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Understanding SERP Features: What They Are And How To Rank

July 31, 2025 No Comments

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules of search. As Google continues integrating AI-driven elements, search engine results pages (SERPs) are becoming increasingly dynamic and unpredictable. This raises the stakes for businesses relying on SEO for lead generation and brand building.

Enter SERP features—built-in shortcuts for visibility on Google. Featured snippets and AI overviews now dominate prime search real estate. With less than 2% of first-page results lacking SERP features, businesses must learn how to adapt or risk fading into the background.

Understanding The Different Types Of SERP Features

Google’s SERP features have come a long way since the early 2000s. While some, like featured snippets, have been around since 2014, others—like AI overviews—were only added in 2024.

These elements enhance the search experience by delivering quick answers, interactive content and visuals. They’re continually evolving to keep users engaged.

Here’s a look at some of the most prominent SERP features:

• Featured snippets are highlighted answer boxes at the top of search results that provide brief, structured responses to user queries. They appear in paragraph, list and table formats and boast a 42.9% average click-through rate, making them highly coveted.

• AI overviews use machine learning to summarize data from various sources and present it at the top of SERPs. Google began rolling out AI overviews in U.S. search results in May 2024. By April 2025, top-ranking pages had a 34.5% lower average CTR in searches where AI overviews were present.

• Knowledge graphs are right-side information panels that offer key details on people, places and businesses. They’re less about CTR and more about credibility. Up-to-date business listings, Wikipedia pages and authoritative links help strengthen brand presence.

• Local packs, also called map packs, display a map and a list of nearby businesses related to user search queries. Maintaining accurate Google Business Profiles (previously Google My Business), using location-based keywords and earning positive reviews improve visibility.

• The “people also ask” feature is a dropdown of related questions that expand within SERPs. Answering popular questions with structured content increases placement chances.

• Image packs and video carousels are visual content that break up text-based elements on results pages. Optimizing images with descriptive alt text and creating high-quality videos answering queries helps rankings.

How Do SERP Features Impact SEO Rankings?

Why is it important to optimize for SERP features? They directly influence SEO performance in a few key ways:

Maximizing Search Presence

Ever hear the adage “It’s all about location?” Many SERP features show up above “classic” organic listings in the search results. If you’re not featured, a competitor likely is. Elements like featured snippets and AI overviews occupy “position zero,” immediately capturing user attention at the top of the page. This prime placement makes SERP features a crucial tool for businesses looking to stand out.

Appearing in SERP features, along with your organic listing, also enables you to take up as much real estate on the page as possible.

Boosting CTR And Engagement

The higher up the page you are, the more clicks and engagement you’ll likely receive. SERP features take up prime real estate, drawing attention and clicks. Features like video carousels and image packs are particularly engaging, making them valuable for capturing user interest in crowded niches.

How Can Businesses Optimize For SERP Features?

At a time when moving up a single position in the SERPs increases relative CTR by 32.3%, the question isn’t whether you should leverage SERP features—it’s how you can use them to your advantage. The following tactics can help you do just that.

Strategically Structure Your Content

To rank in SERP features, make sure your website content is clear and informative, and that it directly answers user queries. Providing concise responses to who, what, when, where, why and how questions improves the likelihood of appearing in featured snippets and the knowledge graph. Likewise, using bullet points, tables and structured formatting enhances readability and ranking potential.

Capitalize On Schema Markup

Schema markup helps Google understand content, increasing the chances of appearing in SERP features. This is especially true for businesses with physical locations, as local schema markup improves visibility in the local pack.

Target Long-Tail Keywords

Focusing on specific, highly relevant queries coordinates content with user intent, boosting the probability of capturing high-value SERP placements.

Prioritize On-Page SEO And Content Strategy

Aligning content with search intent boosts your chances of showing up in SERP features. Use clear headings, bullet points and concise meta descriptions.

Invest In Imagery

Image packs appear in over half of search results, making visual content like infographics and charts incredibly valuable for rankings.

Emphasize Mobile Optimization

Many SERP features, including the local pack, are frequently viewed on mobile devices. Mobile-friendly sites help capture local search traffic.

Update Content Frequently

Google favours fresh content in features like the knowledge graph and “people also ask.” Regular updates improve your relevance and increase your chances of ranking in dynamic search results.

Secure Your Spot In SERP Features

As AI continues to reshape search, rankings are more unpredictable than ever. SERP features offer a critical advantage, helping businesses remain visible and easily discoverable. Make sure you understand and optimize for these elements to stay ahead in 2025 and beyond.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Jonathan Schwartz

COUNCIL POST | Membership (fee-based)

Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and Co-Founder of Bullseye Strategy. Read Jonathan Schwartz’ full executive profile here. Find Jonathan Schwartz on LinkedIn and X. Visit Jonathan’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

5 Slick Moves to Dominate B2B Email Marketing

August 29, 2024 No Comments

By Sean Parnell

Lost in the B2B inbox? Find out how to stand out.

The Gist

Campaign precision. Pinpoint your ideal client profile for more effective B2B email campaigns.
List quality matters. Maintain a validated, high-quality email list to boost engagement and ROI.
Engage, don’t ask. Provide valuable resources over sales pitches to enhance B2B email effectiveness.

In a crowded digital environment rife with companies clamouring for attention at every click, B2B email marketing remains a powerful tool for engaging with B2B prospects to generate quality leads. The reason: Most of your target market isn’t actively searching for your solutions, so it’s more effective to go to them and generate interest (demand generation) than it is to wait for them to find you (demand capture).

The image shows a row of archery targets lined up under a clear blue sky. Each target has concentric circles with colors progressing from white, black, blue, red, to a yellow bullseye. Arrows are accurately lodged in the bullseyes of several targets, illustrating precision and successful targeting in piece about B2B email marketing. — Effective B2B email marketing starts with a clear target.Sashkin on Adobe Stock Photos

5 Steps to B2B Email Marketing Gold

The challenge: 9.7 billion emails are sent in the U.S. daily so standing out requires a calculated approach. Below are five steps for creating effective email campaigns that resonate with prospects and fuel demand.

1. Understand & Target Your Top Ideal Client Profile (ICP)

Effective B2B email marketing starts with a clear target.

Define your ICP based on your most successful client relationships, by industry, company size, and titles of decision-makers and influencers. For example, we ran a successful campaign targeting owners/CEOs of rental service providers in the U.S. between $20 million and $250 million in revenues for an integrator of ERP systems.

It’s common to have at least three-to-four distinct ICPs. Focus on the one with the most potential for several months to gain traction.

2. Build & Maintain a High-Quality Email List

A robust B2B email marketing list of your top target market is key to the success of your campaign. Begin by sourcing contacts from reputable services like ZoomInfo. UpLead and BookYourData offer more cost-effective alternatives.

To ensure deliverability and maintain your sender reputation, run your list through validation services such as ZeroBounce. This minimizes bounce rates and avoids penalties from platforms like HubSpot, which enforce strict bounce rate limits.

3. Craft Active, Compelling Content

B2B email marketing content that educates your prospects about how you can solve their problems is the core of email marketing. This is the essence of B2B brand storytelling: Prospects are the hero of the story and will let you be their guide if you demonstrate that you understand their problems. Don’t lead with products, services, features and benefits.

Give your top ICP something instead of asking for something. Offer resources that encourage engagement, such as guides, webinar invitations, case studies, and relevant blog posts. Don’t send fluffy, top-of-funnel content or newsletters that ramble on about your business. Videos can triple your click-through rates compared to other content types.

Include an offer: a clear, compelling call-to-action (CTA) that encourages recipients to take the next step. It should be something better than “request a free consultation” or “get a demo,” which they may want later but not as a starting point.

4. Optimize Subject Lines & Preview Text

Your subject line and preview text are crucial for grabbing attention and boosting open rates. It could be argued that this is the most important part of the entire email since without a subject line that gets your recipient to open it, the rest is like that tree that falls in a forest, unheard.

In B2B email marketing, subject lines and preview text need to be concise, engaging, positive and relevant to the recipient’s problems. For guidance, consider a formula proven over the past 100 years that combines appealing to the self-interest of prospects, sharing news, stimulating curiosity, and communicating that there’s a quick and easy way to solving problems while creating a sense of urgency.

5. Manage Expectations & Follow Up

B2B email marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Initial prospecting emails typically achieve open rates between 10% to 20%, and it’s common to receive few responses at first. While knowing 80% to 90% of recipients won’t open your email can be discouraging, persistence is key so follow up with recipients who click on your emails or open them multiple times. Note: If you see that someone has clicked on every link in the email, it’s likely that automated software opened it to check for viruses and phishing scams.

Personalized follow-up emails and calls can significantly enhance engagement and conversion rates but limit your follow-up attempts to no more than three. Keep them on your B2B email marketing list so that the next email may prompt them to contact you. Sometimes an email campaign gets a response months after it was sent because it was the right message at the wrong time.

While digital communication is prevalent, traditional direct mail can complement your B2B email marketing campaigns. With some audiences, a well-crafted direct mail piece can garner more attention than an email, making it an effective tool for reaching your audience in a different format and reinforcing your message.

B2B Marketing Email Campaigns That Work

When it’s done well, B2B email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective outbound methods for generating demand by connecting you to high-quality leads who aren’t actively searching for your solutions.

Anyone who tells you otherwise likely didn’t put the right level of effort into their campaigns. Some just send a few emails, get disappointed, and abandon the effort.

By day, Sean is a B2B marketing strategist, educating small and mid-sized businesses on how to use marketing to fuel their growth; by night, he is a historic bar enthusiast. Connect with Sean Parnell:

Main image: thomas

By Sean Parnell

Sourced from CMSWIRE

In News

How buyer profiles present in a service-based business

September 27, 2023 No Comments

By Rachel Klaver

Rachel Klaver is a marketing strategist, specialising in lead generation and content marketing.

OPINION: I’ve used buyer profiles in retail businesses before, but they have just as much merit when applied to a service-based business. I’m not sure why we seem to think humans will be any different depending on whether they are buying a vacuum cleaner or contracting a cleaner. In the end, your services are still products that humans are choosing to spend their money on.

There are nine key buyer profiles we can intentionally (and unintentionally) attract. No one is better than the other, but you and your business will fit some more than others. It’s a matter of being aware of who you’re attracting, who you are ignoring that you could attract, and who you have consciously decided to repel with your marketing and sales style.

I’m a big fan of using the marketing and sales process to help find your ideal clients, by showing them at the outset what your own business values and boundaries are for. A simple example of this is choosing to only email your prospects during work hours, if that’s what you have as a core way of working with your clients. For me, we do the vast majority of work via Zoom. This is why we also do our sales calls via Zoom too. If the person is uncomfortable with this, they may also be uncomfortable with working with us, too.

When I went through the nine buyer profiles I found several I don’t want to attract, and a few I’d like to do better in drawing in. Use this list, and mentally check against it what you could do in your marketing to help these types of people want to buy from your service-based business.

The Browser

For me, my whole marketing approach is to help the browser. I’ve got people on my email list who’ve been there for three years or more before becoming a client.

These curious individuals stumble upon our content, and while they may not be ready to make a purchase right away, we can capture their interest by infusing our content with personality and emotion.

It’s essential to let them get a real sense of who we are, to truly understand our voice and the way we do things. When they resonate with us, they’re more likely to choose us over our competitors who don’t evoke the same connection. These people will choose us because we consistently resonate with them. They didn’t find us when they were ready to buy. But as soon as they are, they’re coming to us (I often get people emailing me saying: “Love your content. Not ready for you yet, but I’m going to be one day!”).

The Bargain Hunter

In writing this I realised this was me. I’m definitely always sniffing around for a good deal. This is an issue because I also don’t believe we should be discounting our products and services to get the sale.

However, we can cater to these types of buyers without discount. We just need to provide great deals.

To grab their attention, we can offer them lower-cost options or limited-time promotions. For me, I’ve learned that by providing resources, workshops, or even my book, that they can engage with at a lower price point, they can get a taste of what we have to offer and develop a stronger connection with us.

I also use free content. I provide that with things like this column, my podcast, my email newsletter and my blogs. They get value, and then it’s my job to show them that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to working with me.

Showroomers

Showroomers are one type of buyer I’m starting to work harder to attract. I’m weirdly reluctant to share testimonials (of which I have hundreds) and feedback. I literally have to force myself to do it.

What I’ve learned is these types of buyers can take a while to make a decision but they are locked in once they decide, and they become incredible word-of-mouth referrers to others. For me, they are worth connecting with.

These savvy buyers are thorough researchers who want to know all the details before making a decision. Testimonials and feedback from other customers become crucial in gaining their trust.

Sharing testimonials that highlight the benefits and outcomes others have experienced can be a powerful tool in showcasing the value of our services. Testimonials help potential customers understand the benefits they can receive by working with us, and they serve as social proof of our expertise and credibility.

The “I’m on a mission”

These are also great clients, and again a section I’ve ignored in my marketing without realising it. Again this comes down to a reluctance to “show off” in my content. I’m working on this as I’m teaching my clients to become better at it, and I don’t like being a hypocrite as I do!

These individuals come prepared with a detailed checklist of requirements. To cater to their needs, we must clearly outline the features and benefits of our services.

It’s important to highlight what sets us apart and the specific outcomes they can expect to achieve.

Testimonials play a vital role here as well. They help potential customers envision the results they can achieve by working with us.

However, we don’t need to give them everything they want. It’s ok to have boundaries. I’ve encountered mission shoppers who requested to see strategies I’ve created for other clients. That’s a no from me, as it’s sharing someone else’s document, and also my intellectual property. It’s also often showing them the wrong part of the process, which is the completed document. The strength in my work is in the conversations we have to create it (which again is why I prefer to get them on a Zoom instead).

The Impulse Buyer

This might be a perfect fit for your business, but not for me, unless it’s a lower-cost product like a webinar, my book or a small course.

I often recommend service-based business owners don’t target this type of customer unless you’ve got one that solves a pain point that’s easily resolved, and you aren’t necessarily looking for a repeat purchase.

Impulse buyers make quick decisions based on their gut instincts or limited-time offers. To capture their attention, we can create enticing, low-cost options that allow them to experience a taste of what we offer.

If you’re going to target these buyers, having a chat on your website and being quick to respond to social media questions is key. These buyers want it right now.

The Chatties

I’ve got nothing against this type of buyer, but they aren’t a fit for my personality and business style. It’s not a “them” problem. It’s a me issue. I’ve got ADHD and love to talk. I can easily overshare, and add too much value in a sales call. I’ve had to learn to be pretty strong about moving people off phone calls and on to zooms that we’ve scheduled to prevent my entire week to be filled with chats with potential clients that often lead to nowhere. Boundaries are needed when it comes to me, clients and time.

Chatties are enthusiastic individuals who often seek free advice or consultations without genuine intentions of becoming paying customers. It’s crucial to set clear boundaries and protect our time and expertise.

This is also why I teach my clients to ditch the “discovery call” and rename it a “check the fit” call which has a higher sales intent. You may get less of them, but your conversion rate will go up.

Rather than offering endless free consultations, transitioning to structured sales meetings can guide them towards a more committed decision-making process. It’s an area where I’ve struggled in the past, as I genuinely enjoy helping people and can sometimes give away too much for free.

I’ve learned the importance of creating boundaries and directing these individuals to group interactions where others can benefit as well.

The Indecisive Shopper

Indecisive shoppers take their time when making purchasing decisions. They often have specific obstacles or objections that need addressing.

Patience, providing necessary information, and offering support are key in navigating the indecisiveness. It’s important to stay true to our values and clearly communicate the benefits of our services.

Addressing their objections and concerns while giving them the space they need to reach a decision is crucial.

I’ve learned that when faced with a money objection, it’s not merely about the cost but about the perceived value and trust that need to be established. Giving them time and ensuring they have all the information they need is incredibly important

I personally can find the key is to not over push, and allow them to take the time they need. Follow-up is key, but be wary of converting them before they are ready. It will cause you no end of pain as they stay indecisive as you work with them.

***Unsplash***

***Indecisive shoppers take their time when making purchasing decisions. They often have specific obstacles or objections that need addressing. (file photo)***

The Fully Educated

These buyers are slow to act, but when they do they come in hot. Educated buyers are well-informed individuals who have followed our content for years. They have done their research and have a deep understanding of what we offer.

Nurturing these relationships requires consistently providing valuable content through various channels. Our website should be clear and informative, while regular promotions and offers can keep them engaged and interested.

It’s important to provide actionable opportunities for them to take the next step in their journey with us. I normally recommend dedicating 10% to 20% of our content to serve these educated buyers is essential. They have invested time in us, and we should reciprocate by offering content that caters specifically to their needs.

The Loyal Customer

Service-based businesses can build a highly successful business by harnessing the magic of these types of buyers. They book and rebook with us, they tell others about us, and they always remember to pay.

Our loyal customers deserve our utmost appreciation. They have stuck with us through thick and thin, and they become our biggest advocates. Offering exclusive discounts, early access to new offerings, and free resources is a way to reward their loyalty.

These loyal customers often refer others to our business, and their support is invaluable. Recognising their loyalty and showing gratitude helps solidify our relationship and build long-lasting partnerships.

Understanding these nine buyer profiles allows us to tailor our marketing approach and connect with potential customers on a deeper level. By recognising the specific profiles that resonate with our business, we can identify areas where adjustments can be made in our marketing strategies to help talk to the best buyer types for our business model. It’s important to remember that patience, value, and consistency are key when engaging with different buyer profiles.

It’s absolutely fine to have several types that you don’t cater to. The key is to take the time to really think about which types work best for your business, then create content in your marketing that helps them get ready to buy. This can grow your business, without significantly changing what you are selling.

Feature Image Credit: Mark Taylor/Stuff

By Rachel Klaver

Rachel Klaver is a marketing strategist, specialising in lead generation and content marketing.

Sourced from STUFF

In News

The Harsh Reality About Lead Generation and Why It Still Matters For Business Growth

January 27, 2023 No Comments

By Shauna Armitage

Despite popular opinion, social media is not the answer to all your lead generation. Here are five other ways to use contact information to nurture and convert leads successfully.

Not all lead generation is created equal. As digital marketing continues to evolve, marketers are doubling down on social media. While those platforms may be great for brand awareness, they still fall short regarding one of the most critical growth metrics for a budding business — engaging your audience.

One of the biggest reasons creating engagement is tough on these platforms comes down to supply and demand — every friend, family member and company is also on these platforms, competing for your potential customer’s attention. There’s a lot of noise, and the algorithm ultimately decides who sees what.

Building an audience and selling to them is essential for any company to grow, which is why business owners need to focus on generating leads through channels they own and control.

Critical metrics for business success

We know that to sell to a potential customer or an existing one, you need to be able to reach them. We can identify success in reaching our leads by tracking engagement and open rates.

Instagram users will spend an average of 30 minutes daily on the platform. While that’s a significant amount of time, businesses aren’t getting that much of their attention. According to BazaarVoice, the average reach rate for brands with large followings is 12% for posts and 2% for stories. The median engagement rate across all industries on Facebook is 0.08%.

Those numbers are sobering and a big wake-up call for small businesses and startups spending energy and budget trying to drive revenue through organic social media channels. Instead, let’s focus on the channels we own and can control.

Controlling the conversation with leads

When you build an email list, you own those emails and have a direct way to communicate with your audience — but it’s not the only way. You can also capture a person’s phone number or address. The key is gathering contact information so you can communicate 1:1 instead of relying on an algorithm.

Here are a few ways that you can use contact information to nurture and convert leads successfully:

Email. A survey conducted by Mailchimp tells us that the average open rate for emails across industries is just over 21%. While reaching only a fraction of the audience that you worked so hard to build may feel frustrating, this is a reality marketers must face. It highlights the importance of continually growing your audience. (i.e., 20% of 1,000 means you have the attention of 200 people. 20% of 10,000 means you have the attention of 2,000 people.) Email remains one of the strongest channels for nurturing and converting leads. There are many strategies you can use to increase your open rates and improve the effectiveness of your email blasts.
SMS. Text messaging has open rates as high as 98%. Consumers spend more and more time with their phones, so it’s easy to see why sending text messages would be the most effective way to reach them. SMS is an excellent channel for communicating with your customers and potential customers if you are intentional about the messages you send and how often you send them.
Social advertising. While it may be tough to reach your audience organically through social media, that’s not quite the case with advertising on social media. You can create an audience on Facebook’s platform with your email list. This will allow you to put your advertisements directly in front of the people who have purchased from you in the past or have already expressed interest in your brand.
Community platform. It’s tough to overstate the importance of community when growing a brand. If you can create a space where your customers can connect and get extra value from the brand, it’s a win-win for everyone. Within this space, you’ll have a direct line to share updates with community members or send them direct messages if needed. Platforms like Circle and Mighty Networks are great for housing your brand’s community.
Direct mail. Traditional marketing strategies like direct mail have fallen out of favor recently, but the pandemic has changed this in many ways. Spending more time on their devices, potential customers are overwhelmed with seemingly similar content. Sending an intelligent, targeted campaign via direct mail can be a fresh and fun way to capture their attention.

Social media can be a great tool for building an audience. Still, if your audience is only accessible via social media, you are always at risk of losing control of the conversation.

If Instagram shuts down tomorrow, you can’t reach that massive audience you worked so hard to build. If TikTok decides to prioritize advertising in the future, your organic reach could disappear overnight.

Businesses in today’s digital climate, it must be a top priority to move prospects from social media to a place where the business can capture contact information. Nurturing potential customers via direct communication will help you build trust, value, and community, ultimately leading to sales and growth in your business.

By Shauna Armitage

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

Demand generation vs lead generation

March 16, 2022 No Comments

Sourced from Boss Magazine

You’ve probably heard of demand generation and lead generation in regards to inbound marketing strategies. However, you might be struggling to differentiate the two. Both…

You’ve probably heard of demand generation and lead generation in regards to inbound marketing strategies. However, you might be struggling to differentiate the two. Both are sales techniques that are used by companies that are trying to generate prospects and sales.

A key difference, though, is that they are both used at different stages of the sales cycle and therefore have independent aims. These strategies are generally used by B2B companies as a way to establish a presence on the market and draw new prospects in so that they eventually buy products and services from the company.

Having a good understanding of both demand generation and lead generation strategies can help your sales team generate qualified leads from an established target audience.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the differences between the lead generation process and a demand generation campaign. We’ll also look at how you can apply these methods to make successful sales.

Demand generation vs lead generation

Demand generation and lead generation are closely linked as one stage follows the other. The aim of demand gen is to spark interest from prospects in the company’s services and products, whilst lead gen aims to establish a relationship with them and convert the prospects into customers and sales.

Demand generation content should create awareness of how your company can provide the solution to a prospect’s problem and therefore create interest in your services and products. Lead generation, on the other hand, is the process by which you turn these prospects into paying customers.

If demand generation is at the top of the sales funnel, then lead generation is at the bottom. Companies usually create gated content as part of their lead generation tactics and then ask for the prospects contact information so that they can receive that information.

Continue reading to find out about both tactics in greater detail and how you can use both to generate leads into sales.

What is demand generation?

Companies use demand generation to create awareness and demand for their products and services. This includes data-driven strategies that are focused on revenue creation. Some examples of demand generation content include blogs, ebooks and videos that are aimed at your target audience.

You could post this content on your website and advertise it on other platforms (such as social media) once you have established your target customer group and know what they will be looking for.

The main goal of demand generation is to raise brand awareness and customer association between their need and your products and services. For example, if a customer has run out of face cream, you want them to immediately think of your company when they go to buy some more.

Thought leadership and a good social media presence are both important aspects of demand generation. The main aim of thought leadership is to establish your company as experts in your field so that when people think of a particular topic or problem, they instantly think of you.

Social media is also a good way to gain a public presence that helps with brand recall. Various sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can all help you advertise your products and services to your target audience.

Sponsored adverts and posts can also lead prospects to your website, where you can encourage them to sign up to a mailing list for more content. This is when you can move on to the lead generation part of your sales plan.

What is lead generation?

The main aim of lead generation campaigns is to turn prospects into paying customers. You can gain their attention through your demand generation efforts and then your sales team can seal the deal through lead generation tactics. One way that lead generation nurtures qualified leads is through the use of gated content.

Gated lead generation content includes things such as eBooks and PDFs as well as courses, free trials and events. The prospect must provide their contact information to your company in order to access these documents and content.

Good lead magnets for lead generation include sign-up content upgrades. For example, you could offer a PDF version of a web page if the prospect enters their email address. Once you have their contact information, you have already established a connection and can nurture this into real sales.

You will have already established brand recall and thought leadership through demand generation, so this is the time to build a relationship with your prospects and help them translate into long-term customers.

What are the main differences between demand generation and lead generation?

Demand generation is used to attract customers to your company whilst lead generation turns those prospects into actual leads and moves them on to the next stage of the sales journey.

You want to create a positive experience for potential prospects during your demand generation campaigns. However, along with brand awareness, you also need to increase conversions by identifying your target audience and creating buyer personas. You then need to think about their customer journey and how each individual persona will experience it.

Lead generation efforts differ from demand generation because these strategies are more targeted. Gated content is a popular lead generation strategy because prospects can only access specialised content once they have given personalised contact information, such as their email address.

Prospects will be expecting relevant and targeted content in return for giving you personal information. Lead generation, on the other hand, provides free information so the content is broader.

A strong demand generation campaign builds brand awareness and nurtures opportunities that will generate high-quality leads and will build your business through increased sales.

How do demand generation and lead generation work together?

Despite their differences, lead generation tactics and demand generation ideas are closely linked and can have a big impact on one another. They are used at different stages of the sales process, which means that they don’t work at the same time. Lead generation relies upon the interest and excitement that demand generation has built for prospects and then converts their interest into actual sales.

Demand generation is at the top of the funnel whilst a lead generation campaign is at the base. This means that you can broadly appeal to lots of prospects with demand generation and then filter down to actual customers and sales with lead gen content.

You want to attract leads through your content, whether that be blogs, social media or videos on YouTube. The next time the prospect needs an item or service, the goal is that they will remember your company because of the content they’ve seen.

After this, you should aim to get their contact information so that you can share specialized content with them through email campaigns in the hope that they will turn into paying customers.

Sourced from Boss Magazine

In News

The Importance of Lead Generation and Marketing Agencies

March 9, 2022 No Comments

By Kristel Staci

Discover why lead generation and marketing agencies play such an important role online.

Online marketing is one of the most difficult, but also one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful business in the modern age. No matter what business model you have in place, or the industry you are working within, everyone needs people to actually know you exist as a business. And more often than not, this simple introduction is being done through the internet on a daily basis.

With all of this in mind, just having a business online isn’t enough. It’s also crucial to have a simple understanding of how online marketing works, why sites rank in Google and how one can use lead generation and online marketing agencies to simply get more done.

Luckily in the modern age, anyone now has the ability to use the most powerful tool in the world of marketing — which is the internet. In this article, we will be covering some of the most basic, yet important steps that everyone should learn and follow when coming up with their own guide for online marketing — no matter if you are a newbie, veteran or start-up investor.

Lead Generation in the World of Unlimited Prospects

Something everyone needs to be aware of when starting out is lead generation. This is when someone is interested in you as a business so they decide to leave their information so that you or a sales team can then follow up on them to try and get them as a customer, this is called a lead.

Leads are incredibly important as you need them to simply grow your customer base and grow as a business.

One of the most powerful ways you can work on generating more leads is through search engine optimization (SEO), this is when you or an expert ‘ranks’ your website so that it appears higher up on the commonly used search engine results that people use. This will increase online traffic and the more people that visit your site the better.

You could also pay to be ranked higher through sponsored links, while this is technically easier the downside is that consumers might be less trusting of a website that has paid to be higher up on search results.

You might also want to try an email outreach approach too. Email outreach was one of the original tactics’ companies would use at the beginning of the internet and companies still use it to this day so that tells you something about how effective it is.

Marketing Agencies to the Rescue

It can be incredibly useful to hire a marketing team to help promote your business. Luckily there are thousands of marketing agencies out there so you will be able to take your time in deciding which agency will be best suited to help you grow your business.

Bets practice when deciding on a marketing team is to run through lists of the best teams that fit with your budget while breaking down the list till you have a few that you like. You would then ask them important questions such as “how will you help grow my business?” to determine the best agency for you.

When you are just starting out global marketing might not be the best way to start due to the size of your company so it’s typically best to start with local marketing. Once you have grown that loyal local customer base you can then think about expanding your marketing globally.

Conclusion

Generating leads through marketing is incredibly important to growing as a business; you need to encourage people to pay for your products or services. Creating online articles/ blog posts relevant to you and your business will also help with customers trusting you enough to part with their hard-earned money. Generating leads and marketing is not an easy task that should be looked at lightly and will take hard work but if you persevere then I’m sure you will be able to grow your business.

By Kristel Staci

Sourced from Influencive

In News

9 WordPress Lead Generation Plugins That Will Bring Tons of Quality Leads

October 4, 2021 No Comments

By Rajesh Bhimani

Alfred is running a successful bakery shop in the prime city square and his on-site business is not only a favourite place for the locals but is quite a talk of the town for tourists.

Alfred launches his online shop through a WordPress website to expand his business digitally after a flourishing on-site business.

But, the results haven’t been satisfactory for him. It’s not that Alfred wasn’t quick on the trigger, but little knowledge of attracting customers to his online bakery shop is giving him a tough time. Are you facing the same problem as Alfred?

We are here for your rescue.

#EyeOpener: It is not only the case of Alfred; 75% of customers never return to a website after visiting it once.

Given the competition in the online market, it’s tough to attain the interest of your targeted audience or quality leads. Lead refers to a potential customer to whom you can make a sale in your business. It can be a person who mailed/ called you for a quote. A person who downloaded an e-book of your product or service from the website can also be a potential lead.

So, to grow your business, you need to generate quality leads.

It means you need to turn your website visitors into buyers or your customers. You want security first. You need to market your product/service in a way that takes your business to the next level. In order to do that, you must maintain your website properly. You may take the help of any WordPress Website Maintenance Company to keep up your WordPress website, so you can keep generating quality leads and turn them into your customers.

As a word to the wise, the epitome of information regarding the ideal WordPress lead generation plugins will work out the best in such a case.

To guide you on the same, we have curated an impactful guide of some of the best WordPress Lead Generation plugins, which are nothing less than goldmines.

1. MonsterInsights

User-Friendly WordPress Analytics Plugin

Well! Don’t judge this plugin by its name. It does huge work like its name, Monster (in a good way).

Google Analytics and Google search console are the epitome of information that comes together in the MonsterInsights plugin for WordPress. It is a recommendable plugin that fetches the data and compiles the same into precise and actionable reports which are easy to understand.

The data recorded through this plugin speaks volumes about the activity of the visitors to your website. To acknowledge you about the same, let’s take a deep dive into what Monster insights show you.

This plugin provides information on the web pages that receive the highest amount of traffic or visitors.
It acknowledges you on the links that receive the maximum clicks out of all you have included on a particular page for the entire website.
It gives you a clear answer on the best-performing call to action buttons placed on your website.

#MarketInsight: MonsterInsights is loved by over 3 million users, among which prestigious brands like Subway, yelp, FedEx, and others are also present.

Another major highlight of this plugin is file download tracking that lets you keep an eye on the lead magnet’s performance like ebooks. Further, it recognizes the ordinary downloadable files to offer you a track report on the same.
You as a business can get an idea of the most downloadable assets and the others that need some changes for better performance.
With an idea over which content is welcoming the most convertible visitors via author tracking, you can get an idea about what content your audience likes and how you can grow your site through it.
With all such features on the plate, MonsterInsights help you keep updated with the results of the efforts you are putting into your business.

Availability:

Free to use with limited features.
Paid version packages starting at $99.50/year

2. Optinmonster

Most powerful lead generation plugin

The best-rated WordPress popup plugin, or say the most recommended lead generation software is Optinmonster. It offers you exceptional tools to create email signup forms and popups that will turn out to be highly converting for your WordPress website. The eye-catching opt-in forms lure the visitors and cease their urge to abandon your business website.

It further helps in converting your visitors into subscribers and customers that will, in turn, grow your email list optimize conversion rate, and drastically reduce the bounce rate on your website.
Including these WordPress plugins will prove to be a bee knee’s approach for your business. You can expect the traction in the rate of quality leads you to get in your business.
Quickly deploy campaigns on your site WordPress lead generation plugin can be installed quickly on your website.

#MarketInsight: 1,213,437+ websites use OptinMonster for lead generation.

Optinmonster is used to create slide-in, sidebar form, floating bars, spin the wheels pop up, Yes/No pop-up, lightbox pop up, welcome mat pop up, and many more.
It has a built-in Analytics tool with which you can track the performance of a website.
Every form element is open for testing to check which one would work the best for maximum conversion from headlines, button colors to two different designs.
The inbuilt exit-intent Technology works the best to convert your visitor to be a part of your subscriber list by popping up a form when they are about to abandon your site.
Segmented email lists can be built with targeted messages on specific pages in all categories.
This SAAS platform integrates well with e-commerce platforms, other websites, and Email Marketing Services.

Availability:

The basic plan starts at $9/month.
If you want to avail just like yes/no forms and exit intent Technology, plans start from $29 per month.

3. WP Forms

Exceptional Drag & Drop Form Builder

WP Forms is one of the most user-friendly contact form plugin ideal for even a beginner.

The Drag and Drop Form Builder feature eases off the task of creating eye-catching email subscription forms, donation forms, quote forms, payment forms, contact forms, or any other forms.
WP Forms offers you in-built options with beautiful graphs and charts to showcase results for polls and surveys.
Forms created by WP Forms are 100 % responsive when opened from any device, be it mobile, tablet, or computer, given to its device compatibility.
This plugin includes a template goldmine. Give a spark to any form you create with the creative 150+ pre-built form templates available in WP Forms.
High-end spam security helps you to block spam form submissions with the help of a captcha and a Honeypot method in WP Forms.
The choice of creating multi-page forms when you require more than one page for surveys and detailed order forms is present in WP Forms. Long-form is split into multiple pages to enhance the user experience on your website.

#FunFact: 4,000,000 professionals utilize WP Forms to build smart forms for their requirements. You too, can start using it through a video tutorial on their website.

Smoothly integrate your forms with Mailchimp, constant contact, GetResponse, Drip, and many others to enjoy mail services.
Conversational Forms are perfect to increase form completion rates and form conversions. It initiates a real-time conversation-like interface by displaying one question at a time.
WordPress database is abode to all the saved entries. It means form entries are managed directly from your WordPress dashboard. WP Forms further allows you activities like marking them read, sorting, delete, or export to a .csv file.

Availability:

Free version with limited features
The paid version starts from $39.50/year.

4. Chatbot

AI Chatbots at your service

If you like to work out of the box, the chatbot plugin will help you assist your customers round the clock. It is an ideal plugin to create, deploy, and track chatbots all in one place.

You can use the drag and drop option to include new elements to create any class of chatbot with the Customised visual builder.
Key tasks are automated right away by creating multipurpose chatbots with an easy-to-use builder or pre-built templates.
It includes one-click installation and requires no coding or technical skill, or training to get started. Any unrecognized phrases get saved automatically and suggestions are further available on the same that you can add to your stories.
Integrate with one click with Slack, LiveChat, Facebook Messenger, and other with open API, webhooks, and Zapier integrations.
AI powers every task for better support, engagement, and to sell across different channels. It works in a background that utilizes natural language processing to understand the most precise meaning of the user. Using machine learning algorithms further improves the performance of the chatbot.
Encourage the customers to carry on the conversation on your chatbot with interactive responses. From text, images, buttons to quick replies, you can utilize the chatbot platform to showcase the product and services of your brand.

Availability:

Chatbot offers a 14-day free trial to get an insight into its features.
The paid version starts at $42/month.

5. Livechat

Real-time and prompt live chat plugin

This live chat software shines out with a range of great features. It is a seamless handy chat tool to generate quality leads and further into your customers. It’s easy to use and can easily integrate with several other marketing services.

Utilize this plugin to talk with people in real-time. Another highlight of this plugin is that it doesn’t need any login into WordPress for its use.
This plugin works seamlessly on any device, be it mobile, laptop, or other.

#PointToNote: If a person tries to contact you through live chat apart from your working hours, a support ticket will be created instead of in your unavailability that you can solve the next day in your working hours.

You can start a conversation from your end with an automated message greeting the website visitor. It lures the attention of the visitor to let them know that their query can be directly solved by the support team.
Customize the chat window that is most appealing to the visitor and help you grab the attention of the potential leads.
If you want to fetch the history of the chat of a particular visitor, you can get the same on Livechat.
It also offers the flexibility of including social media icons in your chat group. It can help the visitors give a shout-out to your brand on their social media handles. Brand awareness is thus an added advantage to use this lead generation WordPress plugin.

Availability:

Start with a free 14-day trial.
Paid version available at $16/month.

6. All in one SEO

WordPress SEO plugin

The name of this plugin is enough to tell its story. It has been an assistant to tons of webmasters to combat SEO-related challenges.

It requires no experience to get started! You have to input the correct data in the related fields to get desired results and work done. It is a WordPress SEO plugin that lets you optimize your website so that your content can rank at top positions in search engine results.

While using this plugin, you can enjoy automatically generated Meta tags.
Any duplicate content is detected easily in your website content which helps you stay away from plagiarism.
On-page optimization tools: the powerful tools for page optimization sorts the work of adding descriptions, Meta tags to your pages and optimizing page titles.
Be it XML sitemap, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Bing Webmaster Tools, and a lot others can be connected with the All-in-one SEO plugin.
As you use it more and more, it offers you more control over the SEO tasks through its advanced features.

Availability:

Free to use with limited features.
Paid version starting at $49.50/year.

7. OneSignal

Notification WordPress plugin

Push Notification to your WordPress website as you use this WordPress plugin so that you don’t miss out on any potential leads. You can send notifications on the desktop as well as on your mobile so that you can instantly cater to the queries or requirements of your aspiring customers.

Initiate by creating your account. Further, install the plugin the WordPress plugin.
You can also choose to alter how push notifications should be displayed to the visitor.

#FunFact: One Signal sends over 5 billion notifications through their platform every day.

Your visitor will see a pop-up just when they are browsing on your website. Once they allow it, they choose to receive any new update from you. It can turn them into your loyal followers and customers.
You can create user segments, configure notification delivery at pre-set intervals, and customize the opt-in process for your visitors with live chat.
A visitor can choose to get notifications from you if you have anything to inform your customers even after they left your website.
This WordPress plugin powers notifications from startups to fortune companies.
You can re-engage with your audience to attract them with any loyalty program or reward you are offering on your website.

Availability:

It’s free to use with a limited set of features.
Paid plans start from $9/month.

8. Thrive Leads

Email list building plugin

In the era where professional communication is the best way to seek the interest of your potential customers, Thrive leads come as a blessing to all. It compels the user to fill out the information, especially the email addresses.

Once you get them in your database, you can advertise your products/ services to them in their inbox.
This all-in-one list-building solution helps you build conversion focussed forms to capture the data of your website visitor. The drag and drop editor is the best option to design such forms to persuade the visitor.
Not only the designs, but the way you want it to arrive in front of the visitor is another highlight of this plugin. Choose a pop-up form, slide-in form, in-line form, or sticky ribbon one to display your email form in front of your visitor.
This plugin supports all types of opt-in forms and a huge range of email marketing services.
Analysis and tracking of crucial metrics are available on the dashboard.
The A/B testing feature is the golden feature in this plugin is ideal for enhancing the rate of conversion.
If you are a beginner, the pre-designed templates will provide you a base to get started. Start building your own once you get the experience of which template gets you the best conversion.

Availability

The paid version is available in Thrive Suite at $19/month.

9. Leadpages

Landing page WordPress Plugin

An excellent way of converting your visitors into loyal customers is by creating extravagant and informative landing pages.

Start by choosing an optimized and professionally designed template for lead generation and conversion.
You can mix and match any element to design a custom landing page.
It helps you create conversion-oriented and mobile responsive lead pages for your website.
You can include alert bars, pop-ups, opt-in texts, and more on the landing pages created with its drag and drop builder.
The easy-to-read analytics report will help you check the performance of landing pages associated with your marketing campaign.
The real-time conversion tips and A/B testing further guides the creator in the right direction.
Check out the workflows and add leads automatically to your email list as you integrate your favorite online marketing apps with it.

Availability:

Start with a free 14-day trial.
Paid version plans starting at $27/ month.

Conclusion

Get settled for the best choices listed above for generating innumerable quality leads for your online business. It’s high time that you work for the best to achieve a flourishing business.

Feature Image Credit: provided by the author

By Rajesh Bhimani

Sourced from readwrite

In News

3 Growing Niches That Digital Nomads Can Leverage in the Next Decade

December 23, 2020 No Comments

By Tayler Schweigert

About two years ago, my wife Anika and I decided to give up our jobs as stewardess and hotel concierge in order to pursue our dreams of living as digital nomads. Since we left the corporate world, we have ventured into various models of online business, from ecommerce to lead generation and coaching, all while traveling to more than 85 countries around the world. Today, we help individuals who are tired of working 9-to-5 jobs become successful online and start their own digital nomad fairy tales.

Since the start of 2020, remote working has become a key element in the fight against the ongoing health crisis. And although traveling might still come with a few hurdles during the next 12 months, it appears that many businesses have changed their attitudes toward working from home. This provides an excellent opportunity for those who are looking to break the mould and work through their computers and smartphones instead of a tight and noisy city office.

If you are thinking about packing on some new skills that don’t demand your physical presence at an office, here are three exciting niches that are not only likely to grow in the next decade, but that are also perfect for remote work.

1. Data-driven marketing

Analysts believe that global B2C ecommerce sales will reach and estimated $4.5 trillion by 2021. In such a fast-growing industry, the need for digital media marketing experts is omnipresent. However, in this day and age, everyone and his mother is calling him or herself an online marketer. Knowing the basics about marketing just doesn’t do the deed anymore. To cut through the noise of tens of thousands of self-proclaimed marketing geniuses, we advise focusing on a bit more complex yet highly efficient marketing strategy: data-driven marketing.

Today, data-driven marketing is a key priority for marketing executives. According to recent reports, 40 percent of companies are seeking to increase their data-driven marketing spending, and 64 percent of marketing executives say that data-driven strategies are essential in today’s economy. While it may sound confusing at first, data-driven marketing is actually not that hard to execute. Did you ever run a social media or search engine ad and later optimized it based on the results that you were getting? This is essentially a very comprehensive form of data-driven marketing.

Thanks to the incredible value of reliable data these days, almost every bit of software tracks user behavior and collects information that might be highly valuable for your marketing decisions. To become a data-driven marketing specialist, you need to learn how to generate useful data, how to extract it and, most important, how to use this data to your advantage.

As you might have noticed, data-driven marketing requires a distinct set of marketing skills, including social media marketing and search engine marketing, which are very effective for gathering data, as well as content marketing and traditional advertising, which are great for using the data to improve marketing results. Nevertheless, as only a few are willing to go this extra mile, becoming a data-driven marketer allows you to position yourself as a valuable team member no matter where you currently are in the world.

2. High-quality content production

Before the introduction of the web 2.0, distributing one’s own ideas and opinions on a large scale was usually reserved for a limited number of people, mostly in the media industry. However, with the rise of user-generated content and social networks, this has changed quite dramatically. Today, almost everyone can upload original content, whether it is in the form of small posts, blog articles, images or videos, at an infinite number of virtual places and at any time.

If you can monetize your content, you can actually make quite a good living off of it. But monetization doesn’t mean merely pushing out tweets for the sake of content. This won’t make anybody rich — well, at least in most cases. Considering that hundreds of millions of human beings are uploading billions of content pieces every day, the key to success is quality.

User-generated content can play a significant role in marketing. According to research conducted by Bright Local, 92 percent of people rely on user-generated content when making a buying decision. In addition, as marketing software behemoth Stackla recently reported, about 57 percent of consumers believe that only a minority of brands create authentic content. The demand for influencers from not only major platforms such YouTube as Instagram but also from native channels like blogs and podcasts is expected to grow significantly over the next few years.

The beauty of a content production business is that you can choose from a variety of methods to produce, distribute and promote your content along a broad range of potential topics and niches. Immense possibilities for scaling your operation exist. It may take some time to get the ball rolling, so start by putting out content that supports an existing business or your personal brand. This will allow you to prepare your journey as a profitable content producer ahead of time.

3. Virtual jobs

Thanks to the rapid spread of COVID-19 regulations among workplaces, 2020 has sparked an immense number of new virtual jobs, many of which are expected to remain virtual even after the conclusion of the health crisis. This still relatively novel form of employment does not require any physical presence in an office or even a certain country and is thus perfect for digital nomads both with and without prior work experience.

Besides rising health concerns, another key reason for the substantial increase of virtual employees is the fact that they cost businesses significantly less than in-house job positions, since virtual jobs require less office space, fewer extras and often lower salaries or hourly rates. The opportunities for virtual jobs are plentiful and varied.

As more businesses start to recognize the benefits of remote work, both regular employees and freelancers may have many more opportunities to fulfil their dreams of becoming digital nomads.

Feature Image Credit: Natalie_magic | Getty Images

By Tayler Schweigert

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

In News

Why Content Marketing Matters For Brands (And Yes, This Includes Yours)

November 23, 2020 No Comments

By Pia Silva.

When you hear the term “content marketing,” it’s easy to think of big brands with six-figure advertising budgets and a team of bloggers and infographic designers on their sides. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how “big” your brand is. Even if you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, content marketing can make a significant difference for your ability to attract high-quality clients.

Yes, creating quality content marketing requires a fair amount of time — but what doesn’t? This is an important investment into your brand that will keep on giving.

It’s Essential For (Long-Term) Lead Generation

People no longer make a knee-jerk purchase because of an ad they happened to see on TV or online. Instead, they consider various options and do their research before making a decision.

When done right, your content will help you distance your brand from the competition. It will engage potential clients and provide the information they need to make their decision. It will present you in the best light possible.

Creating content is always worth it! The biggest reason? Because unlike ad campaigns, content is forever. It continues to exist on your website and other channels long after you publish it.

High-value content could eventually rank in Google search results itself, serving as a lasting form of lead generation. Valuable, insightful content has the potential to keep delivering value for your brand long after you’ve written it and forgotten about it.

If Google Cares About Content, You Should, Too

There’s no two ways around it: Google always attempts to put the best, most relevant content in front of people. These results are based on what they type into a Google search bar, as well as the quality of the content itself. The more “white hat” SEO-driven content you can produce, the easier it will be for potential clients to discover your brand.

Remember, there are no tricks or shortcuts anymore. Anyone trying to sell you the SEO equivalent of a “get rich quick” scheme shouldn’t be trusted. The way to get good SEO is by creating good content — not by tossing in a bazillion keywords or stuffing your content with backlinks.

This was especially clear during a recent email conversation with Maria Khramtsova, CEO of FortuneZ, a markets and iGaming media publication. She explained, “While keywords are important, your first priority should always be to provide real value to your target audience.”

Continued Khramtsova, “Always ask yourself if your content is truly informing them and helping them gain new insights about the topic. You can worry about working in keywords afterwards. When you write for the audience first, you’ll be able to work in keywords naturally, without detracting from the value of the content as a whole.”

Content Is Key For Better Understanding Your Customers

Wouldn’t it be nice to pry back the lid and get an inside look inside your prospects’ brains to know what they’re thinking — and what they want? Content marketing lets you do just that, through a trial-and-error approach — though one that doesn’t have the high costs of a traditional ad campaign attached.

Because they are housed on your website, the value of each content marketing piece can be easily quantified based on things like number of views, leads and so on.

With this in mind, you can then use your content to test audience-specific ideas like tone, target needs, branding messages and product or service ideas. The more content you create, the more you can learn about what your target audience likes or doesn’t like.

Over time, this allows you to fine-tune your voice and subject matter until you’ve got your content marketing running like a well-oiled machine. And with more quality, relevant content to help prospects discover you, it’ll be that much easier to connect.

Content Marketing Demonstrates Credibility (Instead Of Just Talking About It)

Far too many “experts” simply share a list of their services and an about page that acts like a virtual mini-resume. They assume that this is all they need to do to demonstrate their expertise and gain the trust of potential clients.

Yes, these website features can be helpful starting points, but your content marketing is how you can really prove your credibility — and not just say that you are.

Sure, you can talk about your industry experience and say that you did some big-time stuff at your old job before diving into your new career as a solopreneur, but the average prospect is going to need a lot more than that before they can trust you. Even testimonials from current and former clients can sometimes fall short, because a prospect may feel like they have different needs or concerns than your satisfied customers.

Your content marketing offers a chance for you to share your real opinions and insights about your industry. This isn’t where you have to try to be diplomatic. Strong opinions on relevant industry topics is how your potential clients can truly come to know you and your approach. Most importantly, it’s how they learn what makes you different or special.

Start Your Content Marketing Journey Now

Whether you’re planning to produce your own content or partner with a trusted freelancer, the most important thing is to start content marketing now. When you provide worthwhile, valuable content, you give potential clients a compelling reason to do business with you.

Feature Image Credit: STEVE WASTERVAL

By Pia Silva

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

I am a partner and brand strategist at Worstofall Design where we build brands that turn expertise into profit. Unlike most branding firms, we build entire brands in days instead of months, and only work for 1-3 person service businesses. Our unique process and niche positioning has helped us to overcome the hurdles we struggled with when we were starting our business, reliably attracting a steady flow of high paying clients and allowing us to enjoy the freedom that inspired us to become entrepreneurs in the first place. At Forbes, my goal is to clarify and simplify the elusive idea of “branding,” and share practical tips and tangible steps to help businesses find their unique brand voice that leads to profit

Sourced from Forbes

In News

Text Marketing as an Affordable Lead Generation Channel: Everything You Need to Know

February 26, 2020 No Comments

By Saten Aghajanyan.

No matter what industry you are in, lead generation is an important part of every business venture. It is the main source of revenue in addition to being an avenue for new business opportunities.

Amidst all the technological development, a lot of new channels have emerged for businesses to use to generate new leads. Among all, SMS Marketing has proven to be one of the more efficient ones (learn more here). Not to mention, it is the most affordable lead generation channel out there that

can provide the most bang for your buck.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS Marketing (which stands for short message service marketing) is implementing the text messaging channel to communicate both promotional and transactional to customers/people on mobile devices. It is an ideal channel to raise brand awareness, increase customer loyalty and drive up business revenues.

SMS Marketing Benefits

You will be hard-pressed to find any large business or corporation globally that does not engage in text message marketing in one way or another. And there is a solid reason for that. SMS marketing provides a lot of benefits that are unmatched by other marketing channels. It is the reason why since the inception of SMS itself to up until now SMS marketing has managed to retain one of the top spots as a marketing channel.

Now you may be asking yourself – what makes SMS marketing so lucrative and what kinds of benefits it has that appeals to most businesses? The answer is neither short nor simple. In reality, it is a combination of factors that makes SMS marketing as appealing and as useful as it is. It also helps that it is the most preferred channel of communication among consumers, ahead of email, direct mail and app notifications.

The following is a comprehensive list of all the benefits SMS marketing offers to businesses, regardless of size and location.

SMS marketing is just about the most affordable marketing and communication channel to reach the masses. As far as spreading information to the largest number of people is concerned, no other form of marketing is comparable in terms of pricing. Of course, prices mostly depend on what country you choose to conduct your marketing in but generally, most of them lean on the cheaper side.
Accessibility and Worldwide Reach. Most traditional forms of marketing, or even digital ones for that matter, tend to miss out on one important thing—they are neither completely accessible nor do they reach everyone. SMS marketing, on the other hand, ticks both boxes. Over half of the world population owns a mobile device, making them readily accessible at any time and anywhere in the world. Since SMS also is not limited by any geographic boundaries, those people can be reached even from the other side of the world.
High Open and Conversion Rates. Businesses investing money in marketing have one real concern—results. Most channels of communication, while wildly prominent, are counter-intuitively ineffective. Most ordinary people would comfortably put email ahead of SMS in terms of an effective marketing channel. However, it is more than three times less effective statistically. SMS offers the highest open rate with a staggering 98% and conversion rates in the 25-35% range. Moreover, SMS messages are opened within 3 minutes of being received. That is absolutely not the case with emails that can go months being neglected.
Increased Customer Engagement. SMS marketing is also known to increase customer engagement which, in turn, also serves to marginally increase customer loyalty. SMS marketing is not limited to receiving offers and reminders. The right text message at the right time can engage customers better than social media or email. Not to mention that businesses set up chatbots and use the SMS channel to communicate with customers: either to resolve issues or collect feedback.

These are some of the key benefits of SMS marketing but the list does not end there. SMS marketing also offers benefits like immediacy, personalization, reliability and great return on investment. Having said all of this, it is pretty easy to understand why SMS marketing has been a dominant marketing channel for so long and why it is here for the long haul.

SMS Marketing for Lead Generation

So how is SMS marketing relevant to lead generation? The answer lies within the facts and statistics regarding SMS in general. Here are a few key ones to take into consideration.

Nielsen survey shows that consumers spend 14.1% of their mobile time texting, compared to just 5.3% for email.
90% of customers prefer texts to phone calls.
44% of customers prefer to get promotions through SMS.
The click-through rate on SMS averages around 17%, which is 5 times higher than that of email.

If you want to reach potential customers and generate new leads, you have got to do it on a channel they spend most of their time on, thus are more accessible.

SMS marketing is very flexible by its essence, therefore not limited to any one particular industry. Businesses across all industries can find a use for SMS marketing in their lead generation pursuits. So let’s count down some examples of industries that can benefit from using text messages to connect with potential clients.

Real Estate. You can frequently contact potential buys using the SMS channel, letting them know what properties are available in the form of reminders.
Ad agencies. Advertising can benefit from SMS marketing the most since it is the easiest way to connect with customers and collect information about them. Running a promotion? Let people know about it through an SMS message and see how easy it is to attract new customers.
Event Management. Regardless of what kind of event you are organizing, it makes sense to promote it to as many people as you can. SMS can be used to promote the event and drive up ticket sales, thus increasing both event awareness and attendance.

Additionally, using SMS marketing you can provide your potential leads with a customized and personalized experience by facilitating two-way communication with them. Using SMS autoresponders, in this case, can help you automate this task.

SMS autoresponders can be used to contact leads, provide them with necessary information about your business (products and services) and send additional information and resources that they can use.

Of course, do not forget to collect as much information from your potential leads as possible. This will help you to qualify and categorize them accordingly so that later you can divide them into segments for a more targeted marketing campaign.

Feature Image Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/SYTO3xs06fU

By Saten Aghajanyan

Saten Aghajanyan has been working at Dexatel OU as a sales manager for over a year and is now a part of the newly-formed marketing team representing their recently-launched product SendSMS, which provides wholesale SMS services. Currently, she works as a digital marketer helping develop the brand name while simultaneously giving people full information about mobile marketing, especially SMS marketing. Before working at Dexatel, she volunteered for different organizations and large events.