Top 10 Online Lead Generation Techniques for Professional Services

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Professional services firms have been relatively slow to adopt online lead generation techniques. It’s not surprising given that many commonly used online lead strategies such as contests or sweepstakes are simply inappropriate for many professional services firms and their clients.

Further, many professionals still hold the mistaken belief that the only way to generate new client leads is through referrals and networking. Hello… the world is changing! A new model of business development is already generating significant flows of qualified leads for many professional services firms.

Online Lead Generation Techniques that Work

Like traditional lead generation, the new model is founded on demonstrating expertise and building trusting relationships — but these goals are accomplished online. While online marketing will continue to evolve, here are ten proven lead generation techniques that are working for professional services firms today.

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Social Media for Professional Services: A Case Story

By Sean McVey

It’s easy to dismiss Facebook and Twitter as a waste of company time and a productivity killer. To be honest, sometimes they are. But in the case of Fortinet, an IT services firm with an extraordinary grasp of social media, there’s nothing unproductive about it.

Marketing Senior Manager Maeve Naughton and her team have found unique ways to use popular social media tools leading to increase their brand visibility in the marketplace. Let’s take a look at what tools this network security company uses and how:

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Infographic: Facebook vs. LinkedIn For Professional Services

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.; Infographic by Brian Lemen

[Click image to see full infographic]

Two titans of social media are battling it out to win your loyalty and business. Do you side with the much larger Facebook to maximize your reach? Or do you target the smaller, more business oriented LinkedIn?

This infographic lays out the relative success enjoyed by B2B and B2C firms in terms of closing sales. Which contender is your best pick? Start by asking yourself these questions:

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3 Web Marketing Lessons from a Lead Generating Expert

By Sean McVey

Mari Anne Vanella is a lead generating expert.  As CEO of the The Vanella Group, a firm specializing in B2B lead generation, she understands how to get businesses what they want: more leads.

I was curious to know how lead generating experts use their own website as a lead generating tool.  So I caught up with Mari recently. After picking her brain, I came away with three important lessons:

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HPD Architecture: A Study in Social Media for Architects

By Sean McVey

HPD Architecture gets it.
Plain and simple.

This three-person Dallas-based architecture and interior design firm has made progress in the social media world that you just don’t see every day; especially compared to other professional services firms.

By blogging, podcasting, and interacting with the design community online, these guys have raised their visibility to a national level.  And in a world of referrals and word-of-mouth marketing, they are driving serious traffic to their website and generating targeted, qualified leads online.

How can three busy people accomplish this? I had the opportunity to chat with HPD vice presidents Laura Davis (@hpdArchitecture) and Larry Paschall (@ArchHappyHour) to find out.

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TweetUps: The New Frontier for Professional Services Networking

By Sylvia Montgomery

Nothing shrinks the world like connecting with people online: across countries and time zones. Recently, we at Hinge conducted a “virtual coffee TweetUp.”  A TweetUp is when a group of Twitter users meet up online to have a friendly conversation or discuss a particular topic. Think of it as online networking with an appointed time and an appointed topic.

While the name of this type of interaction may sound frivolous, there are some very significant conversations taking place in TweetUps. There are hundreds of virtual meetings taking place on Twitter at any time. To an outsider, these conversations can appear chaotic. However there is a structure to these events and they can be a tremendous opportunity to connect with people outside of your physical reach. (If you are interested in hosting your own tweetchat, check out: http://www.gnosisarts.com/home/Tweetchat_Wiki — they have a schedule of hundreds of chats, organized by topic and/or day of the week).

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