Every business owner wants a steady stream of new customers. However, it takes more than just great products or services to attract customers. You need the right lead generation strategies.
The challenge is knowing which lead generation strategies work. When done right, these strategies help you connect with potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you offer.
If you’re ready to grow your business, then this is for you. This article explores proven lead generation strategies you can use to take your business to the next level. So read on.
The ultimate goal of any business is to get as many customers as possible for its products and services. However, before a person becomes a customer, they start as a lead.
A recent survey by WebFX reveals that over 95% of businesses prioritize lead generation due to its high return on investment.
Image via WebFX
That said, a lead is any person who, in some way, expresses interest in the products or services of a company.
Lead generation, therefore, is the process by which brands generate interest and add prospects to their sales funnel.
Lead generation strategies take place in three steps, namely:
The first step of the lead generation process is to drive relevant traffic to your marketing assets and lead magnets.
There are several ways to do this, including the following:
When prospects land on your assets, you don’t want them to leave without giving their contact information.
But how do you collect personal contact information from people who are interacting with your brand for the first time?
Remember, leads want to hear from businesses after willingly sharing their personal information, as opposed to getting random cold emails from someone who bought their contact details.
This means your lead generation strategies should be based on compensating users for their personal information. The resources you offer as compensation are called lead magnets. They include;
As a result, you get leads for your business whenever a user shares their personal information to receive one of these resources.
For example, Attrock, a digital marketing company, uses several lead generation strategies that include lead magnets. One of these is a detailed marketing plan that users can access when they share their details.
Image via Attrock
When you secure a visitor’s contact data through one of these assets, you can move the lead to the next stage of the sales funnel – lead qualification.
This step is crucial since it helps you determine if a visitor is interested enough in your products or services.
Once deemed a marketing-qualified lead, pass the lead on to your sales teams for subsequent nurturing through the remaining stages of the funnel.
Lead generation strategies need to fulfill three key requirements for them to be effective:
Your lead generation strategies should not be pushy or overbearing. Instead:
Calculating your lead acquisition costs helps you strategize better for business growth. For instance, you can choose to spend more money on acquiring high-quality leads who will spend more money on your business.
That said, let’s now take a look at the best lead generation strategies that will fill your sales funnel with prospective leads.
The top marketing strategy for attracting new leads is to create useful content that informs and educates your audience. Helpful website content that can be added to your lead generation strategies ranges from blogs, case studies, eBooks, and FAQs.
Creating valuable content that helps your readers positions you as a thought leader in your industry. It helps you attract new leads in various ways.
First, it makes your website more discoverable on search engines. As a result, potential customers will find your content through search engines and have more reasons to stick around when they land on your site.
Additionally, more quality content means you have more marketing materials for your outreach. You can choose to offer gated content that users can access when they share their contact information.
For example, Attrock offers several eBooks to complement its lead generation strategies. These resources are gated, and users have to provide their contact details to access them.
Image via Attrock
Most marketers make the mistake of asking for too much information when implementing lead generation strategies.
This is the easiest way to lose potential customers. People hate filling out long forms. Instead, make your form simple and only ask for information that’s relevant to you.
Attrock’s form is simple, asking only for the user’s name and email address. This way, it only takes visitors less than one minute to fill out the form to receive the eBook.
Offering web analytics tools like a domain analyzer and website traffic checker is an excellent lead generation strategy.
This is because very few people who visit your website are ready to buy. The rest just browse and leave sites when they don’t find anything interesting.
By providing your visitors with something valuable, you leave a good impression and give them a reason to come back to your website.
As a result, they’ll first come to your website whenever they need to analyze their website traffic or compress an image. Just ensure you have a plan for nurturing those leads into customers for your paid products/services.
For example, Attrock has a free image compression tool as one of its lead generation strategies.
Image via Attrock
When you add your image, the tool compresses it and makes it available for download. However, before downloading, you have to fill out a simple form with your name and email address.
There are 5.2 billion active social media users. That’s a whopping 63.9% of the global population.
As a marketer, you cannot ignore social media channels as one of your lead generation strategies. In addition to the large number of users, social media platforms have impressive targeting mechanisms that allow you to reach highly qualified audiences.
Other benefits of social media for lead generation include:
That said, let’s now review the lead generation strategies you can use on social media.
Sharing the right incentives on social media can compel visitors to give their personal information.
For this, you want to create enticing offers for your audience. This could be anything from a free tool, product trial, or research report.
You can also share discount codes, white papers, case studies, and invitations to a webinar.
Forrester sets a strong example of how to engage your audience with compelling offers. In the image, the brand shares a practical B2B tip via tweet and extends an invitation to a live event. The brand effectively combines insight with interaction.
Image via X
The company uses an ordinary social media post to create interest in its gated content to generate leads.
Next up in our lead generation strategies for social media is customer testimonials.
Sharing customer testimonials on social media gives brands the social proof they need to attract new leads. Showcase how past clients have benefited from your services to demonstrate your value.
A recent study revealed that approximately 74% of buyers check at least two review sites before making a purchasing decision. Displaying these types of social proof is an excellent lead generation strategy.
IBM often shares testimonials of people who have benefited from its services. The image below shows how its P-TECH initiative is helping students start a career in STEM.
Image via X
Use these social media design tips to turn your customer reviews into engaging animated videos.
Social media ads are a powerful tool for generating leads. Facebook is particularly impressive with its advanced targeting capabilities, allowing you to reach your target audience.
Facebook Lead Ads are similar to LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms in that they also allow you to attach several lead magnets, such as:
The example below shows Facebook’s Lead Ads in action.
Image via Semrush
More information is provided to the customer when they click on the “Learn More” button.
PPC is another impressive tactic to include in your lead generation strategies.
Your customers use search engines to find the products they need. Google search ads put your business in front of such users, making it one of the best lead generation strategies for online businesses.
There's a common misconception that PPC only works for ecommerce businesses, but that's not entirely true.
PPC can be used by almost any business that wants to maintain a consistent supply of inbound leads into its funnel.
Insurance and financial companies, as well as those that provide B2B marketing tools, are examples of businesses that use lead generation strategies often.
By running targeted lead campaigns, such companies collect valuable leads that they nurture into new customers.
If you want to give Google Ads a try, here are certain things to keep in mind to improve the performance of your lead generation campaign.
Search engine optimization is not as fancy as the lead generation strategies we have talked about, but it is still a very useful addition to your marketing arsenal. However, you need to be on top of your game to excel with SEO as a lead generation strategy.
SEO complements your lead generation strategies by helping you rank on SERPs for relevant keywords. Appearing on the first page of Google increases the awareness of your company, thus making it easy for your customers to find you.
This will help you drive organic traffic to your site, lead magnets, and other marketing assets.
So, how do you use SEO as a lead generation tactic? The following lead generation strategies come to mind:
Keyword research is the foundation of successful SEO.
It involves identifying the phrases your customers use when looking for your products online.
Once you identify keywords, use them in your content to ensure your customers can locate you when they query search engines
Another lead generation strategy is starting a blog with SEO-optimized content is an effective way to use SEO to generate more leads.
Similarly, by regularly publishing content on your blog, you essentially add more keywords, links, multimedia, and backlinks that improve your search ranking.
Here are our top tips for optimizing your blog posts;
Your search ranking is also affected by the speed at which your website loads.
Google intends to provide its users with the best user experience. As such, it will not recommend websites that take too long to load.
Implement these lead generation strategies to increase your website speed.
Most people who come to your website will not become leads straight away — and that’s okay. But this doesn’t mean you should give up on them. Make sure to use ad retargeting to stay on top of their mind.
Unlike paid ads that can be based on different criteria, retargeting shows your ads to people who have interacted with your website in the past, regardless of their location or occupation.
For example, if you visited an ecommerce website and clicked on one of the products without buying it, you will likely see a Facebook ad from the company when you log into Facebook.
According to Wavebnb, retargeting campaigns increased Airbnb’s conversion rates by 27%. This is first-hand data that shows it works.
Image via Wavebnb
Live chat is one of the best lead generation strategies your business can use right now.
When people come to your website, they usually have questions before making a purchase. Engaging them through live chat is a great way to connect with them and capture their interest.
Zendesk exemplifies how to use live chat to collect leads with its live chat that pops up when you land on the website.
The AI chatbot introduces itself and asks users to choose a topic they need more help with.
Image via Zendesk
Users only need to enter their details and then choose a department, where they’ll be redirected to an available agent.
The global webinar market has been on an upward trajectory, and it’s expected to hit $2.07 billion by 2037. That makes it one of the most viable lead generation strategies.
This makes sense because webinars provide specific information in exchange for user attention and contact details.
Not only will you learn the topics that are valuable to your target audience, but you will also be able to reach them to nurture new sales leads.
But before adding webinars to your lead generation strategies, there are certain things you need to do to ensure the success of the workshop.
First, conduct audience research to understand the issues that are important to your users.
What problems do your customers face? What are the most pressing issues in your industry at the moment?
Next, state the unique solution you intend to provide through the webinar. Lastly, you want to add a button that allows users to register for the webinar.
You should incorporate video marketing into your online lead generation strategies for several reasons. First, video-sharing services like YouTube also act like search engines where visitors come with a purpose.
Secondly, the platforms have lots of active users that you can reach with your brand messaging. With such a large audience, it's essential to create eye-catching YouTube thumbnails that not only stand out but also convey the essence of your video.
A compelling thumbnail can spark curiosity, encouraging potential viewers to click on your video and explore its content further. In a platform where millions of videos are uploaded daily, your thumbnail serves as the first impression and can significantly impact your channel's growth.
For example, YouTube has 122 million daily active users who watch an average of 16 minutes and 44 seconds of content per day.
Thirdly, people prefer tutorials, product presentations, and unboxing videos to reading manuals. This is because video content is easy to digest and delivers the intended information more quickly than other forms of communication.
These factors make video marketing a useful addition to your lead generation strategies. To improve the performance of your videos on video marketing platforms, do the following:
How much do you know about your site visitors? Do you know how they navigate your website and the pages they frequent? What do visitors do before they fill out a lead conversion form?
If you cannot provide answers to these questions, chances are you are struggling with your lead generation strategies. That’s why you need to get the right lead generation tools that provide you with all the answers you need.
Successful digital marketing teams have formal systems for collecting, sorting, and storing sales leads.
With the help of lead generation software, companies can plan and optimize their lead generation strategies.
Different tools will help you implement specific lead generation functions on your site. They include:
Your site visitors are at different stages of the buying cycle. Some have just discovered your website and want informational pieces like a guide.
Others are ready to buy, but want a demo or free trial to get a feel of your product.
To provide the best user experience, ensure you design relevant offers for each stage of the buying cycle. Similarly, provide CTAs for these offers to make it easier for users to take full advantage of them.
Of course, creating valuable and relevant offers for your lead generation strategies is hectic, but you won’t retain your customers if you don’t provide them with anything that nurtures them down the funnel.
Some of the relevant and effective offers you can use for the different stages of the customer cycle include:
Influencer marketing has grown to become a popular B2C marketing strategy for brands that target younger customers. However, it has also proven to be one of the effective B2B lead generation strategies for agencies.
To succeed with influencer marketing, you need to ensure you’re working with relevant creators. Don’t go for an influencer just because they are popular.
Instead, pick an influencer who matches your goals and has a loyal following with the consumers you are trying to reach.
Ask the influencer to promote your products on their platforms and share lead forms with interested parties.
As you implement the different lead generation strategies, ensure you are constantly testing different campaign elements to know which version has the best impact.
A/B testing eliminates guesswork from your campaign optimization efforts and allows you to make informed decisions.
Rather than using one version of a landing page element for an entire campaign, A/B testing allows you to compare different versions to see which one drives business metrics.
For example, you can test different layouts of your landing page CTA to see which one generates more clicks. You can have different wordings for the CTA and button layouts.
Implementing the winning variations of the tested elements will help you optimize your lead generation strategies and increase your ROI.
The campaign elements you need to test regularly include:
While the lead generation strategies outlined above have been tried and proven, certain mistakes can still slow down your progress.
Here are a few common pitfalls to watch out for:
Not all leads are worth chasing. Some people show interest but have no real intention of buying. If you're spending time and money on the wrong prospects, you're wasting resources.
Poor lead qualification can clog your sales pipeline with people who aren't ready or willing to commit, leading to frustration and lost revenue. The best lead generation strategies include setting clear standards for what makes a lead qualified and sticking to those standards
Slow or confusing landing pages can tank your conversion rates, even if your lead generation strategies are solid. If someone clicks on your ad or email but leaves without taking action, your page might be the problem.
Poor design, weak messaging, and slow loading speeds all contribute to a high bounce rate and fewer conversions. Optimize your landing pages by ensuring they’re visually clean, fast-loading, and built for a seamless user experience.
If you’re only using one channel to attract leads, you’re missing out on potential customers. Some people find businesses through search engines, while others prefer social media, emails, or referral programs.
Relying on just one method limits your reach and puts your business at risk if that channel stops working. Effective lead generation strategies use a mix of SEO, paid ads, email marketing, and social media to bring in leads from multiple sources.
Ignoring SEO best practices — or worse, using bad SEO — can seriously hurt the performance of your website or landing page. Without proper optimization, your site may rank low in search results, making it harder for potential customers to find you.
This means less traffic, fewer leads, and missed opportunities for growth. To avoid this, focus on using relevant keywords, optimizing page speed, creating quality content, and ensuring mobile-friendliness.
Consistent SEO efforts help boost visibility, drive organic traffic, and improve your overall online success.
A weak CTA is like a closed door. If your “Sign Up” or “Learn More” button isn’t compelling, people won’t click it. A vague or boring CTA doesn’t create urgency or excitement, which means fewer conversions.
So make your CTAs clear and action-driven. Instead of “Submit,” try “Get Your Free Quote” or “Start Saving Today.”
If your lead capture requests too much information, it might leave some out. Every extra field creates friction, which lowers your conversion rate.
Keep forms simple. Ask for only what you need, like a name and email. You can collect more details later through follow-ups. Make your forms easy to fill out on mobile devices.
Also, test different versions of your form to see what works best. A/B testing can reveal which fields cause drop-offs and which combinations yield higher conversions.
Even small tweaks, like changing the call-to-action button text or adjusting the layout can make a noticeable difference in user engagement and form completion rates.
Next up is email marketing, which is one of the most effective lead generation strategies, but getting the frequency right is key. Too many emails can push people away, while too few can cause your audience to lose interest.
The secret is to find a balance that keeps your subscribers engaged without overwhelming them. Track your open and click-through rates, and adjust your email schedule accordingly to maintain strong connections and grow your business.
Q1. What’s a lead?
A. A lead is any person who, in some way, indicates interest in the products or services of a company.
Q2. What is lead generation?
A. Lead generation is defined as the process of generating customer interest in a product. You generate more leads by capturing user information through lead generation strategies like forms on landing pages.
Q3. What are the best lead generation strategies for online businesses?
A. Successful lead generation strategies will fill your sales pipeline with high-quality leads that you can nurture into customers. They include:
Q4. Are there tools to help me with my lead generation strategies?
A. Yes, there are many free and paid tools for your lead generation strategies. These tools will help you collect, organize, and store your leads.
Q5. What next after generating leads?
A. The next step after implementing lead generation strategies is lead scoring. This is where you access a lead to see if it is interested enough in your product. Once you determine a lead is marketing qualified, pass them to the sales team for nurturing.
When it comes to generating leads, it helps to be open and try as many lead generation strategies as you can.
Each tactic mentioned in this post allows you to put your business in front of a wider audience.
Use the lead generation examples we have highlighted to come up with fresh ideas for your lead generation strategies.
Feel free to get in touch if you need more help generating quality leads for your business.
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