4 Lead Generation Trends to Watch

Lead generation is a fundamental step in running a successful business. Without qualified sales leads, you'll have a difficult time growing revenue. Here are some of the top lead generation trends to watch.

LinkedIn

Business owners and salespersons have been using LinkedIn to generate leads for years, but this method has become increasingly popular and recent years. LinkedIn currently boasts more than 400 million active users worldwide. What makes it different from other social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, however, is its focus on professional workers. Assuming you run a business-to-business (B2B) company, you can easily find tons of qualified leads on LinkedIn.

Webinars

In addition to a company website, the same B2B Technology Marketing Community survey cited above found virtual events/webinars to be another effective method for generating B2B leads. Short for “web conferencing,” webinars are an innovative way to connect and engage with your target audience. You can host webinars on a variety of topics, using this platform to reach new prospects and generate more leads.

Personalization

Another lead generation trend that's been edging its way into mainstream popularity the personalization of marketing communcation. As the name suggests, this involves optimizing prosect data to provide personalized content that is tailored to each prospects interest or needs. For example, if you sell a tool that is commonly used by sales managers and marketing directors; although the service may be the same, the reasons those 2 different persona use the tool could be very different. Understanding those differnces will allow you to tailor your messaging to their specific needs; rather than making general use assumptions.  

In order to create an effecitve personalization strategy, you must build and maintain an accurate database of prospects; containing company insights, contact names, trends, etc.

If you need help building or enhancing your existing database, Click Here to talk with an account executive. 

Inbound Marketing

We can't talk about lead generation trends without mentioning inbound marketing. HubSpot's recent State of Inbound 2015 report found nearly two-thirds of marketers believe inbound marketing is the most effective technique to reach customers. While outbound marketing consists of direct marketing and promotion techniques, inbound marketing consists of indirect marketing and promotion. Inbound marketing is typically performed in conjunction with a content marketing strategy, with business owners publishing relevant content that encourages prospects to seek out more information.

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