how to use blogs for lead generation

Presented by Danielle M. Cyr, Vice President of Integrated

Marketing

HOW TO MAKE YOUR BLOG ALEAD GENERATION TOOL

Blogging by the Numbers

Companies with more than 200 blog articles generate 5 times as many leads as companies with 10 articles or fewer (HubSpot)

79% of marketers with a company blog reported inbound ROI for 2013 (HubSpot)

43% of companies have acquired a customer through their blog (HubSpot)

Why Blog?

Share thought leadership and enhance expert positioning

“Get found” by web-surfing target audiences Become a resource for media…and prospects Start a dialogue with key audiences Enhance organic search engine rankings

(SEO) Expand your network through guest blogging

Start with the Strategy

How will the blog help to achieve overall business goals?

What is the blog’s role in your marketing toolkit?

Who is your target audience? Who will author posts? When will you blog? … About what? How will you measure success?

Aggregating Key Assets

Author(s) Content Calendar Photos Video Infographics Premium Content

Compelling calls-to-action

Where Does Good Content Come From?

Understanding prospective clients’ pain points Understanding what motivates your audience Being plugged-in to timely events and trends

that impact your audience(s) and industry Keeping the format(s) reader-friendly

Content Your Readers Will Crave

Keep your audience top-of-mind Establish recurring features Answer common questions Simplify complex concepts with visuals Invite guest authors Manage audience expectations

Creating a Compelling Content Calendar

Easing the Content Creation Burden

Repurpose existing sales and marketing content

Use existing meetings and events and content generation opportunities

Leverage guest bloggers

Blogs and Sales Funnels: Building Alignment

Clearly define opportunities for readers to move from awareness to consideration, and from consideration to decision

Hocus. Pocus. Focus. Be ‘perfectly clear’ about what readers can

expect from your posts…and the premium content you want them to download

Define an action pathway that is audience-centric and highly relevant

Getting Found: Optimizing Your Content For Success

Include website keywords in blog posts…especially the headline

Keep your headlines short – 55 characters will do the trick

Add a keyword-rich meta description Focus on long-tail keywords Give Google what it wants…and readers what

they need Think “optimized”…not “unreadable” Include hyperlinks to key areas of your

website

Getting Found Part II: The Benefits of an On-Site Blog

One new blog post = one new page on your website. Blog weekly for one year and that’s 52 pages of new content for Google to crawl just from blogging!

The more content – and indexed pages – on your site, the more likely you are to “get found”

Keeping people on your site…and giving them opportunity to discover more relevant content

Improved user experience

Embed links to blog posts in e-blasts and e-newsletters

Add a blog link to your email signature Cross-promote blog posts on other personal

and professional social media channels, as appropriate

Comment on other industry blogs Encourage the sales team to include blog

links in follow-up communications

Increasing Readership

Lead nurturing emails Additional content-based incentives Experiences money can’t buy Free Consultations

Staying Top of Mind

Blog Post: 5 Reasons Your Business Should Blog

Download Our Free Guide to Business Blogging

Thanks for downloading! We thought you might also enjoy our blog planning worksheet to ensure you are creating a steady stream of content that your readers are hungry for.

Now that you've mastered the basics of blogging and have a roadmap in place, it's time to turn your blog into a lead generation hub that generates tangible ROI. Our free guide to Integrating Blogs with Your Business Development Strategy will help you get started. Download today.

Staying Top of Mind

Include compelling calls-to-action in each and every post

Align your calls-to-action with the sales funnel and your buyer persona(s)

Incentivize conversions, as appropriate Create content that people crave – solve

problems, offer added value

Driving Conversion

Total blog visits Views per post Most popular topics Content that

generates the most engagement (shares, comments)

Analyzing the Analytics

Click-through rates Inbound links Conversions

Premium content downloads

Leads generated

Identify opportunities to replicate success(es) Hone your content calendar to capitalize on

what’s “in demand” Reallocate resources to optimize ROI

Using the Data to Inform Strategic Refinements

Let’s Connect:Danielle Cyr@DanielleCyr860.676.4400Danielle@cocommunications.com

Thank You!