As a digital marketing agency, it is extra challenging for you to generate leads, as your competition is businesses with expertise in lead generation. The good news: there are prospects out there looking for an agency like yours. All you need to do is ensure that they find you and then choose you over anyone else.
Optimize Your Website for Search
The first thing to do is make sure potential leads know that you exist. Use your knowledge of SEO to optimize your own website for search and push your pages to the top of the SERPs.
It’s likely that you’re already utilizing all the major SEO tactics, like infusing pages with keywords and creating high-quality, long-form content. However, there may some simple tactics that you’ve overlooked.
One could be telling search engines what to crawl. If you have a large website (and if you don’t yet, you will as you progress with writing content), Google may not crawl everything on a regular basis. To ensure that Google crawls what matters, add noindex and nofollow tags wherever necessary.
Another tactic to take advantage of is influencer marketing. This has been gaining traction for the past couple years and should be a major marketing trend for 2018. What others think of your brand is beginning to matter more to both Google and prospects. Find influencers who already have a large following online and who fit with your brand image. Then, ask them to create content that you can publish on multiple channels.
Target Relevant Searches
When it comes to keywords, it is essential that you target relevant searches; otherwise, you may be wasting your efforts or missing out on potential leads. Part of this comes down to brainstorming as many new keywords as possible and assessing their potential to bring you the right users. However, you also need to return to the search terms you are already using and evaluate them.
First, check how a current keyword is allowing you to rank. Then, see how difficult it would be to move up in the SERPs by considering what pages outrank you. (Bear in mind, it is impossible to know with any certainty.) Finally, calculate how many clicks you are likely to receive if you move up and how many more leads this would bring you. If it is both possible and lucrative to improve your ranking, continue to use the keyword in your marketing efforts. Then, to enhance the impact of the keyword, create great, in-depth content.
Write Relevant Blog Posts
Blogging can be a hugely effective way to generate leads, but it only works if you’re creating the right type of content. Everything you produce should inform or interest prospects; content should never just advertise your business. Useful topics for digital marketing agencies may include how to solve common SEO problems, SMM best practices, or examples of the best web designs.
Whenever you are writing a new post, think about where it fits in your sales funnel. Users who have only just realized they have a problem with their digital marketing have completely different needs to users who are contemplating their options. Your blogging strategy needs to take each stage into account to include posts for your entire audience.
Try Different Lead Magnets
For later stages of the buyers’ journey, you need more than just blog posts. Creating a variety of content to use as lead magnets allows you to attract the maximum amount leads.
Experiment with various types of downloadable resources, like white papers, ebooks, and podcasts. Also try other kinds of lead magnets, such as a free audit, a tool to calculate the cost of a web redesign, and webinars to teach prospects about digital marketing.
Use Social Media Marketing
Along with SEO, using social media marketing is a great way to gain visibility for your blog posts and lead magnets. But this is just the starting point of what social can do for you.
Social media gives you the chance to communicate your brand voice and show prospects what you can offer them that no one else can. SMM is most effective when you are active on platforms. Respond to comments, engage followers in conversations, and demonstrate your expertise.
Another way you should use social media is to show that you are up to date in the latest changes in your industry. Digital marketing is fast moving, and social media gives you the opportunity to be the first to inform your audience of the latest changes. Whether Google makes a major update to its algorithm or a social platform implements a new feature that will impact SMM for your clients, your followers should hear about it from you first.
Finally, with social media you can connect with potential influencers. When influencers can link to your profile, you instantly grow your audience. You may be able to gain a significant number of new followers to nurture into leads.
Customize Your Website
How often do you visit a website for the first time and it feels eerily familiar? Using a layout, navigation, and forms that are recognizable has its benefits — if you are too different, users get lost and leave. However, you need to show that your business has creativity. This shows clients that they can expect a unique approach when they choose you.
Without being dramatic, think about how you can customize features to grab users’ attention and be more memorable. For instance, instead of just asking contact details on a popup, use humor or create a sense of urgency. Keep optimizing elements through A/B testing until you arrive at the perfect design.
Whether you’re a small SEO startup, a well-established social media marketing company, or an independent web developer, you should be doing all the above. Only by applying these tactics to your strategy will you stay competitive and generate fruitful leads.
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