In every sales cycle, lead generation is the initial and most important step. After all, when you google ‘lead generation’, you get about 365,000,000 results.

Everybody who runs a business wants to know how to generate leads and convert them into sales. But lead generation strategies can’t be the same for a startup and a multinational company.

That is why we have compiled a list of five most effective ways to generate leads for your small business. Take a careful look and make sure you use them as soon as possible because if you don’t, your competition will.

Create and distribute content

When you produce high-quality, optimized content, you significantly increase your presence in search. And even though quality is primary, you also need to make sure to post as regularly and as often as you can.

Google and other search engines reward the websites that answer visitors’ questions in a simple way. The key word here is help – when you help people find answers to their questions and solve a problem, your efforts will be recognized and acknowledged.

Besides creating content, you also need to distribute and share it. The two most logical choices would be your website and social media channels, but there are many more places to get your content visible, such as guest blogs and syndication websites.

Rock your SEO

Engaging content and powerful SEO are the two cornerstones of successful lead generation. You can have the best content in the world, but if you don’t optimize it, you waste its potential.

For this reason, you need to invest your time and energy in search engine optimization. Some of the most important aspects of SEO are:

• internal linking
• use of titles and descriptions
• keyword research
• link building, etc.

Learn and implement them all as fast as you can to see how they will improve your ranking.

Engage on social media

The importance of social validation has been great throughout entire history and social media has only raised it to a whole new level.

Social media websites are incredibly important for lead generation because they are perfect for interacting with a large number of people at once.

So, you should first create accounts on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms. Then, share engaging posts and pictures to interact with and grow your audience.

But don’t limit yourself to organic social media reach because it will take you ages to reach a decent number of people this way. Instead, invest in social media advertising to skyrocket the number of your leads.   

Never underestimate paid advertising

Even though organic reach is the most sustainable way to generate leads, it takes incredible amounts of time and effort to achieve visible results. Even the biggest brands use paid advertising, so why wouldn’t you?

And by paid advertising, we don’t only mean pay-per-click ads such as the ones you can use on Facebook, Instagram, Google AdWords and other similar channels.

There is another, incredibly effective way to reach a great number of new leads – influencer marketing. This method is gaining popularity for a good reason and you should definitely use it before it becomes outdated.

Start a newsletter

On your path to successful lead generation, you should know that getting people to subscribe for your email newsletter is a big deal. Once they are on your email list, you can create a more personal relationship with them and make them feel special.

To get the best out of your email marketing, give them compelling reasons to sign up, share exclusive sales and experiences with them, and you will never end up in their spam folder.

About the author:

Dave Schneider is the founder of LessChurn, churn reduction app. In 2012, he quit his job to travel the world, and has visited over 65 countries. In his spare time, he writes about SaaS and business at DaveSchneider.me.