Almost every business is using the internet for marketing purposes, nowadays. Yet, not everybody is using inbound marketing to generate more leads. This is a shame, especially given the fact that inbound marketing generates twice as many leads as outbound marketing can. Likewise, more than twice as many marketers (45%) are citing inbound as their primary source of leads, as compared to only 22% who said that they see outbound marketing as their main source.  

These numbers also make a lot of sense, if we think about it. While outbound marketing focuses on more traditional methods like buying email lists, cold calling, or buying ads and other similar means of getting in contact with potential customers, inbound marketing focuses on drawing in leads by providing them with high-quality content through email, blog posts, website, social media, or other digital assets. By its very nature, inbound marketing works by attracting mostly qualified leads, eliminating the need for conversion.

If done right, inbound marketing is a mid to long-term strategy that will provide organic benefits, as time marches on. There are numerous ways to utilize inbound marketing, either to enhance your digital marketing, as a whole or to increase your lead generation. Here are six tips to help you achieve just that.

1. Rework Your Social Media Strategy

Social media is, in most cases, the first point of contact between you and your future leads. But in order to be effective, you have to stop thinking about it as a sort of archive where you post and repost blog content. As its name would suggest, social media is a place to socialize and get to know each other. 

To take advantage of all that social media has to offer, you have to start engaging with your audience and get them involved in the conversation. Ask questions and reply to what people are asking. You can also use social media to post conversation starters, not just blog articles. This way, you have the opportunity to convert leads to customers straight from social media platforms, and not after they reach your website.   

2. Effective Call to Actions

With an overabundance of information circulating on the internet, people are beginning to suffer from the so-called decision fatigue. What this means is that people are less likely to take any decisions on their own when it comes to navigating your website. You should be using  calls-to-action wherever they are appropriate, so as to provide for a better and smoother customer journey. 

3. Use Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a particularly useful tool for businesses to better understand their users. With it, you can see and measure a wide range of factors such as your website's popularity, your user's time spent on the site, their conversion rates, geographical locations, device use, behavior flow, bounce and exit rates, etc. 

This hard data will help you optimize your lead generation efforts, providing you with a more in-depth view of the situation and highlighting the areas that need your attention. Do not shy away from experimenting with Google Analytics, seeing what works and what doesn't. It may take some trial-and-error before you can optimize the entire process for the best results, but the effort is worth it in the end.

What's more, the platform is a “freemium.” This means that, as a small business, you can use its services for free. It's only if you want more advanced features, that Google Analytics will charge a recurring fee.

4. The A/B Test

In your effort to optimize your landing pages, emails, and CTAs, it would be a great idea to use an A/B Test. Also known as split testing, the A/B test works by comparing to versions of a landing page, CTA, email, etc. to determine which one provides better conversion rates and also, what features are responsible for those different results. 

5. The Thank You Page 

With all the preparation required to have everything working properly, the Thank You page is often overlooked. After all, you've gotten that person's contact information, right? Well, contrary to a simple thank-you message, a thank-you page can be designed in such a way so as to allow visitors to better engage with your brand. 

6. Lead Magnets

A lead magnet is a free giveaway that you offer people in exchange for their contact information. These can take on numerous forms, depending on the industry, and can range from things like samples, white papers, trial subscriptions, free consultations, or e-newsletters, among many other things. Do not shy away from using lead magnets, as they are proven to be extremely effective in gathering inbound leads. 

Conclusion

Focusing more on inbound marketing instead of outbound marketing to get qualified leads, is a wise choice. It has proven time and time again to be more effective and have a much higher ROI than other alternatives. If you want more information about inbound marketing, or you need help in setting up your digital marketing strategy, ask a professional.