There are many ways to generate new leads.

The question is, which method would work best for you?

Lead generation is the process of finding potential customers through various channels.

Some of them include cold calling, email marketing, social media marketing, etc.

But generating a new lead from scratch takes time and money.

Not sure where to start?

Try these unique ways of finding new business leads.

1. Build Your Digital Footprint

It’s important to create your digital footprint because it helps you generate leads.

This includes using social networks, creating content such as blog posts, thought leadership and comments, engaging with the right audience through hashtags, increasing your credibility through various associations and memberships, and so on.

Make a plan and then go for it.

Top tips on creating a positive digital footprint

• Think before you click – think about content and the consequences of posting it.

• Keep it nice – Don’t make comments, post images or forward something that might upset someone else.

• Set your privacy settings – Knowing what should be public is just as important as knowing what should be private. When posting on any platform or visiting websites, make sure the privacy settings suit your needs.

2. Create Value-Based, Human-Focused Content

The goal here is to provide value to your target market by providing information and knowledge that they need.

In order to do this, you must first understand who your target market is.

Once you have an understanding of their problems, you can then design content that addresses those issues.

You may also want to consider writing articles and blogs that answer questions people have about your industry. 

4. Lead nurturing: Keep in contact with past referrals.

If you know how to nurture your current clients, why not use the same techniques when trying to reach out to new prospects?

This involves sending regular emails to past customers to keep them updated about the company’s activities.

• You can also send personalised messages based on their interests and preferences.

• Send an email newsletter to your list of prospects.

• Ask your sales team to call past customers regularly to check if there is something new they would want to know about your company.

Implementing an effective lead nurturing strategy can have a huge impact on the results of your marketing strategy, customer loyalty, customer retention, revenue, and more.

5. Be a trusted source of information.

People trust others more than they trust themselves.

So, if you have valuable information that people will find useful, they will likely share it with other people.

6. Host Educational Webinars

Webinars are powerful. When done right they can:

• Build your brand.

• Establish and grow your authority in your industry.

• Generate a ton of leads.

• Be repurposed into blogs, videos, and other types of content.

Hosting educational webinars is one way to build up your brand.

Educational webinars allow you to offer free training sessions to your target market.

These sessions could cover topics like SEO, copywriting, blogging, social media management, etc 

Worried about being ignored or abandoned by your audience?

Follow these ultimate guides to webinars to make sure it doesn’t happen.

7. Write Blog Posts About Current Or Ideal Clients

Blogging is one of the easiest ways to build authority and credibility for your business.

When you write regularly about topics related to your business and clients, you’ll gain followers who trust your opinions and insights.

There are blogging platforms you can use out there like Blogger.com and Tumblr.com, nearly every serious blogger uses a self-hosted WordPress site because of its creative freedom and flexibility and it’s free.

Starting a blog can seem overwhelming and intimidating. But there are easy guides on how to start blog content.

8. Know Where Your Target Market Spends Time Online

First, you need to know where your target market is and where they visit frequently.

In the old days, it would be a physical location.

Today, it’s a virtual location. Are they on Facebook or LinkedIn, Google or Bing?

What websites do they frequent?

Once you know their hangout spots, you can narrow down your marketing to target those specific sites, locations or publications.

9. Leverage Social Media Hashtags

Hashtags are used on Twitter and Instagram to categorise posts into groups.

For example, if you post a photo of yourself wearing a red shirt, you might tag it #redshirtday.

This allows users to search through hashtags and see all the posts and photos tagged with that hashtag.

The hashtags should be relevant to the clients you were seeking to attract.

Some research found that every post was reaching more potential clients.

Hashtags can be strategic and targeted, offering a great way to leverage your current social media exposure and attract new clients.

10. Get Crystal Clear On Your Brand Story

The easiest way to take the stress out of dealing with changing algorithms, updates on platforms, tools coming and going and comparing yourself to your competition is to get crystal clear about your secret sauce (aka your brand).

What’s your story? What value can you provide? How do you do it? Who benefits the most from it?

That fact is, your story is the only thing no one can compete with. 

Get these tips on how to create a compelling brand story.

If you want to generate leads online, you must first understand what makes your business unique and different from your competitors.

You must also learn how to position yourself as an expert in your field so that when someone asks you a question, you have the answer ready.

You may not think of these things right away but over time, you will find that people begin to seek you out.

And once you have established a reputation for being knowledgeable and helpful, you’ll be able to attract new clients.

So, go ahead and make some changes today.

Start generating new leads online.

And remember, the best results come from consistent action.