Generating leads can be a headache. In fact, 61% of marketers say that lead generation is one of their biggest challenges. But spreading the word to new prospects is important if your business is to grow.

The good news is that effective lead generation doesn’t need to blow the budget. It’s more about finding the right tactics to use your funds in the most effective way possible.

Here, we’ll explore five ways you can boost your lead generation without breaking the bank.

 

5 Budget friendly ways to generate more leads for your business

1. Start the conversation on social media

This is a great way to reach your followers. You do need to be patient, though. Organic social media refers to unpaid posts, so it can take a little longer to come through than paid-for promotions. But it’s still achievable.

With 48 million active social media users in the UK — a whopping 67% of the UK population — your audience is there. Add to that the fact that the average UK users spends 102 minutes on social media every day, and all you need to do is grab their attention.

Consistency is key. You have to keep on showing up. But this isn’t something to do in a hurry or as lip service. A little planning will go a very long way. Build yourself a social media content plan so you’ve mapped out all your content in advance.

Clickable content is the best way forward. This helps to drive traffic to your website, where you can capture leads by collecting data in exchange for something they class a value – such as a whitepaper or checklist.

Social media platforms can be noisy and crowded. So make sure all your social media profiles are highly accessible and easy for your followers to engage with. This means having clear contact details or direct-click buttons such as WhatsApp, Messenger, email or phone.

You also need to get your hashtags right. These help you to appear in the feeds of people who don’t follow you, so you’ll reach a wider audience and gain new followers. Do your research and find which ones are most relevant for your business — a good place to start is by using free hashtag generators such as ahh-hashtag.com  all-hashtag.com

Top tip – Use the ‘Jab, Jab, Jab, Right-Hook’ method.

This means leading with value, delivering three pieces of valuable content and then delivering a sales message – the right-hook.

2. Generate leads with email marketing

Your email contacts are those that have given you permission to contact them. They already know you, and this makes them much more likely to respond well to your marketing comms. When you consider that email conversion rates are 40 times higher than social media conversion, it adds up to a no brainer.

While all of this is clearly good news, you still need to put some careful thought into your messaging. Recipients might be a friendly audience, but they still expect curated content that offers them some clear benefits.

First of all, keep it clutter-free. Too much content can confuse your message. Use clear call to actions — making it obvious what the recipient needs to do.

Don’t get too clever. Adding in technical phrases or acronyms might make you think it adds to your expert appeal. But actually, you’re more likely to lose your audience’s attention. Stick to plain English and terminology everyone will understand.

Be brand consistent. Your brand presence needs to shine in your every communication, so while it’s good to use an eye-catching design, don’t do so at the expense of your brand visibility.

Importantly, make sure you comply with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Your contacts need to be opted in to your communications.

Top tip – Use email marketing to promote content on your website, with a strong, clear call-to-action to encourage click-throughs. If you use a marketing email service provider you’ll be able to see who’s opened and clicked, too.

3. Chat to your existing clients

New clients are all well and good. But it’s cheaper to develop your existing clients than find new ones. Plus, you’ll build stronger client relationships, which typically leads to more work, too.

Look at if there are any cross-selling opportunities. Could you offer your existing clients more?  Are there any contacts who have left their business and are working at another company which could be a prospect? Follow their journey and add them to your CRM if you have one.

Ask your current clients if they can introduce you to other departments within their business. It’s all about tapping into the relationships you already have. If you’ve already got good links then they can often be the best platform for growth.

Top tip – Map out on a piece of paper who your clients are and what you do for them. This makes it easier to see where opportunities for development are.

4. Scour LinkedIn for target prospects

LinkedIn is a hotbed of potential, with over 31 million users in the UK alone. And in just a few clicks, you can search for new prospects and identify target buyers. The good news is that you can even do this without being a premium subscriber, although your free searches are limited.

You can send direct messages to these targets — again this is limited without premium, so choose wisely. And once you’ve made a new connection, don’t just leave them hanging. Drop them a quick InMail to say thanks for connecting and to get the conversation started You could even link to a useful piece of content you think they’ll find helpful. Anything you can do to be more than just another tick-box connection.

Top tip – The days of sending blank connection requests are well and truly over. People like the personal touch, so tell them why you’d like to connect and what you can offer — they’re much more likely to accept your invitation this way. You don’t need to waffle or go into lots of detail. Clear, concise and friendly will go a long way to getting you over the acceptance line.

5. Start a content marketing strategy

Here’s an interesting little fact for you. People read between three and five pieces of content before they make contact with your business. That’s three-five pieces of content before they’ll even interact with your sales team, so make your content work for you!

Giving away free, useful information provides content your audience wants to read. And it’s also a great way to guide them into making the all-important call to action.

You know the saying nothing lasts forever? That’s not quite true. Content does. When you publish it onto a blog, it will keep on organically generating traffic to your website for years to come. It’s a fantastically hardworking tool for lead generation.

So you do need to put in some initial legwork, but get your content right and you can let it continue its good work in the background without too much extra input.

Top tip – Create a content plan that’s focused on what your audience is interested in. Content needs to be valuable, and offer clear information, rather than try to be salesy. Make a list of all the questions clients have asked you about your products and services over the last year, and use this to shape your content. The chances are, if one person has a question others will too, and they’re likely to Google it. And if your content has the answers, yours will be the name that sticks in their mind.

In summary…

There’s no magic formula to generating leads, and what works for one business might not be right for another. The key is to find the right method for your business. And once you do, it’s a great feeling when the leads start flooding in and you have the opportunity to convert them into sales.

Every social media post, every blog and every LinkedIn contact is bursting with potential… the opportunities are yours for the taking.

Need help generating leads for your business?

We can help.