4 Key Steps for Optimizing Your Digital Marketing Strategy and Nurturing Leads

In years past, it was mostly up to salespeople to ask probing questions of their leads, uncover their true needs and wants, and then educate them on what the company offered. Of course, the advent of the Internet changed the status quo dramatically, especially when it comes to nurturing leads. Most of today's leads have already done their homework, and are coming to marketers and sales reps with highly educated and detailed questions. Many of them are ready to evaluate, compare, and buy.

What does it take to get prospects to that point? A well-designed, streamlined digital marketing strategy is the key. You want to create a series of touchpoints for your customers — that is, milestones that will guide them from one stage of the sales funnel to the next, and ultimately toward a purchase. The better your touchpoints reflect your ideal buyer's journey (as well as variable paths to arrive at the bottom of the funnel), the more likely you'll be to convert them into loyal customers.

To optimize your digital marketing strategy, there are at least four key steps you'll need to implement:

Step 1: Prioritize Digital Marketing Channels and Content

​Let's assume you already have a solid marketing strategy, excellent content, and professional branding elements in place. How can you utilize these assets for the best results? 

The first step is to clearly understand the content channel and content type preferences of your target audience. For instance: Where do your prospects go to get content? Which platforms do they frequently use? What type of content do they prefer? Are they more interested in long-form articles or short videos?

It's important to "step into your customer's shoes" by considering how they use the Internet to research your products and services. A lot of marketing departments fall into the trap of thinking: "This content channel is amazing! Surely everyone will love it as much as we do!" Remember, it's not your goal to deliver what you like to customers; you need to deliver what they like. Spend some time asking customers where they like to spend time online. You may be surprised by the answers you receive.

In addition, think about the purpose of each platform. Some platforms lend themselves to video content, while others are more suitable for the written word. Still others are best suited to still images and photographs. Here again, it's imperative that you understand the reason your prospects would use the platform in the first place. For instance, a manufacturing company may have consumers searching YouTube for product demonstrations and how-to videos, while prospects researching interior decorators may frequent Instagram and Pinterest.

The point is, you want to align your content channel with your audience. That's how you'll get higher-quality leads — leads that will move through your funnel more quickly and efficiently. Just as a fisherman has to first go to where the fish are and then attract them with the right bait, you must first place your content where your prospects congregate, and then attract them with your exceptional content. 

Common Content Channels and Types

What are some examples of content channels people use in their online research? While the following list is by no means exhaustive, it can give you a good idea of the many options out there:

• Market and industry-related websites
• Association and conference websites
• Social media websites (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.)
• Video sites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
• Published articles, e-books, and white papers
• Company websites
• E-newsletters
• Customer reviews from sites like Amazon, Trustpilot, Yelp, etc.

In terms of content types that your prospects may prefer, here are a few possibilities:

• Website content
• Blog posts
• Short and long-form videos
• Vlogs
• Webinars
• E-books
• Podcasts

Granted, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to cover every channel and content type in your marketing strategy. However, if you start with the top 3-5 channels and types your prospects use, you'll almost certainly get a jump start on building effective touchpoints within your overall sales funnel.

Step 2: Detail Your Digital Lead Nurturing Process

Once you've selected your channels and content types, the next step is to determine the paths prospects take within and through each of these areas. (Think of this as developing touchpoints within touchpoints.) The objective is to make prospect interactions with your brand as smooth and streamlined as possible — and as effective as possible in moving them to the next stage of the sales funnel.

You should start by listing the touchpoints of your process in order of importance. The following list is an example of what this may look like, with the most valuable bottom-of-funnel touchpoints occurring lower on the list:

1. Website visit: home page (general company info)
2. Website visit: services and products pages (offering details)
3. Referrals from the associated website
4. Social media visits
5. Following on social media
6. Website visit: thought-leadership resources/blogs
7. E-newsletter sign-up
8. Webinar attendance
9. E-book download
10. Conversation with a sales rep

Each of the touchpoints above should trigger specific next steps — which means you'll need to include clear CTAs that will encourage prospects to take those next steps in the process. Of course, it's important to be flexible as well, since prospects will sometimes not move through the sales funnel in a predictable, linear fashion. 

Step 3: Set Conversion Points and Funnel Touchpoints

Conversion points are when prospects go from being anonymous to actively connecting with your company (i.e., sharing their contact info with you). Some examples of conversion points include:

• Contact submission forms
• E-newsletter sign-ups
• Free consultations
• Live chat
• Blog subscriptions
• E-book download requests
• Webinar sign-ups
• Phone calls to your company
• Emails to your sales team

As you fine-tune your lead nurturing process, you want to make sure you provide plenty of CTAs around your conversion points. Simple phrases like "get a free trial" or "speak to an expert" typically work best. Remember, this is the main objective of your digital marketing efforts: to get prospects to directly reach out to and engage with your sales team.

Step 4: Establish Data and Analytics Tracking

Finally, you want to monitor key performance indicators like landing page visits, email sign-ups, and webinar attendance. These metrics will tell you how effective your strategy is at present; and they will help you make informed decisions about how to refine your conversion points, adjust your content channels, and enhance your content delivery.

At the end of the day, your digital marketing strategy should guide prospects through the sales funnel and to a purchase, or a conversation with one of your sales reps. If you optimize your digital marketing strategy using the 4 steps discussed above, you'll see improved sales performance from your team in no time.

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