can make or break your social media standing. If you are looking for Social media services to build a strong visual strategy online, here are some tips that may come in handy:

Understand image placement and colors

Plain black banners with content written on it may seem dull, but when used correctly, it delivers an impactful message. Best graphic designers use simple yet effective ways to create stunning visuals. Any strategy can only formulate when one has a sound understanding of colors. Designs with too many colors look good when there is a fashion sale, a carnival etc. But they may fall flat when used in case of a product launch. While black is associated with power, blue can be used in campaigns that want to bring out an element of trust. Similarly, social campaigns can use yellow, red and pink to bring out a clear message through their visuals and to improve social media marketing visually.

Create a balance

Another aspect to be kept in mind is maintaining an image to content ratio. If your visual strategy is the only image based, make sure the image says it all. The best graphic design is one that should be creative, well-researched and instant to understand. If you wish to add some text, logos, slogans, they need to be balanced with the images and graphics used. The image to content ratio, in short, should be in sync with the colors and patterns.

Organise the elements

A good visual social media strategy consists of the use of best social media tools, images, graphics, content, and placement. You should be clear why every single element is present and what its use is. Make sure there is contrast on the final visual be it in form of shapes or colors. This helps in looking at the visual with more clarity. Contracts further bring out impactful elements noticeably and ensure zero clutter on the visual.

A visual at times might have a lot of information. In such a case, contrasts, line management, and placement work best for your visual and increase its social media optimization.

Creative Font

Lastly, another element that can add the missing edge to your visual strategy is Font. The typography you select says a lot about your visual understanding. Words say it all when set in engaging fonts. A Graphic Design Company will always provide you with multiple options in all scenarios to best suit your social media visual strategy.