Longevity and success in business depends on establishing client trust. Picture this: You’re meeting a potential client for the first time. Within the first few moments, they’re sizing you up, evaluating not just your credentials but also your demeanor, your communication style, and most importantly, your authenticity. 

How to Build Trust With Clients

To make that great first impression, authenticity is key. It’s not about showcasing your achievements; it’s about being genuinely interested in your client’s needs and demonstrating a sincere desire -and ability- to help them succeed. 

Once you’ve laid the groundwork with that initial connection, it’s time to keep the momentum going. Communication is your most powerful tool. Regular updates, transparent discussions about challenges and opportunities, and proactive problem-solving all contribute to strengthening the bond between you and your client.

But communication alone isn’t enough. Your commitment to their success must be clear in every interaction. Whether it’s going the extra mile to meet deadlines, providing innovative solutions to unforeseen obstacles, or simply being there to offer support and guidance, your dedication speaks volumes.

By mastering these components—authenticity, communication, and commitment—you’ll not only meet but exceed expectations, setting the stage for lasting partnerships.

In the following sections, we’ll explore each of these aspects, offering practical strategies and actionable insights to help you communicate effectively, build trust, strengthen relationships, and become an indispensable trusted advisor for your clients.

Table Of Contents:

• How to Build Trust With Clients
• The Components of Trust
  • 1. Competence
  • 2. Consistency
  • 3. Care
  • 4. Character
  • 5. Communication
  • 6. Commitment
• Building Trust Throughout the Customer Journey
• The Business Value of Trust
  • Key Stats: Building trust leads to more fulfilling relationships and increased profitability.
• Amplifying Your Referral Engine
• Beyond Business Transactions
  • Continuous Learning
  • Community Involvement
• Measuring Trust Through Engagement
• Join 25k+ subscribers and learn more proven strategies in our weekly newsletter.

The Components of Trust

Build trust by embodying the 6 Cs: Competence, Consistency, Care, Character, Communication, and Commitment. Each of these dimensions contribute to building and maintaining trust with your clients – here’s how:

1. Competence

Trustworthiness doesn’t depend on knowing all the answers – it depends on your ability and commitment to finding them. Establishing yourself as an expert doesn’t happen overnight but through years of hard work, continuous learning, and staying updated with industry trends.

You can demonstrate competence by sharing insights on platforms like LinkedIn, contributing to industry publications, or speaking at conferences. These actions show potential clients that others value your opinion and expertise which builds trust even before they’ve worked with you directly.

2. Consistency

Your clients want to know they can count on you, every single time. So, make sure you’re delivering the goods like clockwork. Whether it’s meeting deadlines, keeping promises, or just showing up with your A-game day in and day out, consistency is your ticket to earning their trust.

3. Care

Next up, show some heart. Your clients aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet—they’re real people with real problems. So, take the time to listen, understand, and genuinely care about what they need. 

4. Character

This is all about walking the walk and talking the talk. Your clients want to work with someone they can trust, someone who’s honest, transparent, and sticks to their principles. As a service provider, you’ll deal with sensitive and private info that your clients will want to know is safe.

5. Communication

You’ve got to keep those lines of communication wide open if you want to build trust. Whether it’s sharing updates or even tackling tough conversations, make sure you’re keeping the conversation flowing. Trust me, your clients will appreciate it.

6. Commitment

Your clients want to know you’re in it to win it. Whether it’s going above and beyond to meet their needs, owning up to mistakes, or just being there to lend a helping hand, let your commitment shine through in everything you do.

Building Trust Throughout the Customer Journey

The moment a potential client encounters your brand, be it through a website visit or social media profile, sets the tone for your entire relationship. This crucial window is not just about making things look pretty; it’s about immediately communicating reliability and trustworthiness.

Studies have consistently shown that first impressions are made within seconds. What does this mean for you? Every element of your customer’s journey should be optimized to reinforce their initial positive impression. From user-friendly web design to a stress-free sales process, every touchpoint matters in maintaining trust.

To grasp how vital first impressions are, consider that 94% of users’ first impressions relate to a site’s design. Visual appeal isn’t the only factor; the simplicity of moving through and accessing content also influences how they perceive it. An intuitive layout lets visitors know you value their time and experience on your site.

Including positive reviews to build trust is a good idea, too; that social proof could be what makes your future client feel like you are the person to help them.

Maintaining this trust goes beyond the digital facade into every interaction they have with your brand. Even when someone has been working with your for a long time, it’s always important to think about maintaining strong relationships with your clients. Whether it’s prompt customer service or consistency in messaging across platforms, these actions reassure clients that they’ve made the right choice by choosing you. 

To sum it up, think of each step of the customer journey as an opportunity to build a trusting relationship. 

The Business Value of Trust

Building trust isn’t just about feeling good; it’s a concrete factor that drives profitability and growth for marketing consultants. When clients believe in you, they’re more likely to stick around, refer others, and pay more for your services.

Key Stats: Building trust leads to more fulfilling relationships and increased profitability.

In the world of marketing consulting, where choices abound for clients, standing out because your clients trust you can mean the difference between thriving and barely surviving. A survey by Nielsen found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know directly over any other form of advertising. The sheer importance of cultivating profound connections with clients, anchored in trust, is highlighted by this figure.

But how does one quantify this abstract concept? Increased client retention rates are one measure. Satisfied customers don’t just come back; they become evangelists for your brand without being asked. Their word-of-mouth endorsements are gold—more effective than any ad campaign could ever hope to be because these referrals come with built-in credibility.

A Harvard Business Review article highlights another crucial point: boosting customer retention rates by as little as 5% can increase profits anywhere from 25% to 95%. That’s an enormous potential return on investment simply for making sure your clients feel heard, valued, and understood—fundamental aspects of establishing trust.

Amplifying Your Referral Engine

Trust is the currency that fuels referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations. Once clients have faith in you, they’re inclined to enthusiastically recommend your services to their acquaintances.

Gaining a referral isn’t just about doing good work; it’s about creating an experience so memorable that clients can’t help but share it. Imagine delivering not just what was asked for but going beyond, turning satisfied customers into enthusiastic advocates. This approach has been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of referrals.

To make this concept actionable, consider implementing a system where feedback is not only encouraged but rewarded. A simple “thank you” note or a small discount on future services can go a long way in acknowledging their effort and encouraging further engagement.

One thing you want to keep in mind with this strategy is that you always want to be in touch with those you serve. Regular updates through newsletters or social media keep you at the forefront of their minds, making them more likely to refer you when someone asks for a recommendation.

Beyond Business Transactions

Building trust with clients goes beyond transactions and one-on-one conversations. To be trustworthy, you want to engage in continuous learning, networking, and community involvement. These elements not only deepen relationships but also showcase your commitment to growth and improvement.

Continuous Learning

To stay ahead in marketing, you need to keep learning. Demonstrating to your clientele that you’re perpetually on the hunt for fresh methodologies and technological advancements illustrates a dynamic approach rather than complacency. By attending workshops, webinars, or even enrolling in courses related to marketing trends, you demonstrate a dedication to excellence. Clients appreciate this because it means their business is getting top-notch advice.

Sharing what you’ve learned through blog posts or newsletters can be incredibly effective too. This approach allows clients to directly witness the worth of your expertise.

Community Involvement

Lending a hand not only reflects your character on a personal and career level but also echoes the essence of true leadership. Studies show this kind of engagement improves company perception while fostering deep connections within local networks. Consider volunteering or sponsoring local events if you want to highlight and communicate your company values.

Measuring Trust Through Engagement

Trust isn’t just a feeling; it’s measurable. In the world of marketing, especially for small and mid-sized firms, understanding how much your clients trust you can be seen in their actions – not just their words.

Start with retention rates. A high client retention rate signals that your patrons have faith in your consistent delivery of outcomes. If your clients are jumping ship after just a couple of months with you, it’s a good sign that they’re losing trust somewhere along the way.

Referrals are another indicator: if there’s one thing better than a satisfied customer, it’s when they become advocates for your business. A referral is essentially someone vouching for you based on their positive experience. This act alone speaks volumes about the level of trust established between you and them.

Remember, trust isn’t just a feeling—it’s a tangible asset that drives profitability, amplifies referrals, and fosters loyalty. Now that you know how to build trust with clients, keep building relationships, keep delivering excellence, and enjoy the journey of long-term business.

Join 25k+ subscribers and learn more proven strategies in our weekly newsletter.

Leads are the fuel that drives the growth of every business. Without leads, you don’t have clients. Without clients – there’s no business! In this post, I’ll show you how to get leads through strategic messaging, increasing your visibility, and a systemized approach.

This post will walk you through shifting your mindset from selling to solving, and crafting messages that resonate with your target audience. Plus, we’ll dive into lead generation strategies, how to create content that actually gets leads, and how to network strategically by building relationships.

You’ll leave with actionable insights on attracting sales qualified leads online, nurturing them effectively via email marketing, and using lead magnets wisely—all without getting lost in complexity or hype. You’ll also understand how to use online lead generation to connect with your ideal clients. 

Table Of Contents:

• Embracing the Mindset Shift for Effective Lead Generation
  • The Importance of Trust Over Proof
  • Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement
• Crafting Your Talking Logo for Clear Communication
• Establishing an Online Presence That Builds Trust
• Gaining Visibility and Authority Through Speaking
• Networking Strategies for Lead Generation
• Mastering Social Media to Generate Leads
• Email Marketing Techniques for Nurturing Leads
• Utilizing Lead Magnets to Attract Quality Leads
  • Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement
• FAQs in Relation to How to Get Leads
  • How do I start getting leads?
  • How do I generate leads for free?
  • How do people find leads?
  • Is it worth it to pay for leads?
• Conclusion

Embracing the Mindset Shift for Effective Lead Generation

The journey from self-promotion to a customer-centric strategy is like moving from being the hero of your story to becoming the guide in your client’s narrative. This mindset shift focuses more on increasing trust than proving yourself, especially important for newcomers.

The Importance of Trust Over Proof

In today’s market, building a relationship based on trust with potential clients holds more weight than showcasing endless qualifications. For new consultants aiming to increase their lead generation success, it’s crucial to understand that people are looking for solutions they can believe in—not just another service provider trying to prove themselves.

Adopting this approach means prioritizing understanding and empathy over hard sells and cold facts. By focusing on solving customers’ problems rather than pushing services, professionals position themselves as trustworthy advisors—a key factor in turning prospects into loyal customers.

Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement

Nobody wants what you sell, they simply want their problems solved. You need to flip the script from selling your solution to solving their problems instead. It’s not about you; it’s about how well you understand and address their needs. 

Rather than spending time talking about your own expertise and what you do, it’s more important to connect with a potential client about their pitfalls and challenges. What keeps them up at night worrying? That is what you should craft your message around. 

For example, As a personal trainer, market yourself not just as offering workout sessions, but as boosting confidence and empowerment. It’s about selling a better lifestyle, not just a workout session.

This approach also transforms how we network, fostering real relationships centered on mutual success rather than quick wins. Keep in mind, when you genuinely focus on helping others thrive, attracting new leads becomes seamless.

Crafting Your Talking Logo for Clear Communication

Developing a concise and impactful talking logo to effectively communicate your value proposition. You can think of the Talking Logo as a quick answer to that familiar question, “What do you do?” Remember, your talking logo should be about how you help your clients – not about you. 

But how do we get there? You want a phrase – ideally 15 words or less – that hooks people’s interest and clearly explains what problem you solve. If they have that particular problem, your Talking Logo should have them saying, “Tell me more about that…”

Establishing an Online Presence That Builds Trust

A foundational piece of lead generation marketing is establishing an online presence that builds trust. When  someone looks you up online, you want them to find plenty of evidence that you really can solve their problems. 

Especially now with AI noise and security concerns you want people to know you are the real deal and you are the trusted expert they needed. 

So how do you do this?

First, you should be creating content that solves customers’ problems and that means you need to provide value. They’re not just looking for products or services; they’re searching for solutions to their problems. This is where valuable content steps in. By crafting content that addresses their specific issues, you offer them the solution they are looking for. 

Let’s say you’re aiming to help real estate agents generate more leads. A post like “5 Mistakes You’re Making with Your Online Listings and How to Fix Them” directly speaks to a common problem and positions you as someone who can solve it. Remember, it’s all about solving, not selling. The latter happens naturally. 

The secret sauce? Make sure every piece of content has actionable takeaways that readers can implement immediately and it is so valuable to them that they want to give you their information. 

Your website should also showcase testimonials from existing customers. Ask your current customers how you’ve solved their problems and include these responses throughout your site and in all the content you produce.

Gaining Visibility and Authority Through Speaking

Speaking is a great way to build trust by positioning yourself as an authority and demonstrating your ability to solve your customers’ problems. One of the biggest advantages of speaking is the ability to get in front of a large audience in a short amount of time. Whether it’s a room full of potential clients at a conference or a global audience via a webinar or podcast, you have the chance to extend your influence far beyond one-on-one meetings or networking events.

There are a few ways speaking opportunities can help you reach new leads:

Hosting Your Own Events: This is an excellent way to educate potential customers on the problems you solve. These events can be tailored specifically to your target audience, providing them with invaluable information and establishing your business as a go-to resource in your field.

Webinars: With the digital age in full swing, webinars offer a versatile platform to reach out to a broader audience. Webinars are an effective way to demonstrate your expertise, engage with attendees through Q&A sessions, and generate leads that are already warmed up to your offerings.

Podcasts: Whether you’re hosting your own show or appearing as a guest on other podcasts, this medium has exploded in popularity. It’s a fantastic way to reach new audiences, share your knowledge, and establish a personal connection with listeners. Podcasts also provide the added benefit of being consumable on the go, making them highly accessible to a busy professional audience.

Networking Strategies for Lead Generation

Building strategic partnerships is a great way to amplify your lead generation efforts. It’s not just about attending in-person events and exchanging business cards anymore. The focus on networking has shifted towards creating meaningful relationships that can provide a steady stream of referrals.

To make this work, start by identifying businesses or professionals whose services complement yours but don’t directly compete. This way, you can refer clients to each other confidently, knowing it’s mutually beneficial. For example, if you’re a real estate agent, partnering with local home inspection services or mortgage brokers could be incredibly fruitful.

The key here is consistency and providing value first before expecting anything in return. Hosting joint webinars, co-authoring blog posts on topics relevant to your shared target audience, or even running collaborative social media campaigns are effective tactics to draw attention from potential customers while strengthening your network ties.

Mastering Social Media to Generate Leads

While Social Media is more top of the funnel it does have its place and if done right can be very valuable to your business and leads overall. The trick? Knowing how to effectively use lead gen forms on platforms where your potential clients hang out.

To convert visitors into leads, your social media strategy needs more than catchy captions. It requires value plus frictionless conversion. What do I mean by this? Make it as easy as possible for them to give you their information. Picture this: You’re scrolling through your feed and see an offer you can’t refuse, but the form is longer than a Monday morning meeting. Chances are, you’ll pass. Short, sweet, and mobile-friendly—that’s the winning formula.

Quality leads go beyond the form itself. It starts with engaging content that positions you not just as a seller but as a problem solver in their eyes. Focusing on solving customer problems rather than pushing sales pitches will make those lead gen forms work harder for you because when people feel understood and helped, they’re more likely to share their email address or contact info willingly—a win-win situation where trust builds even before any transaction happens.

Email Marketing Techniques for Nurturing Leads

Developing a sequence of emails is like telling a story. The goal here is to keep potential clients not just interested, but eager to see what’s next or even engage past clients. This journey begins with segmentation.

With email segmentation, you can tailor your messages so they speak directly and personally to different groups of people in your audience. For example, say you’re a marketing consultant with clients across different industries, including healthcare and real estate. By segmenting your email list based on industry, you can send customized emails that provide targeted advice, case studies, and insights relevant to each sector. For instance, your emails to healthcare clients might focus on patient engagement strategies, while your communications with real estate professionals might highlight the latest trends in home buying.

It’s powerful stuff that can turn lukewarm leads into hot prospects ready for conversion. In fact, according to HubSpot, segmented emails result in a 30% higher open rate and a 50% increase in click-through rates than those that are not segmented.

A killer email welcome series for your audience is the bread and butter of nurturing these relationships further. They guide potential clients through every step, from introducing themselves as problem-solvers in their first email, offering valuable insights in subsequent ones, providing value maybe a lead magnet or free training and subtle and overt CTAs throughout. Each email should be crafted carefully—concise yet packed with value—to ensure readers find them too good to ignore.

Utilizing Lead Magnets to Attract Quality Leads

Gated content is like the secret sauce in your lead generation recipe. It’s that irresistible piece of valuable information potential clients can’t help but want, tucked behind an opt-in form. Think of lead magnets as a trade-off: they give you their email address, and you give them access to something really useful—whether it be an insightful white paper, a handy checklist, or exclusive video content.

To craft gated content that truly draws people in, start by understanding your target audience’s biggest challenges. What keeps them up at night? Once you’ve got that down, create content that not only addresses these issues but also positions your brand as the go-to expert for solving them. Remember, this isn’t about just any leads; it’s about getting quality leads. Those are the folks who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer because it solves a problem they’re facing. If you can craft lead magnets that do this, you’ll always have a way to connect with potential clients. 

Solving Not Selling – The Key to Customer Engagement

Focusing on solving customers’ problems rather than pushing for a sale right off the bat is key in today’s market. Trust plays an enormous role here—trust that you understand their needs and have the solution they’re searching for.

A solid lead generation strategy considers not only how many eyes see your content but also how effectively that content speaks to potential customers’ pain points. Whether it’s through insightful blog posts or engaging social media interactions, showing that you get what keeps them up at night builds trust—and qualified leads will follow naturally.

You don’t have to do it all – in fact, consistency in just 2-3 of these lead generation strategies will prove to be far more effective than dabbling in a bunch of different areas. If you can commit an hour per week to the methods you enjoy most, you’ll see how your efforts lead to consistent growth over time. 

FAQs in Relation to How to Get Leads

How do I start getting leads?

Pick 2-3 lead generation strategies and commit 1 hour per week toward them. Want to stay consistent? Choose the activities you enjoy most:

• Speaking
• Networking
• Attend or host events
• Have conversations with potential clients
• Cultivate a clear, trustworthy online presence
• Be a guest speaker on podcasts
• Join an industry trade group and volunteer as a speaker

How do I generate leads for free?

Create killer content that solves problems. Blogs, videos, and guides shared widely can attract leads without spending a dime.

How do people find leads?

Folks scour LinkedIn, engage in forums like Reddit or Quora, and join Facebook groups to unearth potential gold mines of leads. You can also get in front of potential leads through speaking engagements, networking, and podcasting. To be successful, make sure you start with a plan for how you’re going to guide those leads. 

Is it worth it to pay for leads?

That depends: do you have a plan in place for how to capture, nurture, and sell to those leads? If not, paying for leads won’t do you much good. Start with Strategy.

Conclusion

So, mastering how to get leads isn’t as hard as it seems. But you have to build the strategy first. so you can talk clearly about what you do (hint: if you are confused they will be too), and use online platforms wisely. Take advantage of industry events and places where your ideal clients hang out (both online and in person).

Remember, it’s all about solving problems—not just selling. Trust is your best friend here.

Networking can open big doors; don’t overlook it.

Email marketing? It keeps those leads warm. And lead magnets? They’re golden for pulling in quality contacts.

In essence: Solve, engage, grow. Rinse and repeat. That’s the way forward.

We share more tips like this in our newsletter– join 25k subscribers here to get marketing news and resources delivered weekly.

A whopping 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Making sure your business ranks well is imperative to being found online. 

Keyword research is the first critical step in developing your SEO strategy. But the way that you undertake keyword research for your homepage will be different from how you settle on the right search terms for your content like blog posts and podcasts. Plus, keyword research and content creation should have a symbiotic relationship. 

As you research your keywords and begin to understand how prospects are searching, you can plan and create content that speaks directly to searchers’ intent and needs. 

Here’s a quick, 6-step guide to help you get your content research off the ground and drive the right kind of traffic — traffic that is more likely to convert.

We’ll start by talking about what keyword research is.

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing popular search terms that people enter into search engines like Google, and include them strategically in your content so that your content appears higher on a search engine results page. 

Keyword research can help you find ideas for your next blog post, learn more about the needs of your audience, and keep up to date with the lingo of the ever-changing search landscape. Researching what people type into search engines and using this data to create targeted content will ultimately help you drive the right traffic to your site.

Here are 6 quick, easy steps to help you get started. 

Step 1: Start with Your Own List of Keywords

Start by brainstorming on your own. You know your business and what you offer to your customers, so you probably have a solid sense of the terms they’re searching for to find you.

It’s important to note that in recent years there’s been a shift in the way that Google handles search queries. Google is now more invested in ranking results based on intent. The person who searches for “home remodeling ideas” is probably looking for something different than the person who searches for “best home remodeler in Kansas City,” right? The latter searcher is probably ready to start knocking down walls and ripping out tile, whereas the former might be daydreaming about redoing their kitchen someday in the next couple of years. Therefore, the results are going to vary.

Google acknowledges that the intent behind those searches is radically different, and so they’re now displaying results differently for those search queries. Because of this trend towards semantic search, it’s now important for businesses to consider long-tail keywords.

While your homepage might have keywords that are broader and more likely to cast a wider net, snatching up searchers at various stages of the customer journey, you want the keywords associated with your individual product pages and informative content to be more targeted.

If a home remodeler has various pages for the types of services they offer—kitchen, bathroom, home additions, basement finishing, and so on—they should have long-tail keywords for each of those pages that speak to that subset of the broader audience.

Step 2: Turn to Auto-Suggest

Another great starting point for your content keyword research is to start searching in Google yourself. Autocomplete is a great to use early and often when developing content calendars and general organic search strategies. You can uncover quality long-tail phrases that are commonly searched across the web by your audience.

Take some of the broader keywords you’ve identified for your business and see what comes up in auto-suggest.

Let’s return to the home remodeling example. When you type in home remodel, you get some auto-suggestions that indicate a few trends. One is about technology; the fifth and sixth suggestion have to do with apps and software. The other is about financing; people often search about loans or government incentives associated with remodeling.

This tells you something important about what prospects are thinking about when considering remodeling for themselves. They’re worried about the financial aspect (we all know renovations aren’t cheap!), and they like the idea of being able to have a hand in the design process, accessing technology that can help them plan out and visualize their dream kitchen or bathroom.

If you don’t already have content on your website that speaks to those major areas of interest or concern, maybe it’s time to consider adding some! It’s also helpful to go through and click on those auto-suggestions to see what content does appear when you Google “home remodel incentive,” for example. Who is already ranking in those results? Are they direct competitors? Is there a gap in the type of information you can find in that search—one that you could fill with original content on your site?

Step 3: Check out the Competition and See How They’re Ranking For Your Keywords

While it’s important to think about your own strategy, it’s also a smart idea to consider what your competitors are up to. There are plenty of tools out there that can help you do some opposition research into the keywords your competitors are using.

A site like SEMrush can help you see your known competitor’s keywords, identify other potential competitors that you hadn’t previously considered, and monitor shifts in where your domain is ranking (you can access a free 14-day trial of SEMrush Pro using this link).

You can also spend some time on your competitors’ website. Take a look at how they organize their content. Is there a way for you to differentiate your site and content from theirs—a unique approach that you can take to sharing what you do?

Step 4: Ask Your Customers

By this point, you’ve done a lot of digging into keyword research on your own. Now it’s time to ask your customers what they think. Sometimes the people who know and love your business will have a unique take on what’s so special about you, and it will help you to hit on a vein of content to mine that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

Don’t think of this as a daunting task. Asking for feedback can be as simple as sending a quick survey or simply asking people as part of your conversation with them while you’re on the phone.

There are a few helpful questions to ask, like:

“What search terms did you use when you were researching how to fix your problem?”
“What search terms ultimately led you to our business?”

Plus, it’s helpful to ask what it is that they think sets you apart from the competition; writing about what makes you different is a way to help your content stand out.

Step 5: Look at Google’s Keyword Planner (and Google Trends)

Once you’ve gathered up this bundle of keyword suggestions, it’s time to head to Google’s Keyword Planner tool. While it’s designed to work with paid search, it can also help direct your organic search efforts. Keyword Planner can help you get an idea of the right keywords you want to target by considering monthly search frequency, competition, and even cost-per-click (CPC) pricing.

 You do need a Google Ads account to access it, but once you’re in, you can begin to get information about the size of the audience you’ll be able to reach with each keyword, and more. 

Google Trends can help you determine which terms are trending upward, and are thus worth more of your focus. (This can be accessed without an ads account.)

For local businesses, it’s best to hone in on keywords that are not overly competitive and have a manageable reach. If you go for broad keywords that are highly competitive and can reach millions of people, it doesn’t do you much good. You’ll then find yourself coming up against giant brands, and you’ll never be able to rank well in that arena. Plus, you don’t need to reach tens of millions of people; you’re serving your specific community, so those are the people you want to see your name in SERPs.

Step 6: Create Hub Pages

Once you’ve settled on the keywords for your content, it’s important to mold the content itself to speak to the intent behind these keywords. You understand now what your audience wants, it’s time to create content that gives them just that.

I’ve talked a lot about building hub pages recently, and that’s because they’re an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to establishing trust and authority plus dominating in search results. Hub pages allow you to build what’s essentially a mini-Wikipedia for your area of expertise. You put all of your content related to a given topic on a hub page and tie it together in a way that addresses the questions a prospect might have.

Let’s return to the home remodeler example. One of their hub pages could be “The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling.” On that page, they’ll link out to content (blog posts, video, podcasts) that cover all the ins and outs of a kitchen remodel, from initial research to picking finishes to project management once the renovation is underway.

Through keyword research, you learned that financing the project and using tech in the design stages were important issues for a lot of homeowners, so you want to include content that addresses those issues.

With this hub page, you become the comprehensive source of information on the entire kitchen renovation process. Not only does this allow you to become an authority early on in prospects’ research (making them all the more likely to turn to you when they’re ready to hire someone!), it also does great things for your SEO. Prospects stay on this hub page for a while—there’s a lot of information to soak in! They click on a couple of articles, navigating back to the hub page in between. They may even share an article with their spouse about the renovation process, or send a video to their friend who’s helping them pick new appliances.

When visitors spend a lot of time on one page, search engines get the message that it’s a well of great content. They want to provide their searchers with the best results, so they bump your hub page up in SERPs to ensure that it gets found by a broader audience.

Great keyword research for content is about using that research to guide your content creation process. You can learn a lot about search intent and what prospects are looking for by undertaking effective keyword research. Armed with that knowledge, you can then create content that speaks to those prospects’ wants and needs, ensuring that you stand out from the competition.

Facebook ads are an incredible way to generate exciting new leads for your business. There are nearly 2.5 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide, meaning that you have the opportunity to reach a huge audience if you play your advertising cards right.

The other benefit to the platform is the relatively low cost of advertising. Across industries, the average cost per click for Facebook ads is $1.72. It’s entirely possible for a small business to get great results spending only $100 per month on Facebook ads.

But the secret to getting the most out of a small investment in Facebook advertising is creating really effective campaigns. And to generate leads using Facebook ads, you need to take a step back and revisit everything you think you know about advertising.

Reframe How You Think About Advertising

When you think about print, television, or radio ads—more traditional advertising media—you likely picture an ad that’s selling a specific product. However, this sales-focused messaging that’s worked for decades in other channels will not net results on Facebook.

People expect to be sold to by a television or radio commercial or in the direct mailers they receive. But they go to Facebook for an entirely different reason. People are on Facebook to build connections and community, not to be marketed at. So your Facebook advertising needs to be less about “buy my stuff” and more about creating content that builds awareness and trust of your brand.

When people see useful content from your brand on their feeds, they come to know, like, and trust your business. You establish yourself as a source of knowledge and become more like a trusted friend than a pushy, anonymous salesperson.

Start With Great Content

So the place to start on Facebook is not with a sales pitch, but with meaningful content. In order to identify content topics that will resonate with your audience, start with keyword research.

Take a look at your existing content, and see which search terms are leading people to find that content. Using Google Search Console, you can access a list of the real-world search terms people are using to discover each page on your website.

Look for patterns in the types of queries that are leading to your content. And look for intent in those queries. Understanding the intent, or the why, behind a person’s search term can help you craft new content that speaks to the needs and wants of your prospects.

Competitive research can be helpful in this pursuit as well. Identify gaps in your competitors’ content offerings, or find ways to expand upon the successful content they’ve created. That’s a great way to give your audience what they want.

Make Sure the Right People See It

You know that old saying about the tree falling in the forest with no one around to hear it? The same principle applies to your online content. If no interested parties are around to see your Facebook ads, it won’t move the needle and generate leads.

Let’s say you own a home remodeling company. No matter how great your content about preparing for a remodel is, if it only gets seen by a bunch of renters who aren’t in the market for your services, you might as well flush your advertising dollars down the (newly installed) toilet.

Once you’ve created meaningful content, you’ll turn to Facebook to share it with the world. Start by sharing your content organically on the platform by posting on your Facebook page. For your advertising purposes, you’ll want to focus on those pieces of content that get the greatest organic engagement. When a noteworthy portion of your existing audience likes and comments on a particular piece of content, it’s a sign. You know you’ve hit upon something that really resonates with your ideal audience.

From there, you can boost the post with Facebook via their advertising platform. Using their custom audiences tool allows you to show your content only to people who are likely to find it relevant. Meaning, if yours is a remodeling business, you can direct your ad spend at people in certain neighborhoods, age groups, and even those who Facebook knows recently purchased a home.

By boosting your posts, you expand your reach beyond your existing followers. And by boosting to a custom audience who looks like your existing best customers, you ensure you’re getting the greatest ROI on your advertising investment.

Follow Up With Your Best Prospects

Once you’ve boosted your content, it’s time to track how it performs with the broader world. Facebook provides detailed analytics that allow you to see how people react to and interact with the content. They’ll show a breakdown of organic versus paid reach. Plus, you can see likes, comments, and shares on the post.

You’ll also want to create and install a Facebook pixel on your website. This tool allows you to track customer behavior on your website. Adding the pixel enables you to see how your advertising on Facebook is affecting prospects’ behaviors on your site.

With these analytics in hand, you’ll want to follow up with those prospects who are showing the greatest promise—the people who are interacting with your content and exploring your website. Once someone expresses that interest, provide them with a next step towards conversion.

This should be advertising content that invites them to try. Show them an ad for a free trial or evaluation. By reserving these ads for those who have already expressed an interest in your brand, you’re boosting your advertising ROI once again. Save your serious advertising offers for your serious prospects, and you’ll be more likely to get a higher conversion rate.

Facebook advertising doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get results. If you’re smart about the content you create and the audience you target, you can generate impressive returns with a small monetary investment.

If you liked this post, check out our Small Business Guide to Social Media.

When you’re thinking about how to promote your business, it can be tempting to focus solely on your products and services. After all, when you boil any business down to its most essential element it is about getting consumers to purchase the product or service that’s being offered.

But how you reach the end goal of closing that sale is at the heart of any good marketing strategy. And the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of businesses out there that can offer consumers a solution that’s very similar to yours. Plus, with the internet, location is not a barrier in the same way it used to be. So how do you stand out from your global competition?

Storytelling is a great way to build a personal connection with your customers, which is the differentiator that will keep them coming back to you, year after year, rather than turning to your rivals.

It Instantly Establishes a Human Connection

In today’s digital age, it’s now possible to be a long-term customer of a business and never interact with an actual human being at the company. For online giants like Amazon, what keeps people coming back is the fact that their prices are competitive and they have everything you could ever want; Amazon is highly convenient.

As the owner of a smaller business, you’re never going to be able to compete with the likes of an Amazon on those fronts. You need to find another way to stand out. A human connection is the reason someone chooses to buy from a local business rather than the faceless multinational corporate.

When you embrace storytelling that shows off your business’s personality, highlights fun facts about your team members, and makes customers feel like they really know the people behind the brand, that establishes a meaningful, lasting connection. For some tips on how to build a human connection with storytelling, check out this post.

It Helps You Stand Out on Social

So much of online marketing now is about social media. And because the purpose of these platforms is creating connection and telling stories, they’re the perfect place to employ smart storytelling techniques.

This starts by embracing the platform you’re on. Storytelling on you company’s Twitter account will be handled in a very different manner than the storytelling you do on Instagram. Twitter is of course focused on the written word, while Instagram is about telling stories through images. Using these different media to weave together a cohesive story across platforms is another great way to build trust and brand awareness.

When prospects encounter your brand across various social media platforms, but are always met with the same voice and point of view, this establishes your business as trustworthy and authoritative. Plus, when you take the time to actually interact with people—provide direct answers to their questions, react to photos they share that are related to your business, or otherwise undertake personalized engagement—you make your fans feel seen and special.

Once you’ve made a good impression on social, that helps you drive those prospects to your website, where you can hit them with your comprehensive storytelling that’s designed to move them through the customer journey.

It Guides the Customer Through Their Journey

The customer journey is not as clear-cut as it used to be. Because there are a myriad of ways someone can encounter your brand for the first time, it’s trickier for marketers to create a clear path from first interaction through to repeat business and referrals.

However, brand storytelling on your website can help you achieve this goal. Your website is the one asset online where you have complete control of all the content, so take advantage of that. Design your site so that the home page immediately addresses the concerns of your prospects and tells them who you are and why you can help. A short video that shares your mission is a great, bite-sized way to let people know who you are.

From there, you want to structure your website in a logical way that moves customers through the stages of their journey, with storytelling as your guide. The home page is the start of the story: the solution you offer. The next pages should address the middle of the story: how you fix their problem and why you’re the right people for the job. The end of the story is where the prospect reaches out to learn more and become a customer.

It Drives Conversions

Sometimes business owners focus solely on the ultimate conversion: the sale. But in reality, there are multiple conversions all along the customer journey. If a first-time visitor to your website comes back again several days later, that is a conversion. If that person then requests a white paper on a topic of interest, that’s a conversion, too.

Using smart storytelling that’s targeted at prospects and customers based on where they are in their journey, is a great way to drive those conversions.

Think about it this way: let’s say you have a video that covers your company’s origin story. It tells a compelling story, and is great at grabbing the attention of prospects. But this asset is not going to serve you well with those repeat customers who already know your business’s history. They need another story that speaks directly to where they are in their history with your business, and drives them to make the next conversion on their journey (which, for a repeat customer would be to refer you to someone else).

This kind of customer you’d want to greet with another story. Perhaps you create a referral program and pair it with a note that explains why you’re so passionate about sharing your business’s solutions with the friends of your existing customers.

Just like you wouldn’t hand a toddler a copy of Wuthering Heights (or a high schooler a copy of Goodnight Moon, for that matter!), driving conversions is about greeting different people with different stories.

Storytelling is at the heart of any strong marketing strategy. Knowing what your business does best and sharing why you’re passionate about your work is the way to win trust (and customers). Effective storytelling will keep your bottom line healthy and your customers coming back for more.

With inbound marketing becoming ever more popular in recent years, a marketer might be tempted to think broad when it comes to their approach. After all, when anyone can happen upon your brand, it means that anyone’s a potential customer, right?

That’s not quite true. In fact, the number of leads that actually become customers is only around 10 percent. So that means you should really be focused on creating highly targeted marketing messages that are likely to appeal to that small sliver of the population, rather than trying to please everyone.

But how do you find those people? And once you’ve found them, what can you do to make sure you’re speaking to them in a way that really resonates?

That’s where behavior scoring comes in. When you understand the behaviors that are most often exhibited by your customers, you can begin to identify your most promising leads and refine your marketing messaging so that it speaks directly to them.

What is Behavior Scoring?

Behavior scoring, sometimes called lead scoring, is assigning a numerical score or grade to prospects based on certain behaviors they exhibit. You start by analyzing the behaviors of your best existing customers. Are there ways they interact with your brand that consistently result in conversions? Is there a certain page on your website they visit, social media platform they follow, or email newsletter they sign up for?

When you understand the behaviors of your existing clients, you can then create a “composite sketch” of your ideal customer. Those customers who do X, Y, and Z convert a high percentage of the time, so your prospects who do those same things are given a high behavior score. They’re the people you want to focus your marketing time and effort on.

People visit sites or interact with brands for all sorts of reasons. Let’s say you own a tree care company. You may show up in search results for an apartment-dweller looking for advice on tending to her indoor potted tree, a student thinking about starting a lawn care business who’s doing research on pricing in similar industries, and new homeowner in the area who wants to replace some of the older trees on their property. Only one of these people has the potential to become a legitimate client, and since you don’t get full biographical information on those who visit your website, tracking behaviors can indicate their level of seriousness.

The woman in the apartment might watch a short video on plant care your site and then disappear. The student might beeline to the pricing page. But the homeowner looks at several pages outlining services and pricing, plus checks out your testimonials. If this is activity you’ve seen from past customers, then you know this is a lead worth spending some time on.

Lower Your Customer Acquisition Costs and Increase Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) are two critical metrics to track for your business. When you understand how much it costs to acquire your customers and how much value they produce once you have them, you can tweak your sales approach and pricing models to ensure your acquisition costs are covered and you’re still able to make a profit.

However, the reverse is also true: When you understand the behaviors that make someone a promising lead, you can lower CAC and increase CLV. By only marketing to those prospects exhibiting desirable behaviors, you stop wasting time on prospects who will never convert. This means that you’ll get more marketing bang for your buck overall, since you won’t spend dollars chasing those who would never become customers anyway.

Plus, as you begin to develop a more and more nuanced understanding of your customers’ behaviors, you can continue to refine your marketing approach to get even greater results and drive existing customers towards purchasing bigger and better products. All of this leads to an increase in overall CLV.

Understand What Resonates with Your Promising Leads

When you understand the actions of your ideal customer, you can create marketing campaigns that drive prospects to take those actions. Experimenting with website layout, calls to action, and your messaging and tone can all help to drive people who are interested in your business to take the steps that are likely to lead to conversion.

A/B testing is a particularly effective way to further refine your approach. Try running different variations of your web pages to see which gains the greatest traction.

Showing half of your hot leads one option and the other a variant of the same page allows you to understand the messaging and layout that works best. If there’s a significant difference in response to the two variations, that tells you something.

You then can do the work of analyzing the differences, identifying the aspects that made the one page so successful, and replicating that approach across other pages, platforms, and channels.

Further Refine Your Outbound Approach

Once you understand what resonates with your hot leads, you can move beyond inbound tactics and create advertising that’s highly targeted to those leads.

Facebook’s advertising platform offers business owners a number of ways to identify and target hot leads. With the Facebook Pixel installed on your website, you’re able to track visitor behavior—a key part of the scoring process. On the Facebook advertising platform itself, you can create lookalike audiences, groups with attributes that mirror those of your existing customer base, allowing you to target them with advertising.

All of this becomes a positive feedback loop. As your marketing approach is refined, you continue to attract more qualified leads. These leads in turn give you an even more nuanced picture of what your ideal prospect looks like, which allows you to further tailor your marketing approach. Over time, you generate greater and greater results.

Pass on the Leads that Will Never Convert

The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of leads who will never convert, no matter what you do. If you spend your time and energy reaching out to every person, the majority of your energy is being dedicated to people who will never convert.

That’s why a critical part of behavior scoring is not just assigning positive points to those leads who exhibit certain behaviors that often lead to conversion, but also taking away points from those who exhibit less-than-promising behaviors.

Leads who consistently delete your emails without reading, have only been to your website once or twice, or are in a location that your business doesn’t service are ones that you should not spend time pursuing.

Inbound marketing can sometimes make you feel like you need to be everything to everyone. In reality, the most effective marketing strategies—inbound and outbound—are those that speak directly to the small percentage of the population that actually need the solution your business offers. When you use behavior scoring to better understand the actions of your best customers, you can create messaging that resonates with the leads who have the best shot at conversion. All of this saves you time and money, and it makes your customers happier, because they know they’ve found a business that really gets them.

If you liked this post, check out our Small Business Guide to Marketing Automation.