Whether we admit it or not, we’ve all dreamed that we are launching the next hottest product like Apple. Its story as a company which started in a garage becoming a billion-dollar corporation is every startup’s dream.

The reality, however, is startup unicorns are as rare as the mythical creature itself. But even if you are not dreaming of becoming a billion dollar company, it takes a lot of work and careful planning to gain traction before, during, and after product launch.

At the heart of it all is lead generation – without it, your new product or service will not go far. In fact, your business will die without a steady stream of new customers.

Which Lead Generation Tool Works Best for You?

We have established how important lead generation is to any business, and you can utilize many tools and strategies to guarantee success. But with the number of tools to choose from, which one is the best for you?

Check out our comprehensive list of lead generation tools for every channel.

You will be surprised that experts have varying opinions about this — some will say social media while others will choose SEO among others. The reason behind this is the target audience is different and each of them has their own biases.

Therefore, a survey conducted by an SEO agency will be significantly different than the survey conducted by an email marketing provider.

The truth, however, is you can try using all of them and conduct a test which one works for you. And while there is no strategy that cures it all, there are best practices you can use to gain traction with lead generation.

How to Effectively Use Your Tools?

You think that the product you’ve built is awesome and have features which your target audience can greatly benefit from. So what’s the most effective way to pique their interest and keep their excitement going?

Your Story is More Important (The Power of Content Marketing)

An old Hopi proverb said that “he who tells stories rule the world.”

Experts agree with this – storytelling is powerful. The most successful brands have mastered the art of storytelling.

That’s because stories appeal to the emotions. They teach a lesson without exerting a lot of effort. They take people into the future. They make your brand more real. More so, stories are unassuming.

People won’t be interested in reading the specs and features of your product no matter how brilliant they are. On the other hand, if you incorporate those features in your copy or video, you can get their attention, especially if it appeals to their emotions.

An example of the power of storytelling is the Land Rover Sport’s Dragon Challenge. Just by completing that dangerous challenge alone speaks volume of what type of car the Land Rover is — reliable, powerful, and carefully engineered; a car highly vetted by champions. The video has garnered more than 5 million views on YouTube.

Another example is Burt’s Bees, a company that sells natural body care products. Instead of telling people the features of their products, they focus on the benefits of using natural ingredients.

Demand Attention During Product Creation (Email Marketing, Social Media)

Nowadays, a lot of companies — big names or startups — gain traction by pre-selling their products even before it is formally launched in the market. Those who buy before the launch enjoy extra benefits or receive a welcome gift.

You can send out emails or announce it on your social media accounts that you are building a waiting list.

You can also emulate the pre-launch strategy of the commission-free stock trading app, Robinhood. A year prior to their product launch, they were able to build a waiting list of one million people. Now, that’s some lead generation strategy!

What did they do?

They sent prospective clients invitation-only early access to a private beta of their app instead of joining a mailing list. It attracted attention because it allows a selected group to have a peek.

Get the Press and the Influencers to Talk about Your Product (Press Release, Word-of-Mouth)

No matter how great your story is but if nobody is talking about it, it’s nothing. And there are no other people you want talking about your product first than the members of the press and the influencers.

When they(influencers) start talking about your product, expect people to follow.

These people are already experts in reaching out to people and getting stories out where people can see them. And when they start talking about your product, expect people to follow.

Don’t wait for your product to launch before you connect with these experts. Instead, build a partnership with them early on so when the launch date comes, you already have people who know your company, your product, and what you do. Thus, you can get wider coverage in different channels and platforms.

Timing and Continuous Traction

A successful lead gen campaign knows how to integrate the different tools and channels to your advantage. It is also a constant experiment of what works and what doesn’t. So don’t stop innovating and testing because what works today might not work tomorrow.

Aside from that, you should also consider the launch date of your product. For example, launching it before a big expo could be better because you don’t have competition. An expo might be a good platform but because there are also a lot of products, they all vie for attention and consumers can get easily distracted.