Inbound Marketing involves creating and sharing content that is designed specifically for your target audience to attract qualified leads to your manufacturing business and keep them coming back for more.
Every business wants to know how they can generate more leads, and 62% of business to business (B2B) companies are partnering with agencies and copywriters on their content marketing to do just that.
Quality sales leads come in many forms. For example, request for quotes, product demonstration, meetings, finding a rep, email, live chat, phone calls, and online sales. All of this reflects how well your inbound marketing tactics are reaching potential customers. Through proper inbound strategies, there’s no doubt your sales and marketing teams will see an increase in traffic and leads.
Let’s take a closer look at a few tips to get you one step closer to great leads and, in turn, great customers.
1. Build rapport with your audience
One of your top priorities as a manufacturer looking to increase leads is to engage your audience. Most businesses choose to go with indirect interaction such as frequently asked questions. While it may be convenient, it’s not the best way to connect and develop a personal relationship with your followers.
Direct interaction with customers consists of your team reaching out to them in a way that will capture their attention. Whether you’re directly responding to their Facebook comments, sending monthly newsletters, or being more intentional with your services, these are all positive indicators of engaging well with your consumers. Studies show that the number of manufacturers selling directly to consumers is expected to grow 71% this year.
Unlike traditional advertising that bombards people with messages pushing a product or service, inbound strategies allow customers to be the ones asking for information. In turn, you and your team can pitch your product to these customers who already have a significant interest in your services. There are various ways to drive consumer engagement, in fact, we have a blog about it. Keep in mind – more engaged customers result in better word-of-mouth and more leads.
2. Optimize your site
One of the smartest ways to utilize inbound content is to start with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Studies have found that 93% of the B2B buying process begins with an internet search.. When focusing on SEO, there are two routes you can take: on-page and off-page SEO.
So, what exactly is the difference between the two?
On-page SEO refers to all the things you can do on your website to help you rank higher, such as page titles, body copy, page url, internal links, meta tags & descriptions, on-site blogging, etc. It involves structuring content on your page in a way that makes it easy for search engines, and your leads, to find you and understand what you’re all about.
On the other hand, off-page SEO refers to all things you can do off your website to help you rank higher, such as social networking, blogging, video marketing, article submissions, etc. Off-page SEO gives you the benefit of adding inbound links that will direct leads back to your site for valuable content.
Creating a strong SEO strategy will increase your search engine rank for keywords that are relevant to your manufacturing business.
3. Be social
The first step to having an effective online presence is being consistent and relatable with your audience. With the advanced segmentation available on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., there are various ways you’re able to communicate your messages and gain visibility on potential customers.
However, it’s important to fully understand the ins and outs of the network you’re looking to serve. Once you’re able to distinguish each culture and your target audience, use that information to influence the type of content you want to promote online. An example would be the difference between Twitter and LinkedIn. Twitter can be seen as a more casual culture, while LinkedIn falls in the professional category. 64% of B2B companies have generated leads via LinkedIn, 49% through Facebook, and 36% through Twitter.
To generate more leads and increase your manufacturing company’s visibility, you’ll need to become an expert on adapting to each network, providing diverse content, and consistently maintaining your social media presence.
4. Blog about it
Blogging is one of the best ways to to increase your content footprint, attract your audience and generate new customers for your business. For a manufacturer, blogging does more than let followers know about recent company news and events. It has the ability to establish you as an authority in your field, give people an inside look at your workplace culture, and boost your SEO. B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not blog.
By posting about topics that educate your customers on your product or service and the industry it’s in, you position yourself as a go-to resource in your audience’s time of need. Further, the more valuable pages you publish, the more search engines look at your page. As a result, you’ll attract more visitors via online search.
Crafting high-quality inbound content attracts strangers and turns them into visitors, converts visitors into leads, closes leads and makes them customers, and the coup de gras through delivering an excellent experience transforms those customers into promoters.
If you need a marketing partner with years of experience assisting M&D companies just like yours attract leads and build effective strategies, then you need Revel. Contact us today.
