Since social media is driven by content, the types of
content you share will influence not only your success on social networks, but
how social media helps your business. Different types of content serve
different purposes and different audiences, and every business should be
choosing the right content for their specific business goals. It is this
principle that makes the distinction between demand generation and lead
generation, two widely confused marketing concepts, so important.
Demand generation vs lead generation
The difference between demand generation and lead generation
can seem murky, but it’s really as simple as the words themselves. Demand
generation is a marketing operation that serves to create a demand for or
interest in your product. Lead generation, on the other hand, is used to
collect specific information about potential clients, turning them into sales
leads.
In other words, the purpose and the desired result of demandgeneration are the same: to make people want to buy from you. With lead
generation, the purpose and the result are different. Lead generation
activities are supposed to make people want your content. The desired result is
the information you gather. In this way, the difference is almost one of
perception vs. data. Which one is more important to your business?
“These terms are often used interchangeably by B2B
marketers,” according to Eric Wittlake. “The result is a single content
marketing program that is expected to both deliver leads and drive demand.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.”
With different purposes, these two marketing operations need
to be undertaken in different ways. Specific approaches to content are better
suited to each function.
What content to use for lead generation
Lead generation is largely dependant on gated content. You
promote and advertise your content to a wide net of people, often on social
media. Anyone who shows an interest is driven to a landing page, registration
page or form fill which they need to fill out in order to access your content.
Those with only a casual interest in your content won’t even bother. But a
small portion of the people you reach will be willing to exchange their
information for the content, even knowing—as many of them will—that this will
make them the target of your sales efforts. These people will likely believe
the content might help them with their work, or are otherwise very passionate
about the subject matter. As a result, this gate helps weed out unlikely buyers
while providing your sales teams with more qualified leads.
Lead generation is more suited to very detailed content.
Often people expect a little more if they’re forced to fill out a form, which
is why ebooks, white papers, reports and other forms of long-form content are
commonly used for lead generation. Webinars and panels are also common forms of
lead generation content, as people expect to register for these types of
events.
To be successful at lead generation on social media,
consider using social media advertising. This allows you to target very
specific groups of people who may already be interested in your area of
expertise. While casting out a wide net on social media is fine, the purpose of
your lead generation content is to really appeal to the core audience that
makes up your prospect pool.
Lead generation also requires that you have a lead
management tool like Salesforce,Marketo or WebCRM. These tools
let you track and manage the leads that you generate with your content.
What content to use for demand generation
Demand generation tends to focus on brand positioning and
brand awareness. To raise awareness you want to remove all barriers between
people and your content—basically the opposite of gated content. The wider the
net the better.
Content that suits the model will have wide appeal. Videos,
lists, blog posts and accessible resources are all forms that suit demandgeneration. These types of content are often dubbed inbound marketing
activities. They also perform generally better than their lead generation
counterparts on social media. And that’s the point.
Because the goal of demand generation isn’t immediate but
more of a long-term shift in perception, search engine optimization can also
serve a big role in this process. Blog posts and websites that end up highly
ranked in search will immediately place your business top of mind for anyone
actively seeking out that subject matter, this week or three months from now.
Choosing between lead generation and demand generation
Clearly lead generation and demand generation require
different approaches to content. That being said, they aren’t mutually
exclusive. There can be overlap depending on your approach, so you don’t always
have to choose between the two.
Wittlake explains that the two operations can work in
sequence, rather than simultaneously. Leads you gathered can they be targeted
with content to increase demand among that list. Great content can also result
in a greater interest in your product, driving people to seek out further
information.
If you were forced to choose, the first thing to do is
consider how you hope social media contributes to your overall business goals.
If it’s really focused on brand awareness, customer service or community
building, you’ll likely want to stick to demand generation. If you do see it as
a sales tool, lead generation might be your best bet.
Small businesses will likely begin with demand generation.
This process has broader applicability, especially in businesses with small or
no sales teams. Larger enterprises will likely garner more value out of lead
generation.
