Do you struggle to prove ROI from PR due to a lack of qualified inbound leads? Never fear, as we delve into B2B PR tactics to improve lead generation outcomes.
The trouble is there are so many B2B lead generation tactics out there – email marketing, infographics, eBooks, personalised offers, social media posts – it’s hard to know exactly where to invest budget and how to slice the pie to achieve the highest impact on your company’s bottom line.
At onechocolate, we believe in integrated PR and social campaigns that close the loop with lead generation activities and create results that match business objectives.
Post PR content on landing pages with clear CTAs
Posting PR content like top tips pieces, blogs, opinion articles, whitepapers, infographics onto landing pages with clear a Call-To-Action (CTA) and simple forms for downloading the content, can drive conversions and increase sales leads. The more landing pages the better – according to a recent marketing benchmark report surveying HubSpot’s 7,000 customers: “Companies see a 55% increase in leads by increasing landing pages from 10 to 15. The more content, offers and landing pages you create, the more opportunities to generate more leads for your business.”
Create engaging lead gen content through news hijacking
Hijack the news agenda and trending conversations your customers are having on social media to draw up engaging content your customers would love to read. Speak the language of their peers and end customers. Be the trusted advisor. Use PR comment from interviews and news releases for social media posts, email marketing and eBooks, integrating digital tactics into the overall PR campaign.
For example, if your business delivers improved telecommunications, device management or network planning, why not use the Annual Ofcom Communications Market Report to draw up a blog, an eBook and social media posts with your CEO’s opinions on the smartphone society?
PR optimisation for SEO
Everyone knows SEO is essential – but it’s essential for PR content too. Align your headlines to what your audience searches for. Avoid corporate speak and run with the rule: less is more, keep it simple.
Buying cycle on all channels
We know you know the buying cycle well and we know you know your audience… but sometimes it’s easy to forget this needs to flow through all of your PR content and social media posts too. It’s not just everyday tweets about media coverage or industry articles, it’s taking the buying cycle a step further and doing things like direct influencer engagement on social networks. We’re often working with spokespeople to post comments in appropriate industry LinkedIn groups and on their own LinkedIn Pulse pages. The aim is to deliver the PR message directly to prospects and lead them to click onto the company’s website to find out more – driving traffic from a range of sources.
Measurement should underpin everything
There’s no point even embarking on any of these B2B PR tactics for lead generation without linking your deliverables to real KPIs and business objectives. You can’t learn what content works to drive sales if you can’t see the results on different channels. It’s the “test, test and test again” method. We’re looking to see how PR outreach drives website traffic more and more, like seeing if paid social boosts traffic, or if a story on the Guardian’s website is a bigger driver.
Don’t be afraid to refine your strategy and explore new B2B PR tactics for lead generation over time.