You need more leads to fill your pipeline. After all, you need a certain volume of leads to ensure that your marketing machine churns out sales-ready buyers.

But what kind of content do you need to draw in leads and ensure they convert?

First, you need to make sure that your content is accessible to those at the top of the funnel. It’s tempting to use content that you already have, but is it a good fit for lead generation?

What does that entail?

Avoid Nitty-Gritty Jargon

Content at this level should be easy-to-read and not loaded down with industry-specific terminology and acronyms.

Keep the reading level low, so that just about anyone can read it. Obviously, your readers will have a certain level of education and knowledge. Write at that level, but for early lead gen, keep the language simple and accessible.

 

Avoid Product-Pushing

In early-stage lead generation, nobody wants to hear about your product. When I work on HIP B2B’s production side, I notice that often brands send us assets that are frankly too pushy to work at the top of the funnel.

Early lead generation content shouldn’t even mention your product. Maybe, at the very end of the asset, you can mention that you have a product that can help. But a passing mention should be the extent of it.

 

Inform Them, Don’t Try to Sell Them

That being said, what are you supposed to tell them if you can’t sell them your product?

You want to teach them about the problem they’re having.

You either want to inform them of the problem or inform them about the problem. You can start by helping them define the issue they’re having, then start them down the path of potential solutions.

What forms can this come in? We asked our VP of Sales and Client Success, Zach Klinger. He recommends:

• Infographics – these visual aids are a perfect fit for lead generation. They are perfect for sending out on both social media and in emails. They are easy to digest, visually oriented, and perfectly poised to attract new leads to your brand.
• On-demand webinars – webinars are another good tool for top-of-funnel leads generation. They establish your brand as a thought leader and give potential leads information and tools to help solve their problem.
• High-level ebooks and whitepapers – Because you are working at the top of the funnel, make sure that any ebooks you create are high-level. That means create how-tos and introductory content that provides value no matter where potential leads are in the funnel.

At risk of repeating myself, DO NOT use content that pushes your product. The leads you are gathering here are not sales-ready.

Maybe a few of them are close but pushing them towards a sale so soon is akin to walking up to someone, introducing yourself and immediately trying to get them to buy some skincare products from you.

Familiarize them with your brand and get them used to the idea of your brand helping guide them in solving their issues.

 

Save In-Depth Content for Later

I know you just wrote an amazing piece of content that really gets into the meat of an important topic in your industry.

Not only that, it positions your brand and offering perfectly within that lens.

Why shouldn’t you send it out?

Brand new leads aren’t ready for that depth yet. They will be ready for it later when they’ve learned more about their problem and are closer to finding a solution.

Wait to serve them that meaty piece of content. You risk alienating potential leads early on if you give them something too specific. Save middle of the funnel and bottom of the funnel content for those who have shown they want/are ready for it.

Variety is the spice of lead generation. Strategic use of this variety will make it that much easier for you to fill your pipeline with leads that will convert. Keep in mind who you are talking to, how much they know about your brand, and what questions they are asking in these early stages.

From there, choose content that is easily accessible to a wider audience. This ensures you net everyone who is qualified without risk of alienating some of them with overly specific content. Give it a shot.

 

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This article was originally posted on Martechseries.com

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For companies of all sizes, there are fine lines and many overlaps between marketing and advertising campaigns.

One of the biggest conversations that regularly take place revolve around whether it would be more strategic to conduct campaigns at mass, or in a more targeted fashion. Both methods are highly effective when done right, and can drive leads and sales for businesses – all in their own unique ways:

Mass Marketing – The goal is to reach as many people as possible, which can get expensive. In an effort to have broad appeal, all messages must be stated in a basic form,  which may ultimately lead to diluted messaging. However it’s the best way to attract a lot of attention in a short period of time. It’s usually done by big brands with fitting budgets.

Targeted Marketing – The goal of targeted marketing and advertising is to reach specifically defined and profiled audiences. It allows greater flexibility, and can potentially help save time and money on lead generation expenses. This also allows marketers and advertisers to define unique value points to target audiences in a more personal and effective way. However, the opportunity and exposure are much smaller and drive less attention.

Achieving the right balance between mass and targeted outreach efforts can get a little tricky. Many brands are naturally drawn to the benefits of targeted advertising, but the question becomes – at what long-term cost? The objectives to drive both short-term performance and long-term outcomes require marketers and advertisers to get smarter in their approaches without targeting too much.

Traditionally, the best balanced approach is one that acknowledges the benefits of quantitatively data-driven targeting approaches without losing sight of mass-reach approaches that brands have relied on for decades- approaches which are in need for disruption.

Marketers and advertisers must also bear in mind that content production and delivery is being disrupted on several fronts. For instance, how and where people consume content is very different compared to just a handful of years ago. Thanks to the mobile-first approach, Internet-connected smart devices can deliver targeted content at the fingertips of users. Podcasts and immersive digital experiences are disrupting the way marketing is delivered as well.

With these technological advances came changing consumer behaviors and expectations. Unsolicited commercial emails, more commonly referred to as spam and junk mail, is universally seen as an annoyance. It is worth noting that emails in general were devised to establish a simple communications system for the free exchange of ideas – it was never meant to be used for commercial interests. But that isn’t stopping influxes of marketers and advertisers from sending the unsolicited messages, despite having the best intentions. At that point, the greatest offense committed by companies is the lack of tact which resulted in wasting the time of their prospects.

On the flip side, when brands demonstrate real interest in their prospects by going the extra mile, the prospects themselves will follow along. An example that exists thanks to the blockchain technology is paying users as seen with email service BitBounce. Once contacts are synced, a price can be set for emails to be sent to the inbox. The filter automatically intercepts every email not on the whitelist, and the sender receives an autoresponder in return. The email asks them to pay a small cryptocurrency fee if they want the message to reach the inbox.

Their Ad platform pays cryptocurrency to end users for every advertisement delivered to them, allowing them to be compensated in Credo for their attention. The CredoEx cryptocurrency exchange currently supports 12 other currencies.

In additional to email marketing campaigns, cryptocurrencies can also be used to ensure the quality of results coming from any form of online advertising, whether it’s reactions from social media, or clicks onto websites. After all, it’s no secret that it is possible for people to pay for bots or hired “clickers” to artificially pump up numbers. With that in mind, AdChain uses its own native token to establish a trusted ad space where users benefit from campaign auditing and cryptographically secure impression tracking. In layman’s terms: companies can make sure they get the advertising they pay for.

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology serve to be the disruption that has been overdue for digital marketers and advertisers that are looking to take their targeted campaigns to the next level.

 

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This article was originally posted on Forbes.com

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