How to generate more leads and create more income in 2022? This question was at the core of my Evidence-Based Case Study that is out now.
Like many of you, I've asked myself this question more than once. There are ways that have worked for me so far, but in the rapidly changing business environment, to achieve our goals, we need to constantly look for emerging trends and adapt accordingly. With this in mind, I conducted a large-scale research across various industries to create a comprehensive picture of the best lead generation strategies and tactics for the coming year.
I interviewed 91 business owners, CEOs, marketers and sales professionals who shared their expertise, statistical predictions and, of course, the innovative tools that have helped them increase their effectiveness.
Based on this Case Study, I have identified the top 10 lead generation trends that will define 2022, which I will briefly introduce in this blog post.
Top 10 Lead Generation Trends 2022
Trend 1: Content
As Bill Gates wrote in his famous essay, "content is king." In 2022, investing in quality content is a must. The message you convey, the tone of voice, and the way you deliver content to your audience should be the key element of your overall business approach. With some clients who are just starting to work with me, I find that they underestimate the importance of creating consistent content that provides value to potential customers. And that's a common mistake that we pay close attention to in the very first phase of our lead generation program.
Trend 2: Video
Videos have been used by marketers for quite some time, but the way audiences consume them and how companies use them to get results is changing. This year we will see more instructional videos from service companies to market their offerings. This means that not only do you need to adopt or expand this format if you have not already, but you also need to invest in high-quality video production to stand out from the competition.
Trend 3: Customer Retention
The biggest customer retention trend today is building relationships with clients through emotional connection. How do you create an emotional connection? By being authentic, personable and approachable – in a word, a true friend that your customers can always turn to when they need help solving their problems.
Trend 4: Personalization
Personalization ranges from personalized website experiences to comprehensive omnichannel marketing and truly defines your customer experience across the entire funnel. To deliver this highly personalized experience to clients and prospects in 2022, marketers will increasingly use AI and machine learning.
Trend 5: Social Media
In 2022, LinkedIn is definitely the most effective platform to generate new leads because it allows you to grow your audience organically. Many of the respondents agree that the response rate from prospects via LinkedIn is much higher than via email.
To find out more, read my previous blog post about why you should build your social selling engine on LinkedIn. Developing your LinkedIn does not mean you should disregard other social media though, quite the opposite. For more information on how to leverage different social media, check out the full survey report.
Trend 6: Automation
The digital customer journey already accounts for 67% and will grow to 80% in the next three years. Obviously, automation of this process will become essential for businesses to be able to handle tailored information flows for different target audiences. The use of chatbots, marketing automation tools, content crawlers and automated analytics tools will continue to grow in 2022 and beyond.
Trend 7: SEO
When creating SEO-optimized content today, marketers must consider, among other things, the increasing use of voice search, which is characterized by a different use of keywords than typing. For more SEO trends and tips on how to make the most of them, see the report.
Trend 8: Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Hand-in-hand with the trend toward personalization is the rise of account-based marketing, which will grow especially on LinkedIn, as this platform offers the best tools to find and engage with your target audience. Since data analytics is extremely important for ABM marketing, companies will increasingly use integrated marketing tools like Leadfeeder to track leads throughout their customer journey.
Trend 9: Email Marketing
Along with automation comes a trend of personalized email marketing. And that's only natural: people want to talk to people on the other side, and even if an automated email is high-quality and really addresses their needs, they crave human interaction. I invite you to read the report to learn how you can reconcile these two opposing approaches.
Trend 10: Partnerships
Last, but definitely not least. Partnerships will take various forms, from joint content creation to co-marketing and audience sharing. This will allow businesses to lower their advertising costs and reach audiences on platforms that are otherwise unavailable to them.
Takeaway
The lead generation process is increasingly dependent on digital technologies, and this trend will continue to grow in the near future. Staying on top of digital trends and implementing them into your business processes is critical to success now. But even more important is how creatively you apply them to yourself, because that's what will set you apart from your competitors.
So I encourage you to keep that in mind as you study our Evidence Based Case Study_10 for 2022 Lead Generation Trends in 2022. And of course, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas about it.
Any questions or comments? Drop me a line at linkedinleadmachine@gmail.com.
Love it? Hate it? Let me know!
Ramona
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WHATS'S NEXT?
Many of the companies we work with are moving to LinkedIn for lead generation, prompting sales reps to use the platform more and more. A great choice, but to get sustainable and predictable results FAST, you not only need to know HOW to generate leads through LinkedIn but also develop a deep understanding of the driving concepts behind this platform.
Join our upcoming in-person bootcamp, The Intensive // Trends and Secrets in Lead Generation 2022, on March 3-4, 2022, where 4 experts will share the ins and outs of revenue growth strategies, lead generation & social selling, strategic storytelling and marketing automation.
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