In order for your business to be super successful, you need to get the best leads online to the top of your funnel. You want to find and target qualified leads who are people really interested in what you have to offer.
But the competition is fierce! There are a zillion companies out there doing their best to get those leads. They have to come up with new ideas and marketing messages constantly!
You also may find yourself searching for new strategic tactics so you can survive in the business world. Maybe you’ve built a great marketing team but you’re not sure what to do next.
Here are some tips to help you build top-of-the-funnel leads online. You can use these tips and strategies whether you’re a new start-up or a well-known business and brand.
Keep it simple
The top of your funnel marketing doesn’t need to be complicated. All you want is people to start to get to know you and your brand. This is where you let people know who you are and what you have to offer and how you can help them. You want to woo them with your products or services that will help them with their specific pain point.
You don’t want to confuse people who are beginning to see your brand and offers. At the top of the funnel, they are just starting to get to know you.
Keep your message simple but grab their attention at the same time. Help them remember who you are, so they’ll keep coming back.
Create A Quality Brand Campaign
To get leads online while keeping it simple, create a campaign around your brand. This is the first stage in your customer journey so the main goal is to build brand recognition.
With continued exposure to your brand, your ideal customers start to trust and like you more. Even though this type of campaign won’t convert people at a high rate, you’ll start to learn more about your target customer’s mind and what they like. You’ll be able to calculate different types of metrics to see when your audience is on your website and what they are paying the most attention to.
A great example of a brand that has built campaigns around their brand really well is Apple. Even when they’ve bombed with certain products, their brand remains well known and recognized. They built trust in their brand and when that happens, it’s much easier to maintain a great reputation and bounce back with new products that don’t bomb.
Apple is such a great example. There are many other brands that you recognize because of how they’ve built their brand recognition and what they stand for.
Invest In Your Website
Your website is probably the first place someone goes to when they want to get to know you better. Your website is your target audience’s first impression about you.
Make your website amazing! But not in a weird way. You want your website to look clean and have everything laid out so your customer knows the next step to take in their journey. You want to have valuable information about your brand that’s easy to access and understand.
Put an opt-in offer that is free on every single page of your website. You’ll start to grow an email list where you can continue to nurture your audience.
If you’re not sure how to set up a great website, it’s best to find someone who does. It will be worth the investment. You’ll want to have the right amount of design coupled with the right amount of information.
Search engine marketing (SEM) will help drive people to your website. Use this tactic after your website is ready. Start writing lots of blog posts that have the right keywords optimized for SEO (search engine optimization). The keywords you use are the ones people use when they Google a topic. So you want your brand and topic ready in order for people to find you when they’re searching on Google.
Once you have a good foundation of content on your website, you can start using PPC, (pay-per-click) advertising to bring in more leads.
SEO is another area that if you’re not interested in learning everything about it, you may want to hire someone who specializes in this field.
Try Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is an easy and great way to find leads online and build your brand awareness. You can set up a business page on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for free. As you begin to share content about your brand, people begin to recognize you. They are drawn to your content and will most likely click on your website to find out more.
The important thing with social media is to be social! You want to engage with people who follow you. Get them to answer questions and always reply when they ask you a question ❓ Social media is how you build community and trust.
Once you’ve been on social media for a while, you may want to start using ads to get even more leads online. They all have powerful targeting options so you can find and target the people who would be most interested in your products or services.
Partner Up With Someone
It can be extremely beneficial for you to partner up with another brand and it can be fun too! You don’t always have to do everything alone. Once your website is up and running and your products or services are ready for your audience, find someone who has products or services that would complement yours.
For example, let’s say you are an SEO expert. You could partner up with a Website developer. Start by building a relationship with them. Check out their services and be sure you would be a good match for each other.
Once your relationship is established you will want to see how you can turn your partner’s customer base into new leads for your own business. Ask if you can publish a guest post on their blog. And at the end of the blog put all your information about yourself, who you are and what you do and add your website URL.
Another thing you can do is run joint webinars. Both of your audiences show up which helps your partner and you. You can also run a joint campaign on social media. It’s a perfect way to continually build your audience.
Run An Assessment Campaign
Once you start seeing your audience grow, you can run an assessment campaign. This allows you to get input and learn more about your target audience. All the information you get will help you market to them more effectively. Depending on your business, you’ll want to find out your audiences’ age, job titles, location or different things they’re interested in.
You’ll also be able to find out what they need in their business. You’ll find out their specific problems. There may be different groups of people in your audience that have similar needs but at different levels.
Once you’ve collected this useful information, you will have a detailed picture of your leads. Then you can create content just for them. With your content, you provide the solution they are looking for and that also keeps them coming back for more.
As you learn more about ads, one strategy you can use is retargeting your audience. You retarget those who’ve already been to your website and have shown interest in your content.
Offer Assets
Some types of assets you can provide for your potential customers are in-depth blog posts like an ultimate guide or skyscraper posts. These types of posts are very detailed and very long, but they usually cover everything you need to know about a certain topic.
Other content that is enticing to your audience is e-books and guides on how to do something specific.
You can offer free PDF’s as a download. This way they fill out an opt-in form and are then on your email list. Other free information they can download are checklists or infographics or planners. As long as your freebies offer valuable information and speak to your ideal customer, they will continue to engage with you.
When they are on your email list, you continue to nurture them and help them go further down your marketing funnel ⛛
Make Sure You’re Utilizing E-commerce Tools And Strategies
If you have products you want to sell online be sure you set up your e-commerce so people can conduct their transactions online. This is a huge convenience for you and your customers. Your products and services are then available 24/7.
Be sure to let everyone know you’ve set up e-commerce on your website through social media and your website.
Don’t Forget To Include Outbound Marketing Tactics!
Outbound marketing can be valuable in getting leads online. You can attend trade shows and collect leads as well as hand out your business card that has your website URL on it.
There are other ways to use outbound marketing to bring in leads. Remember to be thoughtful and strategic when using all these marketing tactics. Always think of the customer and what they want. This is how to continually add value to your business.
Try out these strategies to help you get more leads online. If you’re new to building an online business, just start off slowly and keep everything simple. Learn as you go and it won’t be long you’ll have a huge audience. The top of your funnel is where all your customers and prospects start. Grab their attention and build good relationships from there!