Social media challenges are becoming increasingly popular. The basic idea is to engage in an action while filming yourself, then upload it to social media so other people can see it and get inspired by it (or laugh at your pain if you fail.)
For years now, big brands have been getting impressive results using social media challenges, generating tons of new leads and converting them into customers. They are a great way to generate awareness around your small business and to boost engagement in your community. But, before you jump on the bandwagon, you need to have a powerful digital marketing strategy in place. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting a lot of time, resources, and creative energy.
Not too long ago, it took an average of three cold calls to engage a prospect. In 2016, the number grew to eight.
Considering that the average call time is around one minute, and if we estimate that you can reach around 120 prospects each week, then we have the following formula:
8 calls x 120 prospects = 960 minutes
What’s the one thing that all successful businesses have in common?
That’s right; they generate income.
The problem with generating income, however, is that you need to attract your target audience first and use the right strategies to convert them into leads and buyers. That’s the reason most small business owners pay such close attention to things like enticing copy, great pricing strategies, A/B testing, and email marketing.
Imagine gaining tens of thousands of leads to fuel your small business. Now imagine doing it all for free. No, I’m not crazy, and I am not pitching some shady online marketing technique to you. In fact, I want to talk about a huge opportunity many small and local business owners are ignoring.
YouTube.
What do you do when you want to boost your lead generation?
Do you test your call to action? Write better copy? Place form fields strategically?
All these are great options that could help you grow your email list. But, there’s one element that has the power to persuade visitors to convert. I’m talking about the lead magnet.
David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, was famous for spending a ridiculous amount of time on headlines.
Why?
That’s because the headline is the most important element of a page. It is the first thing people see when you share a new article and the decisive factor that makes them take action.
Talk about pressure.
You’re working your tail off to create relevant content that’s sure to add value to your prospects’ life. But is that all it takes to get leads?
Of course not!
It’s all about growing your email list and ultimately generating sales. The more openings to your email lists, the more chances your readers will move down the sales funnel.
What’s the best way to establish trust with a complete stranger?
You don’t know them, and they don’t know you, but you’ve got something to offer, and they are looking. Your relationship is starting from scratch, and you need to spike their interest.
A killer landing page will help establish yourself as a trustworthy small business. But, stellar landing pages don’t happen by accident. Conversion optimization goes deeper than button size, layout, or color.
So, you decided that content marketing is the best way to drive more traffic to your website and generate leads. And you are right. According to one study by WeDAM, businesses that blog consistently generate up to 67% more leads than those who do not.
But, here’s the problem: although over 93% of marketers use content marketing, just 42% of them actually see results.
You work tirelessly to set up a lead generation campaign that is sure to appeal to your target audience. You launch in all excitement and can’t wait to see it generating precious leads. You feel confident and happy that you’ve finally got a handle on this whole lead generation game.
Now imagine your surprise when you check your analytics and discover that your sure-to-work campaign generated only a handful of leads.