Lead Generation – The Ultimate Guide for Small Business Owners

Lead generation is the process of capturing contact information and converting potential customers into paying clients. A customer may not be ready to make a decision when they first come across your business. But lead generation strategies allow you to nurture relationships with them by providing helpful content that aids in their search for information about what they’re looking for and encourages them to find out more about your services—even if it’s just an estimate or consultation at this point.   

Lead generation is an art form. It’s a marketing strategy that narrows down your potential client pool and ensures you’re spending the right amount of time on people who are genuinely interested in what your small business has to offer. Without digital lead generation, you could waste precious resources attracting leads that won’t help bring home any bacon. 

Online Lead generation does wonders for small businesses today thanks to its myriad of promotion channels like PPC advertising, Facebook marketing and email campaigns. These are proven techniques for reaching potential clients who might need help right away. As a small business owner, it’s quite natural to be overwhelmed by the enormous resources at hand. Our certified marketing experts brought together lead generation techniques that you can use to grow your business from scratch. Read on to learn about lead generation and how you should go about deploying it.       

Start by building a buyer persona of your ideal customer 

Before you venture into any of these marketing strategies, it’s highly important that you understand your target audience and create a buyer persona.     

Creating a buyer persona doesn’t have to be tedious. All you need is some time, an idea of your target customer and their needs, then you can start speaking their language.

A typical first step for creating personas is brainstorming the attributes that make up these fictional representations- namely what they look like (age & occupation), how they feel about certain things (their motivations). From there it’s just a matter of assigning names and personalities so key information sticks with you when you’re designing something user-friendly or appealing for our different types of customers.  

Be sure to study what industries your current clients focus on as well as who is responsible for green-lighting contracts with companies like yours. You should also consider where they are and how their demographics may affect what marketing campaigns work best for them.

Lead Generation through Facebook Ads 

Facebook is a great way for small businesses to market themselves at an affordable price. However, it can also be difficult if you don’t know how it works or what your budget will allow you to do with Facebook ads.

Imagine the feeling of being a small business owner trying to figure out how Facebook marketing works. You may find yourself riding high and then plummeting from heights you never imagined possible, but don’t lose hope. It is totally manageable and these proven Facebook ads we’ve compiled for you will help you go all the way.   

1) Think of your look-alike audience as a cold audience

When you start with Facebook ads, it’s important to target the right audience. If your targeting is too broad or if conversions are low, this could be because of a mismatch between who you’re reaching and what they want from your product/service.

One technique for targeting your audience is to create a look-alike audience. Though it may not be as measurable, you can target Facebook users that share similar traits or interests with the custom audiences you defined.

You can now create a lookalike audience by feeding your source audience. The Facebook algorithm will use this information to target your advertising to other people who are like these people. You can also select the size of your lookalike audience, meaning you could have an even more specific and targeted marketing campaign.

2) Come up with attention-grabbing ad creatives

What is the most important thing about marketing on social media? To make sure it stands out and catches people’s attention.

Marketing your Facebook page needs to be more than just posting a photo of what you ate for breakfast or even an interesting article that someone shared with you, if it doesn’t break up the pattern then how will anyone notice when they are swiping through their feed every day?

• You want to capture the attention of your audience, and you only get one chance. Make it count with an engaging intro that will make them stop scrolling for a second before continuing on.

• One of the most intriguing aspects of social media marketing is that you can use colour. Bright colours help attract users and keep their attention.

• Overlays can be a great tool for enhancing your videos. They help people follow the message in your video.

• It’s often easy to miss the details of a site and get lost in all the text. Using motion graphics can catch wandering eyes, making it easier for users to navigate around your website.

• Put your best foot forward by adding a CTA in your headlines so you can hook your audience right away. 

• Carousels and videos are a great way to put more information into one picture. Facebook favours these features over simple images so make sure you don’t forget them.

• Instead of posting a long, technical paragraph in your cover photo try to provide an engaging summary about who you are and what you do. This will help people understand the value that they can get from following your content. 

3) Turn testimonials into highly converting ads

Having a testimonial ad on Facebook is a powerful marketing strategy to share your small business success. These posts act as social proof of the worth and quality of your service, giving people more confidence in trying it out themselves. The study shows what we already know, that testimonials are a great way to grow revenue. Not only do they give potential customers the assurance needed for purchase decisions but also 92% of people will check them before buying from you.

Here are a few reasons why you should use testimonials in your Facebook ads:

• A good way to improve conversion rates is by having a higher number of reviews.

• Trust is the foundation of a successful relationship, and positive reviews help build that trust.

• Testimonials can help drive sales from individual customers.

• Your testimonials should be from happy, satisfied customers who would recommend your brand to others.

4) Include subtitles in your Facebook ads

Video testimonials on Facebook are not just good, they’re great. But to make your video content even better – and more engaging for the viewer- you need subtitles!

We all know that swiping through social media is an involuntary action. By including subtitles you can let your audience watch videos while in transit or at work without the risk of causing disruption to anyone around them. The majority of people who use social media videos can’t hear what’s being said in them and will skip your ad if they don’t know what it’s about. But with captions for those who need visual guidance while watching video content online, that won’t be an issue anymore.

The auto-generated subtitles on Facebook stories and live streams are a great way to engage with your customers. If someone is interested in watching your story, but they can’t hear the audio or are not in a situation to turn up the volume, then it’s nice that we have these auto-generated subtitles for them.

One of the best ways to make your video content strategy more effective is by using translated subtitles. This way, you can target audiences from different cultures that speak a variety of languages and simultaneously reach a wider audience base without compromising quality.

Pro Tip: 

If you decide to add subtitles then make sure to provide clear instructions by using text overlays as well – this way everyone will have access to the information you want them to share without any hassle at all.

5) Targeting FB groups with your Ad

So you’ve been told Facebook doesn’t allow ads to be targeted specifically within different groups? That’s just not true. Just imagine the amount of time and money small businesses can save by targeting Facebook groups in their specific niche. 

Let’s break down the step-by-step process on how to showcase your ad to the right audience, at the right time in Facebook groups for improved engagement and conversion. 

1. First up, publish your ad post on your Facebook page and hide it. To hide the post from the timeline, you will have to go into the “Edit Post” page and then click on “Hide.”
2. Now you should share this post with the groups you want to target. However Facebook will only let you share from your personal account, so be sure that is what you are doing before posting. 
3. Try to make things more engaging by replying to their comments and answering all the questions immediately. 
4. Now create a custom audience using the data gathered from the post. Targeting a custom group of people who have interacted with your post in a group can be much more effective than casting a wide net that randomly targets everyone on Facebook.

6) Build a buyer journey for your audience

This is like a first date. You wouldn’t kiss your best friend on the cheek upon meeting them, but you might do that with someone new for some reason? Likewise, it’s not always healthy to give an over-eager welcome at every turn. Customers want to feel special and cared about as they make their way through your journey of products or services; don’t be afraid to show affection – just wait until later in this ‘relationship’ before doing so. 

Typically, marketing on social media should be a balance of information and engagement. When targeting cold audiences with no knowledge about your products or services, it’s best to have posts that are more informative in nature rather than direct sales-oriented. Cold audiences would only feel comfortable ordering after they gain familiarity with you as an organization.

If you’re in the first stage of contact with potential customers, there are a few ways to make your company stand out. For starters, send them an engaging lead magnet that provides value and educates them about what they can expect from working with your brand. 

Once you’ve established a connection with them, it’s the perfect time to let them know about your business. Make sure you tell them about how awesome Facebook and other social media are for getting in touch! It would be great if you could encourage visitors that come through from here to visit your Facebook page or other sites- we’d love a chance at telling people more of what makes us so special.

Finally, you will have customers who are on the fence about making a purchase, but you have enough knowledge of their business and can give them that push they need. Send more product videos with images to show a clear call-to-action for those who may be interested in what your company offers. 

Running Google Ads on a budget   

In the age of Google, small businesses must fight to be noticed. A major hurdle in their marketing strategy is keyword ranking – with daily fluctuations and no clear answers about why your site isn’t getting clicks, it can feel like an uphill battle for those just starting out online.

If you are not getting enough traffic from customers that come directly through google, then consider a pay-per-click service like AdWords. The platform lets advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their business and target specific audiences with ad campaigns by setting bids against competitors in order of relevance.        

Google Ads are the perfect way to get your business in front of a targeted audience who will be more inclined to engage with you. This powerful advertising platform provides everything you need for success: targeting, reporting and budgeting tools that make it easy even for beginners. 

1) Identify your Google ads campaign goals

Before you embark on a PPC campaign, it’s important to ask yourself some questions. What is the purpose of your campaign? Who do you want leads from; potential business partners or customers? Particular objectives may include:

• Email sign ups
• Basic lead generation
• Member registrations
• Appointment bookings 

Determining your goal will help you choose the best keywords to activate ads for a more specific customer base. Start by creating an ad group, which is helpful in analyzing and specifying what words attract your clients. Give it pertinent information such as name, URL and location before using the Google Ads’ Keyword Planner Tool to find out potential word combinations that have high search volumes but low competition levels. 

2) Keep testing and experimenting

There is no set answer when it comes to the perfect keywords. It will take trial and error, but with Google Ads you can test different variations of your ad copy before making any final decisions on which ads are successful. The great thing about this platform is that every variation has a cost associated with it so if one doesn’t work as well as expected then there isn’t too much lost in terms of money spent.

If you want to ensure the safety of your business, it is recommended that after a new campaign goes live, you maintain this status for at least two weeks. This will help make sure all efforts are being put in place and there aren’t any areas overlooked or poorly executed. It also helps establish an optimal budget so there won’t be confusion on how much should be spent each time ads need to run again.

3) Effective lead capturing

Creating a successful Google Ads campaign that actually generates leads to your site following PPC links is no small feat. Now it’s time to convert prospective searchers into leads and one way of doing this is by asking visitors for an online form with minimal information about themselves when they visit your website.

Lead conversion is a process that should be streamlined from start to finish, including the tone of voice used. Once you’ve started collecting lead capture data like contact information and other relevant details about your potential clients, appoint someone who will follow up with them so they stay interested in what you have to offer as an investment for their own business needs. Keep following up by making phone calls or sending emails depending on which kind of contact info was collected at first—but don’t forget: nurture those leads. 

4) Keeping tabs on your campaign budget

Businesses need to invest in their future success. To do this, businesses should allocate what they can afford on PPC (pay per click). A web searcher’s bid is the highest amount you are willing to pay for a search result from that particular person and many factors go into calculating it such as your competition’s bids or how much traffic you may receive. Keyword research results and chosen search terms’ popularity are important considerations when choosing a marketing budget. The “average spend” per client or web transaction can help determine the cost of each campaign. 

Remember, for a new campaign, you may not have much of the above metrics at first. In consideration of that, prepare figures based on reasonable assumptions. Once it becomes apparent what has worked and what hasn’t in your content strategy for this particular business vertical or region, adjust bids accordingly to maximize success.

5) Location-based targeting for better control

Adding a location to your business will narrow down the search and give you a specific audience. For example, if I am looking for an Acupuncturist in Liverpool who offers discounted rates on Wednesdays-Fridays, Google offers Enhanced Campaigns where customers with similar interests can be targeted by postcode. Discover how Google’s Enhanced Campaigns can help you target local customers for your business. Think about all the searches that are specific to this area- think of a service-based business in your locality or a restaurant located in the area. The opportunities are endless with enhanced campaigns – and they’re simple too.

When it comes to PPC, the goal is always about getting as many clicks for your investment. It’s wise that you focus on smaller areas first and then expand once success starts becoming more of a reality. At the same time, when people start reaching out with questions or inquiries about what you have going on in terms of product or service offerings, you should be ready to respond right away without making them wait any longer than necessary.

Email marketing strategy for your small business 

Email marketing is a simple way for small business owners to keep in contact with their customers, and it can be ridiculously effective. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in — emailing your customer base will help foster better relationships and build stronger brands which leads to improved lead generation for your business. 

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of online marketing out there; it can help your small business succeed. It’s been cited as having a 4400% ROI! And that’s not just limited to the big players – even those on tight budgets have seen great success with email marketing in their own way, too. So let’s look at how small business owners can use this strategy to their advantage.

1) Start by building your list

You need to have a signup form before you can start sending out emails, but be sure that the contact list includes all of your social media and website channels. Include text prominently on the page explaining what people are signing up for when they give their email address so there is no confusion about how often or at which point in time someone will be contacted by you with more information.

There are some precautions that need to be taken while setting up an email subscription form so as not to scare people away and keep them from signing up for future mailings. Here’s what you should do: 

1. 1. • Make sure it doesn’t sound too spammy
      • Use personalized subject lines where appropriate
      • Include privacy information prominently on the page (letting visitors know they will never receive unsolicited emails)
      • Allow unsubscribing by clicking a link at any time
      • Provide options for managing personal preferences such as how often they would like updates about product changes made available through e-mailing campaigns 

The EU is constantly coming up with new laws that keep us on our toes. Be mindful of the GDPR, or you might find yourself in a situation where your customers are less than pleased about how their data was handled. 

2) Make your mind up about the type of email

Every small business owner knows that they need to keep their contacts up-to-date on the latest happenings. One way you can do this is by sending monthly newsletters, but there are many other types of emails your company could be sending as well. 

It would be a mistake to send out promotional emails or messages for special offers and sales without including professional language. What will happen when your customers realize you were too lazy, unprofessional, or not skilled enough to pick up on the nuances of written communication?

Loyalty programs should also include essential information like how many points they’ve already earned. Finally, transactional emails are often necessary but easily overlooked because there is no “personality” involved which may reduce customer engagement if this applies (eCommerce receipts).  

3) Finalising your email copy and design

After planning out the emails you want to send, your next step is designing and sending them. Nowadays people have a lot of different devices they use so make sure that all platforms are accounted for in terms of layout design and functionality. The key to this step is keeping your customer’s needs at heart with clear messages designed specifically around their desired action on each platform. 

Email copy for your campaign 

If you want to create a targeted email list for your contacts, consider creating segments with similar interests. This can help make sure that the content in each of these emails is relevant and useful as well. This will allow you to send a message that relates specifically and only to the needs of those in each group, making it more likely they’ll read and respond appropriately.

Make sure to segment customers based on their past purchase behaviour, whether they’re new leads or longtime customers. You also need to classify them by email engagement so you know who opens your emails and those that never open an email.

Creating the perfect email design 

As you build your email for the month, keep in mind that design is important. Design emails to be professional and easy-to-read so they catch attention quickly. Remember not to get too creative or spend time on a fancy template – it will only cause confusion with readers who are trying to make sense of what’s going on if they have never seen an email like this before.

Emails should always include clear call-to-actions (CTAs) as well: having CTAs makes sure people know exactly where the offer stands by letting them click right away without feeling frustrated.

In order to make an email as compelling and persuasive as possible, you need a clear CTA. It’s important that your readers understand what they should do next so it is best not to have more than one main goal for the campaign (e.g., promoting multiple articles). If there are different goals in mind with this type of marketing strategy, use hierarchy labels near each call-to-action button or link on the page which will help prevent confusion and improve click rates. 

4) Analyse and optimise performance indicators

Email marketing provides a unique opportunity to learn from your customers and find new ways of improving on the next campaign. Most people assume once they’ve hit “send” that their job is done, but email marketing provides an opportunity to learn from your customers. You should always be analyzing the performance of emails with respect to various metrics- like click rates and conversion rates- for example, if you notice certain types of campaigns are performing poorly in emails then study the reasons why so as to avoid a repetition in future campaigns.

Learn from mistakes, make adjustments as needed, and keep up with the new trends in email marketing.

5) Include multiple sign up forms

Email marketing is still the most cost-effective way to reach consumers and build a loyal customer base. Don’t miss out on this opportunity by neglecting your email sign up forms, as they are one of the best places for you to collect subscribers’ information! Include CTA buttons near any point where customers might have an interest in signing up – either at homepages, contact pages or even checkout screens if applicable – pepper them with easy opportunities so that potential new clients will see the options.  

6) Mobile-optimise your email

It’s time to get mobile on your emails! With more and more people reading their email via a phone, the old design of having one type that was used for everything just isn’t going to cut it. In order not to have subscribers squinting at an image or getting frustrated by trying unsuccessfully to read the text in tiny font size, you need responsive designs. This is especially true with Gmail which now has over 1 billion active users per month- 1/3rd are using two screens simultaneously.

Don’t let bad experiences lead consumers away from what should be trusted brands like yours. Make sure all future email templates are designed responsively so there’ll never again be any difficulties when opening.

Conclusion 

Deploying these techniques in your marketing initiatives will surely help you reap the benefits in the long run. That is to generate high-quality leads for your small business. Marketing is the most important aspect of any business, and it’s your job to make sure that you have a well-rounded strategy in place. Your company should be creating offers for customers on many different platforms with CTAs at every turn. If there are areas where improvement needs to happen, don’t hesitate! Get more educated about how customer engagement works by making time for research or hiring someone who can lead this effort going forward.