Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of ActusMR Inc., a Lewisville, Texas, business and sales consulting agency. Kirch can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actusmr.com.

Business today is a mix of big challenges and even bigger opportunities. Unfortunately, many opportunities require a different thought process than we’re accustomed to. Much of this is due to the fact that the online and offline business worlds have overlapped: There are very few established companies without some kind of an online presence. Many companies are marketing their businesses heavily online, even though their business is a brick-and-mortar, offline business. Despite the opportunities, there are still firms that haven’t embraced online marketing or have only tackled bits and pieces, which leads to less-than-desirable results. This is unfortunate, since lead-generation opportunities abound with a well-structured approach.

Lead-generation is not limited to online marketing. Traditional advertising and marketing still work and can lead to great success. However, there is often a greater cost associated with these channels compared to what you can accomplish online. Many online opportunities are low-cost or no-cost outside of some time and education (which, ironically, is available online). That doesn’t mean you can’t spend money on generating online leads.

Pay-per-click

Pay-per-click advertising can become very costly, depending on the targeted keywords and the number of click-throughs you are willing to pay for. The importance of this form of advertising is that you are paying for individuals who are expressing interest in your offering based on your advertising. Since you are identifying keywords or phrases relevant to your offering, theoretically, you’re attracting potential customers who are looking for what you’re selling.

To make the most of pay-per-click advertising, you must have an offer once they land on your site. In the perfect world, you have a product to sell. However, if you do not, you need to find a way to capture their contact information through some sort of opt-in form to make it worthwhile. You need to find a way to capture them or you’re simply wasting money. If you have a compelling video to watch, you can make them opt-in to view it. By doing so, you have created a qualified lead your sales team can follow up with. Video, articles, reports, syndicated data and interviews are just a few of the non-retail items you can give potential customers in exchange for their opt-in.

Pay-per-click advertising is attractive since you can set a monthly budget and once you’ve reached that spending threshold, the system you’re using will stop sending traffic to you until the following month. I recently spoke with an employee of Google who told me they recommend spending a minimum of $350 per month to get real benefit. Though that can add up, once you start to see a return on investment, you can scale this opportunity as much or as little as you want. In addition, this is a truly measurable form of advertising so ROI can be tracked electronically, unlike traditional print advertising. Also, this type of advertising easily allows you to test alternative messages and keywords, finding out the best way to reach and retain your audience.

Subscription service

Another method for acquiring leads is to identify a subscription service, such as an online magazine, a directory, a co-registration site (many of the online panels build their consumer and B2B panels through this type of site) or any other site with a captive following. From there, you can often negotiate buying or renting a list of targeted - and hopefully qualified - leads.

This can also become expensive but as with any spending, the key is to set a budget and stick to it. Using co-registration or list rentals can be a lucrative means by which to identify potential customers so long as you have a compelling offer meaningful to the audience and a strong follow-up process in place.

Blogging

Blogging has become pervasive and many companies participate in some form of blog or article marketing. Thanks to this type of marketing, the Internet is not lacking available information. Some even believe that there’s too much information, which has lead to Facebook, Google and others to start filtering the information we find when we do searches. These companies are trying to determine what information they think we want to see. I’m not a fan of this, though it is very much becoming a part of our lives. I bring this up because I encourage anyone who wants to start blogging or promoting their businesses online to start now. If you build up a list of subscribers and followers, the filtering will be less of an issue.

Blogging will also provide you exposure and top-of-mind recognition among your audience of followers. If you provide valuable content that’s appealing or of interest to your target audience, you can drive loyalty, establish credibility and be seen as experts in your space. Writing a blog or recording a video blog on a regular basis can be great exposure for your company and brand. Also, if visitors find your site through an online search, it gives them a great perspective on why they should become your customer. Though there is an investment of time and creativity here, it can be an invaluable source of lead-generation and retention.

Social media tools

Blogging falls under the umbrella of social media tools, which can be some of the most cost-effective and powerful lead-generation tools available. If you don’t agree or can’t bring yourself to embrace this, quite frankly, you’re missing out. There are so many powerful tools that allow you to manage your social media campaigns, track the impact and measure overall effectiveness. My favorite product is Spredfast (Spredfast.com), which provides metrics and an enterprise-level ability to have all of your employees contributing to your brand exposure. If you choose to not use such a platform, you can easily take advantage of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

Social media tools allow you to be seen as a trusted resource and subject-matter expert. Facebook advertising and company fan pages are great ways for corporate entities to gain exposure and drive business through a medium normally associated with personal relationships. Facebook and Google+ are two social media platforms where businesses can stand out.

I’ve also become a big fan of Twitter. However, to utilize it effectively takes a real understanding of how and why it works. Twitter isn’t just about posting fleeting comments about what you’re doing or even what your business is doing. You do want to promote your own content on Twitter but only 40 percent of the time. Sixty percent of the content should be sharing other content and retweeting. Twitter is about driving engagement. If you’re seen as someone who shares other people’s stuff along with your own, then people believe you’re not just using an automation tool and instead encouraging dialogue, especially if you respond to tweets or retweet.

In addition, avoid putting a link in every tweet you send out. If you want to learn the pitfalls and areas to proceed with caution, simply run a report on your Twitter feed at TheTwitClean.com. It will show you some of the behavior that is viewed as questionable and is a great way to establish a strategy to be seen as an engager or influencer. 

Video content

If you’re promoting yourself online and want to drive traffic and leads, embrace video content. Producing and editing video has become inexpensive and simple with today’s software. Cameras and lighting are also available for a minimal investment. Video helps with your SEO ranking and engages audiences in ways that text simply does not. This creates opportunity and often drives real business relationships because potential customers feel they get to know your company or the people who work for you. Video still impresses, though the quality of production definitely influences the level of impact.

I’ve produced several instructional videos and I also host two different interview shows that function marketing tools. For example, I co-host a business talk show called “Business Beyond the Trenches” (tangoandkirch.com) during which we record various topics and interview thought leaders and business professionals regarding different marketing and sales strategies.

Get creative

Today there are so many opportunities to get creative with your marketing, even on a fixed or limited budget. Clearly, there are many ways you can generate business leads. The key is to determine what you’re willing to spend and then seek out options within your budget. If you are strategic, know your audience and use the modern tools at your disposal, you can open up a world of opportunities. Mix that with traditional advertising and marketing and you can drive success and sustainability. In today’s crazy business world, what more could you ask for?