20 Lead Source Marketing For Your Business | Best List

Can you quantify how many leads your company receives on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis from each marketing channel? More importantly, do you know which channels deliver your most qualified prospects at the lowest customer acquisition cost?

Marketers can now capture and analyze lead intelligence from any source using innovative digital technologies.

Marketers who want to track a closed-loop experience must have the right marketing and sales technology in place to collect and analyze lead data, organize lead data, track engagements and touchpoints throughout the sales cycle, and continuously analyze lead sources that bring the most qualified leads to your business.

This article breaks down all you need to know about getting the best lead source marketing for your business.

What is a Lead Source?

A lead source is the first point of contact a lead has with your company. If a lead found your company through search engine results pages (SERPs), then that search engine – and, by extension, your SEO practices–are your lead source.

When tracking and managing lead sources, make sure not to mix up lead sources and lead methods. A lead source is the initial point of contact with a potential customer, whereas a lead method is a channel through which you first contact them.

Types of Lead Sources

These are some of the many lead sources you can find in business:

#1. Search Engines

Leads found through search results could be valuable, especially if they click through to your page. Your SERP click-through rate is an important indicator of how well you’re driving organic traffic.

Improving the authority of your website is part of a comprehensive SEO strategy. As you work on this, you may find that you appear high enough on SERPs that other websites will link to yours in their content. Each of these links could be a source of new leads.

#3. Listed Websites

Sometimes, SEO tactics can also drive traffic to your review website listings. The more traffic your listings receive; the more potential customers you will attract.

#4. Events

Networking events, trade shows, seminars, and other similar gatherings are excellent places to meet new people. Some of your new contacts might be interested in your products and services.

#5. Newsletters Sent Via Email

Whether you purchase an email list or build one from scratch, each email newsletter you send is an opportunity to generate more business. Email newsletters are especially effective at retaining repeat customers who have recently reduced their purchases.

These customers are also considered leads because they have temporarily ceased to be revenue sources but may soon return to you.

#6. PPC (pay-per-click) Marketing

When you spend money on PPC, your company ranks high on SERPs regardless of how well it does organically.

As a result, they frequently viewed PPC to gain new leads, making it a potent lead source sometimes.

How Does a Lead Source Work In Lead Generation?

The practice of lead source attribution connects lead sources to lead generation. Lead source attribution is determining which channel generated a specific lead.

The more you attribute your lead sources, the better you will determine how effectively your lead sources are generating leads.

With this information, you can fine-tune your lead generation efforts to focus on the sources that produce the best results.

Lead sources, regardless of attribution, are the starting point for your lead generation process. Once your source has drawn someone to your website or other content, you can qualify your leads using business intelligence data such as bounce rates and screen time.

Once the leads have been qualified, the outreach process can begin and hopefully, the conversion will follow.

How to Track and Manage Lead Sources

Tracking lead sources is the key to refining your lead generation process for your business. To see how effective it is, track it.

Some tips to use when tracking lead sources for your business are:

#1. Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

It is much more difficult to track and manage lead sources without CRM software to store all of your customer information and act as a database.

In your CRM, you should be able to assign a source to each of your leads from a customizable list.

#2. Go Granular

Listing a lead source as “social media” is a good place to start, but it won’t always tell you everything you need to know.

With so many social media channels to choose from, you want to know if your lead came from Instagram or Facebook.

To go granular means to keep “social media” as the primary source, but include subcategories for each social media initiative you launch.

#3. Track CTAs with UTM Parameters

Calls to action (CTAs) are essential for lead generation, and if you’re running multiple lead generation campaigns, track all of your CTAs.

You can accomplish this by adding UTM parameters to your CTA links. This way, you’ll know which of your CTAs is generating the most leads.

#4. Keep Your Attribution of Lead Sources Consistent and Accurate

A lead source is the introduction of a potential customer to your brand. As a result, if a lead later engages with your company, do not update their source in your records to reflect this subsequent interaction.

Your lead source is always the customer’s first point of contact with your company, never anything else.

Similarly, your lead source should never be identified as a specific marketing or lead generation campaign in your attribution records.

#5. Connect Your Lead Scoring and Lead Sourcing Processes

Use this knowledge to inform your lead scoring processes once you’ve determined which of your lead sources converts the most leads.

If you discover how one lead source converts more frequently than another, give that source a higher score.

#6. Check your Results

A lead source that has consistently converted well for years may gradually or abruptly stop converting as well as it once did.

Check your lead sources quarterly to see how well they convert, and make sure your lead sources are properly logged.

Conversion rates and lead sources, when combined, can provide a wealth of information about how you best attract customers and how you should shape your lead generation campaigns to do so in the future.

20 Lead Source Marketing for Your Business

For your business, you could use online lead sources or offline lead sources. We’ll be giving you 10 of each.

Online Lead Sources

#1. Blogging

Blogging efforts improve your website’s visibility to new visitors while also nurturing existing leads.

Consider the prospect who discovers your most recent blog post through a long-tail search. Before that post, he or she may have never heard of your company.

#2. High-Quality Content

Resources such as ebooks, podcasts, white papers, primary research, and webinars provide value to visitors to your website who will exchange basic contact information for that value.

Premium content pieces should be measured for overall downloads as well as individual topic or campaign performance. 

To gain an advantage in organic search, optimize your website with persona-focused content. Organic traffic is ideal for bringing in new and highly qualified visitors.

An organic search result should be relevant and valuable to the visitor. Paying attention to organic search entails staying current on the most recent search engine updates.

#4. Email Marketing

 According to Social Media Today, a survey conducted by CMO Council and Lithium discovered that email is the preferred method of brand communication among consumers.

Email can feel like an old tool in the marketing mix but put yourself in the shoes of a customer. It’s go-to for prospect questions, service and support, and loyalty touchpoints.

#5. Digital Advertising

To better quantify the effectiveness of paid channels, measure impressions, click-through rates, and content engagement after the first click. Include relevant content and calls to action in all paid digital ad efforts.

Your website should be the starting point for all of your online lead generation efforts. It’s pointless to drive traffic to your site whether from Google, social media, or word-of-mouth if those visitors then leave taking no action.

#6. Deploy outbound and inbound marketing

Outbound marketing is still more effective than inbound marketing, according to the statistics. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon inbound marketing.

Consider deploying both approaches in a balanced manner, as this will aid in the generation of leads and, eventually, your business.

#7. Invest in new technology

New technology set the market’s trend. Smartphones, for example, are popular all over the world. As a result, most people access their mail or browse websites via smartphones or tablets; this shows that you should invest in making your marketing efforts compatible with these devices, allowing you to reach the greatest number of customers.

#8. Find leads on Twitter

Twitter is more than just a social networking site; it is also a source of potential leads for your business. You can use Followerwonk to analyze aspects such as information about followers, when your followers tweet, and so on, so that you can reach the audience that is associated with your niche.

Followerwonk assists you in locating and connecting with influencers. It also has an excellent user interface.

#9. Develop and optimize informative content

It is undeniable that content can be an excellent source of web traffic, resulting in more leads. However, it must be informative and appealing to your target audience. High-quality content can be an asset to you because it drives traffic to your website long after it has been published.

In order to increase share counts and engagement, try to include images, video, and infographics.

#10. Tap into databases

Data.Com is a massive database where you can find potential leads for your company. It keeps a list of companies with accurate contact information so that you can identify relevant leads in the shortest amount of time.

Because Data.com provides a large amount of data instantly, it can contribute to a 25% increase in sales.

Offline Lead Sources

The offline lead source marketing for your business are-

#1. Direct Marketing

Are you still sending direct mail? How do you track the number of leads generated? Consider using vanity URLs to drive additional engagement and supplement direct mail pieces with relevant, engaging content. Include calls to action that will help you qualify leads further and track your online activity.

#2. Traditional Marketing

Do you still track impressions for traditional print, radio, television, and billboard advertisements? Connect this data to leads and sales by using dedicated promo codes, vanity URLs, or calls to action that encourage “impressions” to become identifiable leads.

#3. Sponsorships

Because sponsorships are purely “pay-to-play,” it’s critical to track leads and sales generated to ensure a positive bottom-line return. Begin by gathering all the sponsorships that your organization pays for.

Evaluate the goals for each, then put in place the processes for tracking progress toward those goals.

#4. Affiliate/Partnership Programs

Some businesses are natural candidates for affiliate or partner programs. Consider manufacturers who sell via distribution channels, resellers, software service providers, consultants, and others, as well as value-added resellers (VARs) who collaborate to sell industry technology.

Designate dedicated campaigns for partnership opportunities and marketing efforts to identify leads generated by this channel.

#5. Events / Shows

 Events are an investment for brands at every stage of the marketing funnel, from raising awareness with new prospects to increase loyalty and retention with existing customers.

These events are ideal for combining online and offline experiences. Pre-show meetings and event excitement can be generated with an online campaign to measure (and qualifying) lead activity.

Encourage in-person leads to connect online during the show and then again afterward to nurture the relationship.

#6. Inbound Phone Calls

When evaluating options, searching for detailed or specific information, or seeking service and support, many leads (and customers) prefer to call.

Even though the engagement is “offline,” call tracking software allows marketers to collect data on what prompted a call, what happened during the call, and actions taken after the call in order to connect online and offline marketing efforts.

#7. Outbound Sales

You probably have a list of prospects or cold business phone numbers to call if you’re making outbound calls. When you evaluate this source, you will receive lead scoring and updates to your entire lead database.

Integrate call center tracking or management with your CRM to track outbound call efforts even further.

#8. Recommendations

Encourage others to refer people to your website, products, or services. For example, if your company provides training or consultative services, use a profit-sharing offer to encourage those who have already completed the training to share resources with others. 

#9. Speaking Engagements

Monitor the success of corporate speaking engagements through new connections, followers, visitors, and leads. Consider promoting your presentations and contact information with an easy-to-remember vanity URL during the event.

Include a few downloadable assets to drive lead generation, and use dedicated monitoring lists to nurture new social connections.

#10. Offline / Traditional Networking

Often, the best leads come from face-to-face networking. After each event, manually tag these leads and the offline sources in your CRM or contact database to keep offline networking opportunities in the lead source mix. Consider a dedicated landing page or a separate social list when driving networking connections online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different marketing lead sources?

A lead source is how a lead learns about your company; it is frequently the reason someone visits your website and/or learns about your product or service for the first time. A lead source, for example, can be the method by which someone discovered your company, researched it, visited your website, or made a purchase.

How many lead sources should you have?

You should use up to 12 digital lead sources.

What exactly is a direct lead source?

A lead source is a channel that first brought a lead to your website and into your marketing funnel. This is the “starting point” of your relationship with this prospective customer.

What is the most effective way to track leads?

Create an email sequence and plan follow-ups.

Where can I find prospective customers?

Request referrals from current customers, collaborate with your network to identify sales leads and engage with sales leads at networking events.

Conclusion

The importance of using lead sources for marketing your business cannot be over-emphasised. They are easy to use, and as long as you put in the effort, you would see results.

References

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