It’s strange to think of something like “lead generation” as a trend – it’s always been “in fashion.” But I’m definitely seeing a rise in interest for content’s role in lead generation even with my small business clients. They’re increasingly saying “traffic’s great – but I need this content to help me get leads.” And this mindset is taking over the market:
- Two-thirds of B2Cs cite lead gen as an organizational goal for their content
- More than three-quarters of B2Bs say lead generation is a top priority
- Investment in Brafton’s options for hosted conversion landing pages has risen x percent in the past quarter alone
How content can work for 27% more online conversions
To quote our CMO Allen Schweitzer, “In 2015, Brafton’s own content-centered inbound efforts trumped – by far – our outbound efforts, in terms of developing sales pipeline and revenue.”
If it works for us, we know it can work for clients – and we also know content is what discerning web shoppers want. You need to take them through the full journey, top, middle to bottom, with content. I call it a Tofu, Mofu, Lofu content approach.
Take people along the buying cycle with content and you’ll build more leads AND convert them into customers, as a finance client of ours proves. We worked with them to build audience personas and question mapping that teased out why people started initial web searches and what made them ultimately decide on our client above its competitors. This led to a strategy that includes:
- Consultative blogs that answer high-level and broadly focused questions
- Stat-heavy infographics that make a case for different services
- Demographically targeted emails. (Yes, we consider emails inbound – as do some of our friends at Hubspot, who put out an interesting post on this debate.)
Like the content, the results range from Tofu, Mofu to Lofu… all culminating in 27% more web conversions.
- 12% more organic traffic, with Brafton targeted keywords trending upward (over 10% of target keywords went from invisible to Page 1)
- 13% increase in sessions
- 34% increase in new users
- 27% increase in onsite purchases
One strategy for fast wins in content for lead gen: Thank You’s
The biggest “missed opportunity” for lead generation is creating thoughtful or dynamic thank you page’s for different web behaviors. You want to encourage web visitors to turn into leads, or get customers to purchase again. Throwaway content on a thank you page presumes the work is done, but this is where you should be highly creative to close the deal.
For Tofu conversions (like an eBook download):
- Put related assets on the thank you page
- Include a quote from a customer who used a service similar to the one described
- Make sure to state that your team can answer any questions about the content
For Mofu conversions (like a newsletter sign up or event registration):
- Give viewers multiple ways to reach to reach your team online and off
- Make the segway between the advice you offer and customers who have received similar services
- Offer a free consultation or trial
For Lofu conversions (like a demo request or checkout)
- Provide a way to connect with a representative offline asap, or give a timeline when the lead can expect to hear from you
- Show related products, tools, resources or case studies that will get the lead to continue self-educating on your offerings
Sneak preview – fill out a demo request form on Brafton.com, and all this could be yours:
And always take the opportunity to show some personality. Be memorable on a Thank You page, and the customer will look forward to the next interaction!
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