shape_digital_marketing

How to generate B2B leads online for your business

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 10:09:41 GMT

As a business owner it's possible you might already be generating leads offline, the following will help you generate B2B leads online.

What are B2B leads?

This is the term usually given to potential customers for a business. B2B or Business to Business refers to business conducted between companies, rather than between a business and individual consumer (B2C).

How to generate B2B leads online:

Use these five simple steps to generate B2B leads online for your business.

Consider your website: In order to generate potential customers and B2B leads online, you'll need to make sure your website is up-to-date and looking its best. Making a good first impression is crucial when generating leads as your website can be one of the first places a potential customer will go to find more information.
Be brand aware: How are you showcasing your brand online? If you are not sure, then perhaps it's time for an audit. Are you communicating your brand effectively across all your channels? Consider your website, social media networks, emails and newsletters, advertising campaigns, and anywhere else you are showcasing your brand. Audit all aspects of your brand including; messaging, brand colours, and logo to ensure you are brand aware. Once you have completed your audit, put a plan in place to update any elements which need attention.
Utilise LinkedIn: By now, most business owners will understand the power of LinkedIn in reaching decision-makers. However, just because you can reach out to any business owner, it doesn't mean you should. Think carefully about your potential customers and who they might be and, use LinkedIn to build relationships and learn more about what a potential customer might need.
Brand champions: Businesses, ambassadors, employees, and customers can all be brand champions. Consider how they are communicating your business to potential customers and helping to generate B2B leads online. Are they sharing posts on social media, or connecting with customers on LinkedIn? Perhaps they are making referrals to potential businesses? If they can support your lead generation efforts then consider how can you empower them to do it more effectively.
Lead generation advertising: Online advertising campaigns can offer results far quicker than some other lead generation strategies. For example; seeing the results from building long-term relationships on LinkedIn is likely to take longer than advertising your business to a highly targeted audience on the same platform. If you do have an advertising budget and the resources for a lead generation advertising campaign then consider where your audience is most likely to interact with your business and what your call-to-action or offer might be.

Summary

If you are looking to generate B2B leads for your business, you need to consider the online platforms and channels where your potential customers will be seeing your brand. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our team on Facebook and get in touch with Shape to find out more about our Digital Advertising lead generation services and Website Design services.

Platforms that will help lead generation for startups

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 12:49:06 GMT

If your business is just getting started and, you are looking at ways to maximise lead generation for startups, these tips will help you make the most of small budgets and resources.

Before you get started make sure you choose your platforms carefully and consider lead generation at all levels. Identify where your target audience (i.e. persona) is most likely to take action and begin by choosing one platform to focus your resources.

1. Be consistent on social media

This may seem simple, but it is very easy to miss this off your to-do list when you are busy running your own business. Organic social media is an effective and low-cost method to generate leads, but you'll have to stick to it.

To get started, make a schedule. If you only have a couple of hours a week to work on your social accounts, we recommend using a scheduling tool, such as Buffer , to plan your content. This will keep you consistent and save you a lot of valuable time! We recommend starting small, perhaps one post a day, varying content but keeping your brand message the same throughout.

Once you get into the rhythm of posting on social media, you might want to venture out to include more channels. Tweak posts to suit additional channels which will become good sources of lead generation for your startup. Make sure you only start posting on social if you can commit to it. No Linkedin is better than a LinkedIn page with only one post from 2017!

2. Low budget ads should be targeted at your audience

If you have a little budget to use on paid advertising then it's important you don't waste it. Social media advertising doesn't have to be expensive and platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can be a worthwhile source of lead generation for your startup. These channels offer the opportunity to target your audience by geography, demographic, and interest group so you can find warm leads who are interested in your business. The key to running low-budget ads is to consider the target rather than simply boosting a post on your chosen platform without much thought into its effectiveness.

3. Email Marketing

Growing an email marketing list is invaluable to your business and all of your subscribers are potential leads! Most website platforms have the option to add a mailing list pop-up to grow your subscriber list further, you can easily make use of this. You can also urge people to sign up for your mailing list in your social media posts. Even if you have a small list to start with, try and be consistent with your communications, both with branding and timing. A good way to start is with a monthly newsletter. Create a template so that you just need to edit your copy and images once a month. There are a lot of email marketing services out there, such as MailChimp , and each of these will help you set up a template with your brand colours and logo. Consistent messages to your subscribers will help them convert to warm leads who are ready to make a purchase with your business.

4. Ask for referrals

One successful business relationship with a client can turn into countless more opportunities. If you recognise when your product or service has been valuable to your customer, make sure to ask them to recommend you to others. A simple follow-up email can be a fantastic way to do this. This will remind your previous client of their good experience and they will be more likely to share your details with others.

If you have a particularly good relationship with a client, you can also ask for a review. One or two lines will be more than enough! Their quote can be added to newsletters, your website, and social media posts.

Summary

Just because you have a small business and minimal resources, it doesn't mean you can't focus on strategies to develop lead generation for your startup. There are plenty of low-cost opportunities to take advantage of and help grow your business. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our team on Facebook and get in touch with Shape to find out more about our Digital Advertising or Email Marketing lead generation services.

How to use Facebook for lead generation to build your email subscriber list

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:52:56 GMT

Using social media platforms like Facebook for lead generation to build your email marketing database can be highly effective.

Before you get started, you should think about why you want to build your email subscriber list. Simply adding numbers to your database is unlikely to generate any revenue or sales for your business, so consider what type of person you want to add and why. Perhaps you have a new product to showcase, or maybe you want to reach a sales goal. Email subscribers should be treated just like any other prospective client and the process in which you are getting them to subscribe is lead generation.

The Sales Funnel

Assuming you want to generate revenue, then at some point in any sales funnel, you are likely to be emailing your subscribers to engage with them and helping to move prospects along a journey until they do convert with a purchase.

Think of building your email subscriber list as the way you will populate your funnel at the top. You will be generating leads through advertising, in this case, on Facebook to populate a funnel. Your objective in the first instance should be to find relevant prospects. Consider what makes a great customer and then look at Facebook's targeting options and interest groups to locate this audience.

Once you have selected your audience, you will want to promote something to this target group to gain their attention and engage them to subscribe to your email list. Here are some ideas of what you can use in your advert to effectively use Facebook for lead generation.

Top 5 ideas to use Facebook for lead generation in your business

Promote free tips: Most people like useful tips. These might be something they may not have read before or tips that make their life easier. You can use tips as a way to promote your services and showcase your knowledge by giving your email subscribers information about what you do. If you run a VA business, you could offer time management tips for entrepreneurs to attract their attention, or perhaps if you run an IT company, you could offer Microsoft Excel tips. Take care to select the right audience for the type of tips you are planning to offer, that way you will be making your advert relevant and targeted.
Give away your e-book or guide: A great way to generate more email subscribers might be to engage your prospects with a guide or book. You do not need to be an author to create something in this case. As an expert in your field, you already have experience and knowledge that would be helpful to your customers. Using a tool like Canva can help you bring your e-book to life and create a professional document that prospects will want to receive.
Run a competition. This is a great way to generate lots of subscribers in a short space of time. Do you have a physical product you can give away as a prize, or perhaps you could give a subscription to your service. Consider what your prospects might like to receive and promote this in your advert to generate subscribers to your email list. We recommend that you always add terms and conditions to your competition and set boundaries of what you are prepared to offer.
Offer a coupon or code. A great way forB2C businesses to build their subscriber list with Facebook lead generation ads is to offer a coupon or code to prospective customers. These leads will be highly engaged in what you offer and will look to redeem the code with a purchase in your store or on your website.
Give information. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Building yourself a great advertising campaign telling your prospects about your business or service is sometimes all you need to do. Then go ahead and simply ask to send more information. Highly engaged and potentially warm leads will welcome more information about your products or services in this case.

Having an up-to-date email marketing list of potential customers is a great way to market your products and services. You can use this list to send them newsletters and updates or perhaps an offer, helping to move prospects through your sales funnel until they convert with a purchase. In its simplest form, generating more subscribers for your email list is the process of lead generation, in this case, you are using Facebook to do it.

We recommend that once a subscriber has signed up, you use their information as you have promised. If you said that you'll send them an e-book, then always make sure you do. Or, if you promised some information about a service, make sure to send that to them as quickly as possible. And, always give subscribers a way to optout. Just because they chose to subscribe, it doesn't mean they have to stay forever.

Summary

There you go, 5 ideas to help you grow your email subscriber list using Facebook for lead generation. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our team on Facebook and get in touch with Shape to find out more about our Digital Advertising and lead generation services.

Using Social Media Marketing for Customer Service

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 19:35:04 GMT

Businesses and brands can benefit hugely from using social media marketing to boost sales, increase engagement, and create brand awareness. With the right content, there are many ways brands can make use of social media platforms. However, many organisations could also consider creating a customer service strategy using social media platforms. Here are our tips for getting started:

Define your social media platform - offer a dedicated social platform where customers can reach your team and you can answer the most commonly asked questions. Don't spread yourself too thin, start with just one social platform initially so you can help to provide better service for your organisation. You should consider whether you want to keep it within your existing social platform or create a dedicated customer service account. This should align with your social media marketing strategy to ensure you are meeting your objectives.

HubSpot , for example, have a dedicated Twitter account where they answer any issues or questions relating to their product.

Define your parameters - promote working hours and how customers can contact you to help to improve the service you can deliver. Consider adding information about your opening hours, how requests can be sent and any information customers can provide when contacting you.

Waterstones Bookshops , for example, have a dedicated Twitter account and outline their available hours and what they can help customers with.

Train your team - whether you choose to have a dedicated member of staff who looks after all customer service enquiries or a whole team, ensure you have a schedule in place to manage the process effectively. There is nothing worse than ignoring a customer enquiry, so make sure your team is fully trained and equipped to respond promptly.

Manage a crisis - you cannot keep everyone happy, however, knowing how to handle a crisis, whether it's a complaint or something that has gone wrong for a customer, will help you manage the customer's expectations and resolve the issue faster. Ensure you have the relevant crisis management procedures in place so you can resolve, escalate a problem and solve to provide great customer service.

Outsource - social media marketing can be a full-time job. From creating content, generating sales, and engaging with your audience, it can take become difficult to manage internally. Consider outsourcing to our social media marketing agency in London who can manage your social media profiles and provide customer service to your clients.

Instagram Reels Are Rolled Out

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:59:35 GMT

It's official, Instagram has launched yet another fantastic feature.

Just as we've seen with TickTock, Instagram Reels is a new feature that allows users to create short videos directly in the platform.

What are Reels?

As Instagram describe; Reels are "a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram".

How can you create using Reels?

At the bottom of the Instagram camera, you'll now see a suite of editing tools to the left side of your screen. These include Audio, AR Effects, Timer and Countdown, Align and Speed.

You can choose to record clips all at once or upload videos from your gallery. Once you have created your Reel, simply share it with followers.

Who are our favourite brands already adding Instagram Reels to their Social Media Content?

Rimmel London UK & Ireland have done a great job in creating tutorial Instagram Reels.

Dior have been using Instagram Reels to showcase new collections and products as well as sped-up videos of the Dior show space. Embed: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CGPeMRJoeY1/?igshid=4le4k3o0ow6x

The Landmark Londo n has been using Reels to showcase experiences of their luxurious hotel and show Instagram guests around.

Are you enjoying the latest Instagram features? Pop us a message and let us know how you are incorporating them within your own Social Media Marketing Strategy.

How to make an impact on social media

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:46:33 GMT

At a time when everyone seems to have taken to social media to promote their business, brand, product and service, how can you cut through the noise and create relevant engagement with your customers?

Firstly, find out where your audience spends most of their time and then go about formulating a plan to reach out to them.

Co-founder of NP Digital, Neil Patel says "a lot of marketers get excited by the prospects offered by social media marketing and end up spreading themselves too thin across social networks, conducting activities on all of the major platforms.

However, this is one of the fastest ways to get into trouble and hamper any social media campaign and therefore, any chances of social media presence ."

The team behind Social Media Tool, Buffer agree; "Most social media experts believe in prudence: that you might miss out on connecting with your true audience if you’re spreading yourself too thin on too many social networks."

So how do you go about finding your audience?

Start by identifying your customer profiles. Initially building out personas will help you understand where to look for your audience and identify where they are most active on social media.

Look to your competitors, not to copy, but to develop your strategy. If you’re still not sure, contact some surveys and research of your current customer base to help.

If you're still not sure where to start, read our Social Media Marketing Q&A which aims to answer your top social media marketing questions or contact our social media agency team to find out how we can help you.

Top 5 social media management tools

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:46:31 GMT

How do you organise social media posts?

Used by businesses of all sizes and in various industries, social media management tools are here to stay and provide a wealth of features to help marketers and business owners create, publish and report on their social media activities.

Here are some of our favourite social media management tools to try:

Buffer
Cost: Starting at $15 per month, there is also a free plan available.

Features: Great for publishing social media content, Buffer's platform is intuitive and user-friendly. The Buffer suite offers publishing, engagement, analytics/reporting and even team collaboration which will help you stay on top of your social media and work efficiently.
Hootsuite
Cost: Starting at $29 per month, there is also a free plan available.

Features: Manage multiple accounts in the biggest social media management tool. Plan, create and schedule, Hootsuite also prioritises connecting with an in-platform inbox and streams to monitor activity across your networks.
Sprout Social
Cost: Starting at $99 per month, a 30-day free trial is also available.

Features: An all-in-one tool for all social media connections. Listen to your audience and find trends, publish and schedule content, engage with your community and measure your social media performance from a single platform.
CoSchedule
Cost: Starting at $14 per month for the Blog Calendar, a 14-day free trial is also available.

Features: Want to organise blog and social posts? CoSchedule lets you manage your calendar, automate social posts and integrates with your WordPress site. An easy-to-use platform to help you get more done, in less time.
eClinche r
Cost: Starting at $59 per month, a 14-day free trial is also available.

Features: All the tools you need in one place. from publishing and scheduling to understanding engagement and social listening, eClincher has it all and we particularly like their content creation and media library which lets you find images to use, too.

What are your favourite social media management tools?

We've described just a few of our favourites here that our social media team use. We'd love to hear what you think, too. We recommend researching and exploring a few to understand their features and find a tool that suits your own social media objectives and strategy.

Image Credit: Buro Millennial, Pexels

Three free courses to help you improve your social media marketing skills

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:46:28 GMT

When it comes to social media, so much can change from year to year. Refresh your skills or learn something new with these great social media marketing courses. Best of all, these are all free.

Google Digital Garage

Learn digital marketing skills like a pro. Google's selection of online courses includes everything from advertising to social media. Plus, you'll even receive a certificate once you've completed the course so you can add this to your LinkedIn profile, your website or your CV.

Hootsuite Academy

Looking to build your skills or perhaps take them to the next level? Hootsuite Academy from the creators of Hootsuite, one of the most popular social media scheduling tools , take you through everything social media related. Train to become an expert using Hootsuite, develop social media marketing skills to grow followers or if you're an expert already, learn best practices to target key audiences.

HubSpot Academy

Grow your career, your business or both. HubSpot offer training to take professional skills to the next level and all for free. Find popular courses in the social media marketing or even learn more about content marketing, email marketing and advertising.

HubSpot pride themselves on being worldwide leaders in inbound marketing, sales and customer support and their Academy teaches you how to further develop and improve your skills.

Looking for something a bit different?

Entrepreneur.com have a whole online shop full of digital courses to help you make the most of your marketing, develop new skills or learn more about starting a business. Of course, the courses you'll find here are not usually free, but they are offered at great prices with lots of added value.

Making time for social media marketing - tips from a social media agency in London

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:46:26 GMT

Running a business can be challenging - from staffing to accounting, client meetings to product development. It's no wonder that business owners struggle to find time to do any of their social media marketing (or other digital marketing).

Here are some tips for making time for social media marketing

Block out a specific time for social media

Whether it's daily or weekly, block out time in your (already busy) schedule to commit to social media marketing.

Social media marketing can seem overwhelming at first. Ensure you have a social media marketing strategy in place and you are working towards achieving a goal. This can help to break it down into more manageable chunks that you feel committed to achieving within your allocated time.

Get some help

Rather than trying to do it all yourself, consider using a social media management tool to help you create, schedule and analyse. Not only will a tool help you to save time, but it will allow you to bulk create content and schedule multiple posts - set it then forget it. Once you do come back to your allocated social media time, you can check through the results, learn and improve your content further.

Outsource if required

Whilst you can keep it simple at first, post a small amount consistently throughout your social platforms, there might come a time when you want to up your game on social media. Consider outsourcing tasks, such as social media marketing to experts in the field. They will help to craft a long-term social media strategy, implement it and focus on growing your account with your objectives in mind - speak to our social media agency in London .

Taking time to develop your social media marketing can be difficult at first, however, with 64% of people preferring to message a business on social media than call - it will be worth the investment!

Image Credit: Tracy Le Blank, Pexels