Once again, it’s that time of year.
You guessed it, right? Season for trends & predictions has arrived!
We’ve had a busy year at ONLY B2B. Our attention in 2023 was on:
- Making the most out of current economic situation
- Expanding our value-driven marketing strategy.
- Continuing to maintain contact with clients at every stage of their journey.
Your business relies on generating qualified leads and making sales. So what lead generation tactics will bring you the most leads in 2024. Here are the top 7 B2B lead generation strategies for 2024.
Must Read: Account based marketing tactics in 2024
Strategies For Generating B2B Leads In 2024
In general, B2B businesses prioritize producing high-quality leads above a large volume of leads. Additionally, B2B businesses do this through long-term organic lead creation techniques. indicating that companies are utilizing internally produced assets to expand their operations. For instance, unpaid media like as blogs, emails, and information that has been optimized for search engines are becoming more popular.
Why? Companies are trying to maximize their marketing budgets when markets slow down. In contrast to the first few months of COVID-19, most businesses are not completely reducing their marketing spending. Instead of spending less on paid content marketing and advertising, B2B organizations are making the most of their budgets by concentrating their efforts on methods that naturally attract leads to their website. So let’s go into the top 7 lead generation tactics for 2024.
1. Content Marketing
The old saying “content is king” is still relevant today. The fuel for lead generation is content. Because of this, 46% of companies want to boost their spending on content generation. Why? You benefit from content marketing because:
- Increase the visibility and knowledge of your brand.
- Drive visitors to your website naturally.
- Attract and hold a lead’s interest.
- Gain the confidence of your audience.
- Through promoting interaction with your brand and product.
- Produce more leads.
How can content aid in lead generation? Your audience is passively nurtured by it. DemandGen claims that before ever connecting with a business, 44% of potential customers watch three to five pieces of information. At the same time, content marketing costs 62% less and produces three times as many leads than outbound marketing.
This does not imply that you should abandon all efforts or that outbound marketing is no longer effective. LinkedIn and cold calling are still effective B2B marketing strategies. Establishing your content machine and strategy should be a top goal for 2024 if you haven’t yet done so, merely publish corporate news, or write content without a purpose or a plan.
The best-performing content forms for B2B businesses in 2023 were research papers, ebooks, blogs under 3,000 words, and virtual events like webinars or online courses. Choose one of these material types if you’re unclear where to begin in order to benefit the most in 2024.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Make sure to optimize the content you write for your website for search engines. For B2B businesses, SEO is still one of the greatest lead generating strategies.
HubSpot claims that one of the best ways for B2B businesses to get leads is through SEO. With regard to return on investment, it is considered one of the greatest marketing channels. And in 2024, 88% of B2B businesses want to keep investing in SEO or even expand it. By investing in SEO, you may outperform your rivals, increase organic traffic, and increase website conversions.
Create a list of keywords that you want your business to be recognized for to get started with SEO. These words ought to accurately describe your business, your goods, and your services. If you own a design and branding business, for instance, you could wish to become well-known for phrases like “design agency,” “branding agency,” and more generic terms like “branding.” Then, carry out keyword research and better comprehend search intent using an SEO tool like Ahrefs. Next, create content ideas using these keywords, related phrases, and frequently asked questions.
However, don’t compromise quality for SEO. Brands that write with the reader in mind and offer value are rewarded by the Google algorithm above those who only write for search engine rankings.
Must Read: Top 7 Advantages of B2B Marketing Plan
3. Social Selling
Another effective lead-generation tactic for 2024 is social selling, which involves leveraging social media to expand your sales funnel and produce leads. Because you are ultimately marketing to a human, regardless of your sector or product. Given how crucial social media is to everyone’s life, B2B businesses must use these platforms to connect with their customers where they are most engaged.
Businesses that prioritize social selling have a 51% higher chance of exceeding their sales targets. And 78% of B2B enterprises that employ social selling outperform those that don’t.
When we refer to social selling, we do not, however, imply bombarding users of LinkedIn or Facebook with messages about your product or links to Calendly urging them to schedule a demo. Social selling is a long-term endeavour. Through engagement and interaction with prospects on social media sites, it entails gaining their trust and credibility.
Any of the following can be used in social selling:
- Creating content that solves an issue your clients are having.
- Using your social media presence to attract demand.
- Taking part in social interactions that result in business chances.
- Keeping up with and interacting with prospective consumers.
- Creating and maintaining a specialized community on social media.
Start with LinkedIn if you’re not sure which platform to use. The organic social media site used and preferred by B2B content marketers, according to the Content Marketing Institute, is LinkedIn. The lowest ranking was given to Facebook, with 37% of B2B marketers claiming that it is useless.
4. Email Marketing
When compared to other digital media strategies, email marketing yields one of the greatest returns on investment and offers the highest click-through rate, whether it be through newsletters, promotional emails, welcome emails, event reminders, or follow-up emails.
Which explains why email newsletters are used to provide information by three out of four B2B marketers. Additionally, email marketing will keep expanding well into 2025.
Email marketing is a welcome alternative now that third-party cookies are no longer used, privacy is becoming increasingly important, and data usage is done with consent.
It’s not only affordable, but it’s also simple to make adjustments and track progress using data like open, click-through, and reply rates. It is also a permitted method of marketing. In other words, recipients have elected to receive these updates, which they are always free to read or opt out of.
Whether you’re not sure where to begin, see if you can send simple emails using your CRM software. Choose an email marketing service provider like ONLY B2B if it doesn’t. Set specific objectives that align with your marketing plan after that since understanding what you want to accomplish with email marketing makes it easier to choose or create content.
Must Read: Sales Success Secrets: The Critical Role of Lead Generation and Appointment Setting
5. Use of Influencers
In the past five years, one of the fastest-growing marketing methods has been influencer marketing. It has received a lot of attention in the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, and B2B companies are starting to take notice as well.
Influencer marketing is successful, according to 86% of B2B firms who employ it. In a poll of B2B businesses, 70% of them said that influencer marketing increased their brand recognition. And 56% claim that it helps them find new qualified leads (Marketing qualified or Sales qualified). Thus, it is evident that this pattern will persist.
Working with someone your audience is familiar with and confident in is the beauty of influencer marketing. Additionally, this individual is skilled at producing compelling material that appeals to both their base and potential new followers. Therefore, if you work with the correct influencer, your brand name will be amplified and your awareness will increase.
Consider factors other than vanity metrics like follower count or subscription count when choosing who to collaborate with. Start by creating a distinct buyer persona instead. Look at the social networking sites your audience frequents, the LinkedIn contacts they make, and the people they follow. Utilize this knowledge to identify the industry influencers you should target and the kinds of content that will most appeal to them. This will make it possible for your B2B company to quickly establish fruitful contacts.
6. Video Promotion
There are now more platforms than ever for making video content. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that 84% of online shoppers buy things after seeing a branded video, and 78% of people watch some type of video content every week.
What makes video material so well-liked? because it is a more engaging visual type of material than a static image. Videos pique our curiosity because moving pictures are more engaging and memorable to our minds.
Your business will benefit from using video content in your marketing plan if you want to raise brand awareness, improve leads and sales, decrease support calls, and increase website traffic.
Selecting your target demographic and establishing the purpose of your video can help you launch your video marketing campaign (s). To understand the opportunities and difficulties you will encounter, analyse the budget and resources at your disposal. Then, start producing after deciding on the style of video, the subject matter, and the platforms you’ll employ.
Must Read: High-Performance Inbound Marketing Techniques for Successful Lead Generation Campaigns
7. Offer a Free Demo Or Trial
Some B2B brands might not be able to use this strategy. If you own a software or technology business, you might want to think about providing a free version or trial of your product.
A free CRM is provided by HubSpot. Free Heatmap software is provided by Crazy Egg. Small businesses can use Hunter’s free plan. Leadinfo suggests a 14-day trial that is free.
Why are we doing this? Considering that it enables leads to trial before they purchase. It enables users to see for themselves what they can do and how our product will make their lives simpler. Additionally, it offers businesses useful information on their products. This technique is an effective lead generating method that will convert leads that are unsure.
What is the trick to offering your target market an enticing free trial? What you need to know is as follows:
Make sure your trial offer is truly free. Credit cards shouldn’t be necessary.
Make signing up as simple as you can. There are no long forms to complete.
The trial term should be no longer than 14 days.
Ensure trial users and users of your free plan have access to customer service.
The Future Of Lead Generation
You’ll expand in 2024 if you use these seven lead-generation techniques. But do not anticipate quick outcomes. The execution of each of these tactics will take time. Don’t try to adopt seven new lead gen tactics at once if you’re just starting out.
Choose an alternative that you can really implement inside your firm. Your decision will be influenced by your buyer profile, marketing plan, and corporate objectives. Watch as your business expands and more leads are converted. And if you are looking out for some extended assistance, feel free to get in touch with us.
Must Read: Beginner’s Guide to Contact Discovery and B2B List Building
Vikas Bhatt is the Co-Founder of ONLY B2B, a premium B2B lead generation company that specializes in helping businesses achieve their growth objectives through targeted marketing & sales campaigns. With 10+ years of experience in the industry, Vikas has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses today and has developed a unique approach to lead generation that has helped clients across a range of industries around the globe. As a thought leader in the B2B marketing community, ONLY B2B specializes in demand generation, content syndication, database services and more.
