Lead Generation Process & Platforms Every Digital Marketer Should Know

A lead is usually the contact information and, in some cases, demographic information of a customer interested in a specific product or service. Lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or inquiry into the products or services of a business.

Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, customer acquisition, sales, etc., and may come from various sources or activities, like, digital marketing (i.e. via the internet), personal referrals, telephone calls either by the company or telemarketers, offline advertisements, sponsors at events.

Here are the digital processes & platforms that are most commonly used for lead generation:

1. Email Marketing

There are a lot of ways to build an email list, but a lot of people just buy them. They send promotional emails to the list. This can be a source of very cheap leads for their business.

However we wouldn’t recommend buying a list since most of them are dead lists (people that haven’t been contacted in a very long time). Also, the major disadvantage of buying a list is that your email has a very high chance of going into the spam folder. But every once in a while, you’ll come across a list that can give you excellent results. It’s a very high-risk-high-reward type of deal.

Email marketing when done using paid advertising or organic methods can be a huge source of lead generation for a business. You should consider building an email list instead of buying a list. You’ll get a chance to build a relationship with your audience which will prove very useful in the long term.

2. Facebook Ads

You might have already come across some of these ads. Most internet users are on Facebook & Instagram, so around 84% of marketers choose to use this platform to drive traffic and acquire leads. Google is also another platform that is used constantly for lead generation.

One of our favorites for lead generation is Facebook Lead Ads. Lead Ads on Facebook have a very smooth flow. It allows customers to submit their information (within 30 seconds) without ever leaving Facebook. Facebook removes the friction and lowers acquisition costs, providing a much better user experience and hopefully driving more leads for your business.

3. Google Ads

Google ads have a similar process but they focus more on the user experience. The customer searches for something, clicks on the first ad (if it can answer the user’s question), goes to a landing page/website, and submits their information. Brands need to be a lot more customer-centric while doing this. They need to provide a lot of value up-front otherwise the customer might lose interest midway.

The upside with Google ads is that the people who do end up giving their information are very highly intent. They could turn into your best customers if treated correctly.

You can run paid social ads on Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and even Pinterest.

4. Social Media Platforms (Organic)

Social media can be a powerful channel for lead generation. To be successful at acquiring leads via social media, you must invest time and effort in building an engaged audience so you can convert those individuals into leads.

You must know your target market so you can figure out which platforms they use frequently and reach them on those platforms.

When you use social media, you can connect with your target audience, build relationships, and convert your followers into leads. Then, you can maintain a presence in their social feeds until they’re ready to convert and become customers.

You can start doing this on any platform like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, Blog/Website, etc.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is growing at such an exponential rate that it has become one of the primary sources of lead generation. Today, most companies invest more than 40% of their capital just into digital marketing. This is why the lead generation process as well as the tools used for lead generation become so important.

If you’re someone who wants to learn more about how to use digital marketing to generate more leads for your business, or other businesses, enroll in Board Infinity's Digital Marketing Course and get 80+ hours of premium content in the form of LIVE classes and offline boot camps, 1-on-1 mentoring directly from industry experts, placement assistance, certification, and more!