3 Best B2B Lead Generation Strategies For 2018

Lead generation for B2B purposes can be challenging for small business owners and CMOs. Information found online state that PPC is the best way to generate leads, while others some claim it's better SEO. 

To begin to unravel any confusion regarding B2B lead generation, we must begin with the basics: Who is you target audience?

Moreover, what are their needs, their online habits, and how are your competitors successfully engaging your target audience online? Marketers need to be very clear on who their target is before implementing any strategy. Building your "customer persona" is very critical factor that determines the success of your campaign.

My Top Three Lead Gen Strategies For 2018

1. Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is a highly-effective distribution channel. B2B companies highly regard social media advertising as effective. Why? Because they do get the results. Lack of results come about because they do not have a proper social media marketing plan.

2. Content/Video Marketing

Marketers need to create content which targets long tail keywords. For example, you are a realtor working on generating leads from a particular part of your city. If you target keywords which get 114,000,000 results on Google, such as "Las Vegas Realtor", it is very difficult for your content to rank on page 1, due to the competitiveness around that term.

A better approach would be to create content with long-tail keywords. These can be used for a blog post, presentation, webinar or a YouTube video. Your content focused on long-tail keywords like, "best realtor summerlin nevada".

A recent study shows that 76% of B2B marketers include video in their strategies, and 72% use YouTube. Additionally, YouTube is now the second-largest search engine, behind Google. Videos on YouTube can also improve search rankings. Yes, YouTube is a viable and effective site that provides a wealth of opportunities for B2B exposure and interaction.

3. Email Marketing

Email marketing still ranks as one of the best-performing marketing actions when it comes to B2B lead generation strategies. I have witnessed too many entrepreneurs ignore their past clients, as well as new leads. Email marketing, when routinely and intelligently deployed, will keep your brand in front of potential customers and new referrals.

In Conclusion

2018 belongs to those who take the time to build and execute a modern marketing strategy which utilizes the above activities to reach and engage B2B prospects.