Giving Before You Take: The Value of Lead Generation Magnets 

In today’s world of digital media, you must compete for the time and attention of your potential customers. Learning how to use science marketing lead generation strategies can bolster your company and help you cultivate a loyal customer base while providing value to others. Companies who want to build brand awareness can provide engaging content that provides insight on new trends and topics by way of lead generation magnets.

When done well, science marketing lead generation can build relationships with reliable customers who may invest in your business for years to come. A lead generation magnet is something you provide to your customer in exchange for the information you want from them. Companies within the science and life sciences industry have experts and key opinion leaders who can speak to their work and trends in the spaces they operate in. When done strategically, you can create lead generation magnets from this internal expertise to help educate and build your customer base. Read on to learn more about lead generation magnets and how they can contribute to your company’s success.

Strategize With Science Marketing Lead Generation

While 79% of B2B marketers say that email is the most effective distribution channel for demand generation efforts, customers have grown weary of call-to-action (CTA) buttons that ultimately lead to unwanted emails in their inbox. While technically spam is unsolicited bulk email, any brand’s well-intentioned email can be considered spam to a customer who doesn’t want it. If you are sending too many emails or not providing enough value, your email marketing campaign can end up in the spam folder. A successful science marketing lead generation strategy will employ a technique of ‘giving back before asking,’ which can be done by providing value to your potential customers in the form of lead generation magnets. 

Some examples of science marketing lead generation magnets are:

• Free trial subscriptions
• Webinars
• eBooks
• Interviews with experts on relevant topics
• White papers
• Courses
• Training video series
• Exclusive discounts 
• Resource library

Using lead generation magnets is a win-win situation for both the company and the consumer. While this gated content offers potential customers something they’re interested in, you now also have it for future content marketing efforts, including building your contact list. Successful use of lead generation magnets should be customer-centric and provide useful insight, showing that you understand customer challenges.  

Some examples could include: 

• What kind of manufacturing challenges are emerging with new technologies?  
• Tips for streamlining a common lab process
• Successful marketing approaches for science marketers 
• Overcoming common obstacles in research study design

Promote Your Lead Generation Magnet Everywhere

Once you’ve identified a lead generation magnet that provides value to your audience you want to make sure you are marketing it to the fullest. Highlighting it across your social media networks is a free and effective way to get more exposure for your science marketing lead generation campaign. You can also promote your lead generation magnet at the bottom of blog posts and your main webpage. In addition to curating posts that advertise your lead generation magnet, consider advertising it on your social channels’ profile hero images and creating campaign-specific landing pages that provide more information about the magnet.

Leveraging a Landing Page

Landing pages can be a huge asset when it comes to converting visitors into leads. According to the 2021 Demand Gen Report, 68% of B2B businesses use strategic landing pages to garner new sales leads. When promoting a lead generation magnet, you want to create the shortest possible path between the asset you are marketing and the way to interact with your brand.

The most effective landing pages have:

• Headline copy that matches with the ad copy
• Only a few links
• Clear and concise copy
• All relevant information above the fold 

Keep up the Conversation

Another great tool to use on your landing page is a chatbot. Most companies don’t have the bandwidth to have an actual employee respond to customers in real-time, so chatbots are an excellent way to provide customer service.  Chatbots can be helpful in ensuring an instant and timely response to customers and pushing them seamlessly through the sales funnel while driving conversions. If someone takes the bait with your lead magnet but has follow-up questions, having an automated chatbot that will be able to handle basic inquiries can keep the conversation moving and the line between the magnet and the conversion as short as possible.  

LinkedIn: Lead Generation Among Industry Leaders

With 750 million active users and 65+ million decision makers on LinkedIn, LinkedIn is quickly eclipsing other social platforms as the most reliable social network for B2B marketing. LinkedIn is an environment that lends credibility to your lead magnet as it places it in a trusted space full of experts and professionals interacting with one another. Targeting tools within the platform allow you to reach the professional audiences you want while zeroing in on specific business interests and individuals with buying power. It is a trusted source for professional resources and expertise, and best of all, most of your employees are probably already on it. By creating custom posts, banners and ads for your lead generation magnet you can get free exposure to the experts you want to reach. 

When done well, lead generation magnets help you to orient your marketing strategy towards helpful customer engagement and building a brand that is trusted. They can be a great tactic that help you build your customer base and support your business for years to come.