Information for this blog post was obtained from various sources who are experts on "Lead Magnets, including HubSpot, Zendesk, and Opt-In Monster.
With the constant changes in the social media marketing landscape, it's tough to stand out in order to increase leads and drive sales for your business. It's important to know how you can bring more customers to your business. However, with marketers becoming more and more competitive, it's tough to know what social media strategies are important to implement in order to achieve your goals. This is where lead magnets come in. While lead magnets might not increase the overall traffic to your social media channels, they will increase your conversion rate and brand affinity.
So What Even are Lead Magnets?
Lead magnets are something created that will allow you to bring more customers to your core offer by providing them value on the front end. Instead of directing your ideal customer to your core offer right away, you bring them to a free lead magnet that might help them solve their problem in a smaller sense. You aren't solving the entire problem because that is what your core offer is for; however, you are solving a smaller problem that ideally makes the client understand that they need your core offer.
Lead Magnets: A Personal Example
To illustrate an example of lead magnets in action, I am going to use my business, Launch Wealth. I am a financial planner who helps young individuals start building wealth at a young age. There are many lead magnets that I have including different PDFs, free trainings, and more, but I am going to use my main lead magnet, the "free financial assessment" as an example. When marketing on social media, I do not market my financial planning services as much as the free financial assessment. Why? Because choosing a financial planner is a big decision, and it's a difficult decision to make when you don't know a whole lot about the person and what value they provide. I offer free financial assessments to help people understand if they are on track and where they can save money. This free financial assessment is a much lower barrier to entry than my core offer because it's FREE! For this reason, I convert more of this traffic to my lead magnet than I would directly to my core offer.
Why Lead Magnets?
You might be wondering if it's worth the extra work to create a lead magnet as opposed to your core offer. Lead magnets are monumental to increase conversions and boost sales, which I will explain above. Let's say you have 1,000 people who have seen a social media marketing post and have been directed to a landing page. The number of people that sign up for whatever is on that landing page depends on a variety of factors, but it ultimately comes down to how much value they are receiving vs. the costs. If you are selling your core offer on this landing page, the leads perspective of your value is much higher in the lead magnet than in the core offer. For this reason, maybe you only have 50 people purchase the core offer. However, maybe the lead magnet brings 500 sign-ups, which out of those are 100 paying customers. In this example, you would be able to double your paying customers from your advertising without increasing ad spend or changing content. It's just changing the initial offer you are making to the client.
Lead Magnets Improve Email Marketing
If you're looking for a way to increase your email marketing list, a lead magnet is a great way to increase that list. If you are looking for email signups, it's a lot harder to do that simply by telling someone that they should sign up for your email newsletter. However, if you offer a killer lead magnet that requires them to put in their email, it helps build that list so much quicker and with less effort overall. This lead magnet also helps because it takes your social media followers away from just social media and allows you to interact with them in a variety of different ways, which increases your brand affinity and customer experience. With this bigger list, you are able to close more deals and boost sales in order to grow your business over the long run.
Lead Magnets - 5 Examples
Ebook or Whitepaper
If you've ever heard of ebooks, they are digital books that give information to a topic that you might have been curious above. Imagine that you're a social media marketer looking for strategies to increase your brand, and you find an ebook to accomplish just that. If you read it and get a ton of value from it, what is the likelihood that you would purchase a product or offer from the company that made that ebook. That's pretty high. Ebooks are a great option because they are shareable and they will help build your email list.
Webinar or Online Workshop
I could create engaging webinars or online workshops at Launch Wealth to connect with my audience in real-time. I could host a "Retirement Planning" webinar, where I delve into the complexities of retirement planning. I would participants understand how much they need to retire comfortably, break down intricate concepts, and provide actionable tips. The beauty of webinars is two things. First, they position me as an expert in retirement planning, instilling trust in my audience. Second, they encourage people to interact, allowing participants to ask questions and receive personalized guidance. Plus, I can collect email addresses for future communication and lead nurturing, ensuring a lasting connection with my audience.
Checklist or Cheat Sheet
Creating practical checklists or cheat sheets is a fantastic tool I can use at Launch Wealth. I could develop a comprehensive checklist that covers everything from budgeting and savings to investments and debt management. It could be to help people get their financial house in order. These lead magnets could be incredibly useful for my audience. They provide a clear, step-by-step roadmap to improve their financial situation. By offering such valuable guidance, I not only establish my expertise but also build trust and loyalty. Users are more likely to turn to me for further assistance when they see tangible results from following my checklist. They might then come to me for help with financial planning or investment management.
Template or Toolkit
As a financial planner, I could offer a customizable budgeting Excel sheet as a lead magnet. This template empowers my audience to take control of their finances. They can input their income, expenses, and financial goals, allowing them to visualize and manage their money. The template's benefit lies in its ability to immediately provide value. It simplifies the budgeting process, making it accessible to individuals from all backgrounds. Additionally, it's an excellent way to collect email addresses for ongoing emails to be send to them providing value.
Quiz or Assessment
One of the most engaging lead magnets I offer is a free financial assessment quiz. This assessment includes questions about income, expenses, savings, and debt. After completing the quiz, users receive personalized insights and tips. This lead magnet is so amazing because it really does two things. First, it provides a ton of value to the end-client. Second, it really shows the client where they could save money and where the value of a financial planner might come into play. For this reason, it's amazing because I am almost creating clients by putting the lead magnet in place. This is my last lead magnet I offer to someone because I create the ask of them wanting to become a client.
Conclusion
In the ever-changing world of social media marketing, it's a real challenge to stand out and drive leads and sales. The competition is fierce, and let's face it, figuring out the right strategies can be downright confusing. But guess what? That's where lead magnets come to the rescue.
So, what in the world are these lead magnets, you ask? Well, think of them as those irresistible bait that you dangle in front of your dream customers. Instead of shoving your core offer in their faces right away, you tempt them with something valuable for free. It's like giving them a sneak peek of what you're capable of, a little taste that solves a piece of their problem. It's not the whole shebang—that's what your core offer does. The trick is to make them realize they need it, and bam, lead magnets work their magic.
Take my business, Launch Wealth, as an example. I'm all about financial planning, but instead of bombarding folks with financial services, I go with the "free financial assessment" on social media. Why, you might ask? Well, picking a financial planner is like picking a confidant; trust is a big deal. This free assessment, it's like a low-stakes entry ticket, getting more people interested than just throwing my core services at them.
So, why on earth should you bother with lead magnets, you wonder? Picture this: a thousand people spot your social media post and land on your page. If you shove your core offer in their faces right away, they might not see the value, right? But with a lead magnet, they're hooked! More sign-ups mean more potential customers, all without breaking the bank on ad spend. And let's not forget about email marketing; lead magnets supercharge your email list, pulling in folks beyond social media. With a beefier list, you'll be closing more deals and growing your business like a pro.
For more information on the importance of digital marketing, check out this post!
Resources
Smith, J. (2023, February 22). Creating Lead Generation Offers from Blogs. HubSpot. URL: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/creating-lead-generation-offers-from-blogs
Johnson, A. (2022, July 29). Lead Magnet: What It Is and How to Use It. Zendesk. URL: https://www.zendesk.com/blog/lead-magnet/#:~:text=A%20lead%20magnet%20is%20a,%2C%20and%2For%20company%20information
OptinMonster Blog Article: Brown, M. (2023, March 28). 9 Lead Magnets to Increase Subscribers. OptinMonster. URL: https://optinmonster.com/9-lead-magnets-to-increase-subscribers/
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