How Successful Companies Generate Leads By Blogging

Lead generation strategies are consistently demanded in any industry or business. So how do successful companies like IBM and Sun Microsystems generate leads by blogging? Before reviewing specific companies, there are a few interesting facts about blog marketing you should know.

Interesting Blogging Facts

According to a study done by Hubspot.com, companies that blog receive 55 percent more website visitors. Don’t believe me? Look at the chart below.

One thing every website owner should know is that the motto “If you build it they will come” is totally moot when it comes to traffic generation. Which is why implementing marketing strategies, like blogging, for example is an important aspect of traffic and of course lead generation which is a direct result of traffic. Another excellent strategy is backlinking and here’s another interesting fact about blogging: according to Hubspot.com companies that blog receive 97 percent more inbound links. Inbound links are particularly important because they indicate authority to search engines. More quality inbound links means a higher probability of being found in organic search results.

These few facts alone make many ready to start taking blog marketing seriously. But before you go off into a publishing frenzy it’s important to understand how to generate leads using your blog. Time for case study information:

IBM Blog Saavy Tech Company

IBM takes blogging seriously. Honing in on several lead generation strategies including social media marketing, subscription forms, and direct email support. The image below provides some insight on how they accomplish these strategies.

Notice the popup subscription request in the middle of the page. IBM realizes that very few viewers may actually click on the subscribe option located on the top right hand corner of the webpage. Therefore, IBM displays a delayed subscription option located in the center of the webpage. It now becomes the focal point of the site increasing exposure. The company also integrated a talk to us option and social media plug-ins to increase their blog’s viral traffic exposure.

While there are many avenues in place for the user to subscribe or follow the company blog one very important factor should always be considered: the quality of information. Unique or exclusive content is necessary for both traffic and lead generation. Unique content reassures the visitor you are willing to provide answers that no one else is willing to provide or at least valuable insight. It also encourages the visitor to subscribe because in their eyes being connected to the blog and the company is worth exchanging their private information. Technology companies like IBM use largely content based strategies for blogging. Good content = more leads.

Hubspot Marketing Gold

Hubspot is the perfect example of blog marketing and lead generation. While Hubspot employs strategies similar to IBM including social media (Download our Social Media e-book ), subscription or optin forms, and excellent content. They also take it one step further by offering free downloads and marketing kits to help build trust by providing quality free content to their visitors and subscribers. Hubspot also clearly integrates their blog with other parts of their company website. This is a subtle but very important distinction. Some companies keep their blogs separate from the product websites themselves. Which in most cases is a big no no! Why? Well, quite simply the good link juice you create by optimizing blog content and inbound linking will not translate to the corporate or product website if they are not interconnected. Furthermore, from a strictly logical perspective if a visitor wants more information on the company they would have to leave the blog and hopefully land on the company website. When designing web strategies the visitor’s experience is top priority. Therefore, integration enhances the users experience through ease of use.

Take a look at the image below to see Hubspot uses all the strategies mentioned to create a stellar lead generating blog.

In the end if your company is not blogging you are leaving good money on the table. No one wants that, right? It’s never too late to get started…unless you DON’T ever get started. If you have any questions or need a little extra help getting started let us know, and tell us how blog marketing changed your marketing success!

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If generating leads by blogging is something that you are interested in but don’t know how to get started, contact us today to schedule your free marketing analysis.