Startups don’t have the leisure that enterprises have in terms of available assets and resources. They do, however, share the same goals, to grow and generate a stable revenue stream.
To do this, startups have to seize all lead generation opportunities. Only in their case, they have to be smart about choosing their tactics.
Otherwise, they might not be able to overcome the failures that their older and bigger cousins could.
The trick is to create a funnel specifically for your target audience.
If you are running a startup, a unique funnel will help you attract your target customers, capture high-quality leads, and easily convert them into customers.
And to do so, you will need to use different strategies ranging from offering attractive courses via LMS software and being active on social media.
Here are the 5 lead generation tactics that can give startups a vast boost.
Deliver An Alluring Offer With LMS Software
The most logical step to take when you want to grow your list of targeted leads via email is to give them something they cannot resist.
It’s not easy making people leave you their email address. You will need to deliver something that they are interested in.
This is why you should research your target customers before being able to custom-tailor any of the tactics we are about to share with you.
So, what is this alluring offer that we keep talking about? It can be anything ranging from an ebook to an online course created via LMS software.
The trick is to create a lead magnet specifically for your audience. Why do you need a lead magnet?
According to recent research, without a lead magnet, you will lose up to 95% of prospects that visit your website for the first time.
To deliver strong lead magnets, you have to build them around problems and solutions.
You can have a magnet for each subgroup of your target customers, each one addressing a very specific problem and offering a solution for it.
Using an LMS software is great because you can invite customers to a course via email, and even offer them certificates upon completion.
Step Up Your Content Marketing Game
Content marketing is your next go-to solution for generating more leads. Since you are running a startup, you won’t have much time or cash to go all in. But that is no problem at all.
A small, yet valuable blog section on your website will do the job. It all boils down to writing about topics your customers are interested in.
These can range from how-tos, and step-by-step guides to elaborate industry reports, reviews and your personal insights.
Make sure to use high-quality photos and stay as concise as possible in your articles. If the customers see the value in your content, you will experience higher conversion rates.
There is another thing that you can to create more leads.
You can start using content upgrades to boost your email list building and lead generation efforts. You can create an “Ultimate guide” or “Cheat sheet” type of content and offer it for free to anyone who subscribes.
This positively affects both opt-in rates and the conversion rate.
Become Active on Quora
Quora is where many people spend their time each day. The chances are that some of your potential customers are there as well.
By expanding your funnel, you will generate more opportunities for lead generation, and that’s exactly why you should actively participate in Quora.
If you don’t know anything about it, Quora is a website where people ask questions and other people answer them.
Now, you don’t want to lose time answering all sorts of questions. Keep it specific.
To do it, you will need to take a look at your target customer research report and start browsing Quora for the kind of questions your customers might ask.
Make sure that your answers are to the point and not overly promotional. Feel free to include a link to your landing page or appropriate content in your blog section.
Enter The Social Media Arena
Startups can use all the promotion they can get, and social media offers it for free. Unless, of course, you want to use paid social media advertising, but more about that later.
Social media platforms are very efficient in catching the eye of customers. Especially, Pinterest and Instagram. This is a great opportunity to give your startup a face, or faces.
Upload your inside photos, photos of your team members, and your other activities.
Twitter and Facebook, on the other hand, are great for sharing valuable content you now have on your blog. They are also good for directly communicating with your customers.
To make that communication possible many companies implement Facebook Messenger chatbots. This allows businesses to stay accessible to their customers 24/7. Apart from that, a well-designed chatbot obtains contact information during the conversation which is a more natural method of lead generation compared to usual subscription forms. Besides, making a messenger chatbot is not rocket science. There are chatbot building platforms where you can build a chatbot without coding. For example, SendPulse gives you messenger chatbot functionality for free. There are other solutions like ManyChat and MobileMonkey, but they currently don’t have a free tier.
Make sure that you post and answer questions and comments regularly. Don’t be afraid of posting curate content, as it also has conversion potential.
Experiment With Signup Forms
The signup form is where all the magic happens. Regardless of whether it’s a standalone form or one embedded in a content upgrade offer and welcome mat, you will need to experiment with it.
Your potential customers might respond to some form types better than others. Your job is to identify the best performing one.
For instance, the welcome mat is suitable for capturing evasive leads that somehow never visit your landing page. With a welcome mat, you can cover the website pages with the highest traffic.
When it comes to the number of fields people have to fill in, give your best to keep it to the bare minimum. Go with either “Name” and “Email Address” or just the “Email Address” field.
None of these 5 lead generation strategies will require you to invest large sums of cash.
These are proven strategies and if you integrate them in your lead generation efforts, you will create a strong pipeline and generate a steady flow of leads.
Author Bio: Angela White is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing for the consumer market in the areas of product research and marketing using quizzes and surveys. Having a knack for writing and an editorial mindset, She is an expert researcher at a brand that’s known for creating delightfully smart tools such as ProProfs Quiz Maker.