1. YOUR WEBSITE
Your website is your shop window to the world and one of the first things you should focus on when it comes to generating new business leads for your agency. Nearly all of your marketing and lead generation efforts are going to drive people to your website, so you want to be sure that it’s doing the best possible job of getting the right visitors engaged, and excited about what you can offer them.
NAIL YOUR AGENCY’S PROPOSITION
With your average user spending less than 60 seconds on a website before deciding to stick around or move on, it’s essential to make your agency’s value proposition clear and compelling right away. Showcasing who you are, what you offer, and what sets you apart—all within that crucial first impression! In the words of Treacle Copywriting,
“Avoid any buzzword-bullshit. Choose clear over clever. Your website’s headline needs to tell clients what you do, and what value they get from working with you.”
DON’T JUST TELL YOUR AUDIENCE, SHOW THEM
Getting your website’s copy and proposition right is the first step to capturing your audience’s attention, but don’t just tell them who you are and what you do, show them by using high quality photos and videos of your agency’s projects, team and ways of working. Without that, you make it harder for a potential client to envisage themselves working with you. Are you a global corporate machine? Or a small independent team in a warehouse space? Both are great for different clients, but your website copy and visuals should encapsulate who you are.
Check out Build Amsterdam for inspiration on how to create a beautifully visual website that tells their story.
CONTENT UPDATES
Once you’ve got your website looking and sounding great, make sure you keep it updated with new content, including thought leadership pieces, helpful tips, guides, and insights. Not only does this help position your agency as industry experts and build brand authority with your audience, encouraging them to revisit, it also helps improve your Google Ranking and optimizes your website for search, increasing your visibility online and driving more traffic to your website.
PRO-TIP:We’d recommend updating your agency website with new content at least once a month to keep your website optimised, relevant to your audience and help maintain the traffic, leads and conversions your website relies on. Make sure that every piece of content you share on your website has a call-to-action. Whether that’s to get in-touch with you, download a report or fill in a form, your content should always be guiding your users to take some sort of action to help move them through the conversion funnel.
2. SEO
While a website and SEO go hand in hand, developing a strong SEO strategy is second on our list to support your agency’s lead generation efforts, helping to increase your agency’s online visibility, website traffic and conversions.
Your website can appear in three key areas of search engine results pages:
- Standard Organic Listings
- Local Listings (Google My Business)
- Paid Ads
Let’s break this down, starting with Organic SEO:
ORGANIC SEO
Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to the process of optimising your website to improve its rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) through non-paid tactics. The goal is to attract more organic traffic by making a website more appealing and relevant to search engines like Google. Below we’ve shared some key tips on how you can improve your agency’s organic SEO.
OPTIMISE YOUR SITE
Communicate your agency’s proposition, including who you are, what you do and why you do it, clearly and concisely. You need to make it clear to Google what it is that you’re offering while also grabbing the attention of your visitors straightaway to keep them on your website.
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Identify the keywords your target audience are searching for. Use tools like Semrush, Google Keyword planner, or Moz for user friendly keyword research or use tools such as Ubersuggest for free data to create a comprehensive keyword hierarchy.
CONTENT CREATION
Once you’ve defined your keywords, create valuable, informative content that addresses your audience’s needs and search intent, incorporating your keywords into every piece of content you create. Use your blog page to educate your audience and answer their pain points, rather than solely promoting your products or services.
TECHNICAL SEO
With “57% of website visits abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load.” – Google, it’s vital to regularly check your site’s technical performance, including page speed, structured data, and error pages.
Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing a website’s infrastructure and technical aspects to help search engines crawl, index, and rank it more effectively. It focuses on the behind-the-scenes elements that improve a website’s performance, user experience, and its ability to be properly understood by search engines. Here’s some tips to make sure your website’s technical SEO is up to scratch.
GOAL TRACKING
Utilize Google Tag Manager and Analytics to monitor key user interactions, such as newsletter signups, social media clicks, and inquiry form submissions. This data helps you trace leads back to specific marketing activities.
PRO-TIP: Include your location in your messaging and optimization. While you may aim for global visibility, most local searchers will be looking for services in your area.
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Set up your Google My Business account. Ensure your category is accurate and fill in all relevant details (consistent name, address, phone number). Regularly update it with photos, encourage reviews, and post updates. This listing will significantly boost your visibility in a competitive market.
3. PAID SEARCH
Once your organic and technical SEO is solid, consider investing in paid search advertising. PPC ads are a great way for you to drive valuable leads for your business, 50% PPC visitors are more likely to convert than organic traffic.
The potential to drive targeted traffic is huge—whether you’re targeting broad searches like “agency + location” or specific services. You can also bid on informational queries to showcase your expertise and attract potential clients. By investing in paid ads, you can help increase qualified traffic to your website and convert them into leads!
4. LINKEDIN
LinkedIn is still the ultimate B2B lead generation powerhouse. With over 1 billion users, it’s the perfect platform to make new business connections, showcase your offering, build an online community and drive new business leads.
To get your agency’s LinkedIn strategy up and running:
SET UP A LINKEDIN BUSINESS PAGE
Firstly, you’ll need to set up a LinkedIn page for your business, including all important information such as your company logo and branded header, fill in the About us section with your company’s proposition, and add a link to your website.
START CREATING SOME ENGAGING POSTS
Once you’ve set up your agency’s LinkedIn page, you’ll want to start sharing content on that page to build your following. This can be blog posts from your website, photos of your team in a strategy meeting, new work that you’ve delivered, industry events you’ve attended and client testimonials. Always make sure that your captions and content encourage your audience to take some sort of action, whether that’s to visit your website, sign up to a webinar or contact you about your offering.
PRO-TIP: We recommend posting 2 – 5 times a week on LinkedIn, but always focus on quality over quantity. Over time, you’ll start to figure out which types of posts are most engaging for your LinkedIn audience.
5. CREATE A LINKEDIN NEWSLETTER
Once you’ve started to post regular content on LinkedIn, compiling this all into a monthly LinkedIn newsletter is a great way to share more of what’s going on at your agency and keep your agency front of mind with your audience. It’s an easy and effective way to share company updates, incorporating agency news, insights, blog articles, case studies and team news. You can then invite connections to sign-up through LinkedIn, helping to build your following and keep your agency front of mind with prospects.
PRO-TIP: We recommend a monthly newsletter, giving you enough time to create and repurpose content and keeping your audience engaged without spamming them.
LINKEDIN EXPORTS
Grab a highlighter pen and identify all of the contacts that fit your target audience, with the rate at which people change roles accelerating, you might be surprised at what you find. If they notice a connection has moved into a new role or company that fits your new business strategy, recommend that they reach out to see if there’s an opportunity to collaborate.
YOUR TEAM
You’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with your most powerful new business assets! Involve your team in the agency’s growth ambitions and the reasons why new business is essential and exciting, and they should feel motivated to your agency’s goals.
Encourage your team to act as brand ambassadors and thought leaders on LinkedIn, sharing updates on events or client trips that they’ve attended, contributing to thought-leadership, and networking opportunities.
Ask your team to export their LinkedIn connections. Grab a highlighter pen and identify all of the contacts that fit your target audience, with the rate at which people change roles accelerating, you might be surprised at what you find. If they notice a connection has moved into a new role or company that fits your new business strategy, recommend that they reach out to see if there’s an opportunity to collaborate. (Instructions here.)
Encourage your team to engage with your company’s LinkedIn page. The more engagement and interactions your LinkedIn posts get, the wider their reach to new accounts and connections. You can do this by using the handy ‘Notify Employees’ option on your company’s LinkedIn page every time you share an update. This also helps increase your visibility to your team’s Linkedin connections.
6. LINKEDIN PAID ADS
Once your agency’s LinkedIn page is in a strong position, following the recommendations above, you can further increase your chance of generating valuable leads through LinkedIn using its paid advertising options. LinkedIn paid ads are a great way to reach a specific audience that may not be aware of your agency or be outside of your existing network. Read more on how LinkedIn ads can support your agency’s new business strategy here.
7. TESTIMONIALS
There’s nothing more compelling to prospects than having proof that it’s worked for others!
Testimonials are a great way to build trust and credibility with your audience, allowing prospects to hear directly from their peers on how your agency has helped them achieve their goals. Creating video testimonials is an even more effective way of getting your message across, allowing your clients to share a more authentic experience with your audience. Check out the video testimonials in this agency’s case studies.
Use your client testimonials on your website, add them to your email signatures, encourage clients to share on Google Business and share them on social media.
8. NEWSLETTER
For most agencies, newsletters typically won’t generate cold leads directly.
However, they are invaluable for staying top-of-mind with everyone you and your team interact with—clients and prospects alike. This visibility can lead to new opportunities! Think about how you can add value to your audience, what insights and knowledge does your agency have access to that your audience would find beneficial?
Take our Pitch Wins of the Week as an example, we use our expertise and in-depth knowledge of the industry to compile a weekly round-up of the top brand-agency partnerships. Keeping our audience up to date with everything that’s going on in the creative world, through a simple newsletter.
You can sign-up here to get a weekly round-up of the UK’s most comprehensive review of brand and agency partnerships.
9. AWARDS
Awards are a great way to build brand awareness for your agency, while also building credibility and trust. Through our ‘What Clients Want: A CMO’s perspective’, we’ve interviewed the leading CMO’s to ask them exactly what they search for when looking for a new agency partner, and what we hear most often is when they see award-winning work!
Brands want nothing more than to see cutting-edge work out in the world, that can be recreated for their own campaigns. Not only does award-winning work help build credibility, but it also helps raise more awareness about your agency, making it more likely that you’ll get added to their procurement list.
For better known agencies, award wins can be used to strategically reposition your agency or change perceptions of the kind of work you are known for creating. Whether you win or not, after the results are announced, scan your eyes down the list of judges. Are there any top marketeers on the panel that you could reach out to? You’ve got your ice breaker ready.
If you do end up victorious you’ve got a great reason to get back in touch with prospects you’ve previously spoken to. An award win is a lovely way to highlight what’s been happening since you last spoke and touch base to see if now is a better time to explore work opportunities.
10. PR
Given that on average, up to seven people are involved in a business purchase decision, building broad brand awareness helps drive consideration and conversion. This is where PR comes into play.
One tried-and-tested PR tactic is the industry report. It goes like this. Your agency writes an industry report. It’s hosted behind a gated page on your agency’s website, so that visitors need to fill in a form to access it. Then, your PR team works hard to promote that report in the media to generate interest in it, with the call to action being to visit your site to download the report.
In this instance, your webform captures the lead from visitors who have seen the report in the media.
This data can be passed on to your new business team to follow up on. In one instance, when Fanclub did this, the agency fed back that their new business team had used the activity to generate £330,000 worth of leads.
11. DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
Following on from the point above, creating a meaty report or industry-leading guide is the most time-consuming type of thought leadership to create. BUT, this type of ‘evergreen content’ will deliver leads to you for years to come. Plus, it can be broken down into newsletter snippets, social posts, shorter blogs, and speaking topics. So when measured in eye balls on your logo, it could be your best new business investment.
To get the maximum number of leads from your thought leadership, consider asking for an email address to access it.
The less personal info you ask for, the better. We’d advise asking for an email address only. (In 99% of cases, you’ll be able to find their name, job title and company from that.)
Once you have visibility on who is downloading the report, ensure you factor in time to follow up (by phone or email) with all relevant contacts.
Go beyond asking “did you download it” or “did you find it interesting”? Ask them if they’re also facing the challenges identified in the report. Ask them if you could meet with them or their team to expand on the topic or bring it to life in the context of their organisation. Ask if you might be able to schedule a time to introduce your agency and why you’re the best positioned to help them navigate the challenges in the report.
12. ATTEND NETWORKING EVENTS
Attending networking events are great for building your network! In-person events are ideal for meeting new connections face to face, allowing you to introduce yourself and your agency in a more personal and informal setting. Share a business card, connect on LinkedIn or exchange contact details so you can carry on the conversation long after the event!
Online events also have their perks! When joining Zoom events, make sure you gather the names of the other attendees (from their profile photo) and add them on LinkedIn afterwards! Reference that you were on the same talk, and why you are interested in connecting with the individual. If they accept, send them an email with more info and propose a chat.
Find out more about how you can gather leads from conferences and events here.
13. HOST AN EVENT
Hosting your own event is a great opportunity to offer prospects something of value before committing to something bigger. Whether these are in-person or online, events allow you to share your knowledge and expertise, positioning you as thought leaders within your industry and increasing brand authority and domain.
PLAN YOUR EVENT STRATEGY
Firstly, you need to come up with a catchy topic that will pique your prospects interest. Get your team together and brainstorm all of the pain points your ideal customer has, then select the one that you come across most often, and craft your event around this topic. It can be as simple as a Lunch & Learn session, a round table or panel discussion, sharing your solutions and guidance to your clients tricky challenges.
IN-PERSON EVENTS
In-person events are a great opportunity to build meaningful relationships with prospects, or warm old connections up that may have gone cold. By hosting an event around a particular topic of interest to your attendees you’re able to position your agency as an expertise and in-part your knowledge and promote yourself, without coming across too salesy.
PRO-TIP: Record your event, or have someone take notes so that you can write up a thought piece on the key takeaways you discussed. Then share this with those who attended and ask if they would like to jump on a call to talk through any questions in more detail.
14. WEBINARS & ONLINE EVENTS
Webinars and virtual events are a cost effective way to share your knowledge and connect with prospects.
Share any upcoming speaking engagements on your social channels. You’re giving your network a fresh reason to engage with you, whilst reminding them of your topic of expertise.
When researching events or webinars you’d like to speak on, research not only discipline specific (digital, marketing…), but sector specific (travel, automotive…) events.
You’re likely to find less agency competitors and more potential clients at sector specific events.
To help you generate leads from any speaking engagements, ask the organiser to supply you with the names of all attendees – so that you can drop them a line afterwards and offer to continue a conversation with them one-on-one on the topic.
Save a recording of the webinar and offer to share it with prospects who weren’t able to attend the live event.
15. HOST A PODCAST
Hosting a podcast is a powerful way to grow your creative agency and generate leads because it allows you to build authority in your niche while engaging with your target audience. By sharing industry insights, case studies, and expert interviews, you can showcase your expertise, establish trust, and create meaningful connections with potential clients.
Podcasts also offer a platform for long-form content that helps you go deeper into topics your audience cares about, leading to stronger relationships and more qualified leads. Plus, podcasts are easily shareable and searchable, making it an excellent tool for expanding your agency’s reach and visibility.
Check this Uncommon Creative Studio’s podcast for all the inspiration you need to create a stellar podcast that captures your audience’s attention.
16. REFERRALS
This one is just a case of having the courage to ask!
Start by asking current clients that you have a strong relationship with. Ideally ask face to face. It’s a lot softer, and harder to say no, than an email which can be ignored. Explain why you’re asking for a referral. Share your agency’s growth plans!
The more specific you can be in your request, the easier it will be for the other person to think up someone in their network who fits the bill. And of course it increases the likelihood that the referral will actually turn out to be someone you’d love to work with. Either specify the types of challenges your agency is best suited to working on, or the types of brands that make up your portfolio.
As well as asking current and past clients to put you in touch with relevant people in their network, identify any agencies or consultants who might offer services complementary to yours and who might be open to establishing an ongoing referral program for an agreed fee.
17. PERSONALIZED AND PROACTIVE OUTREACH
If you know which companies you’d love to be working with, but you don’t have any relationships within those companies, the quickest way to get known by them is to reach out to them directly with a call or email.
Start by identifying which companies are a really solid fit for your agency, you can do this by taking a vertical approach to new business, identiIf you can combine relevant experience with a demonstration of strong interest in the brand you’re approaching, your email or call will stand out from the dozens of copy & paste or mass email approaches these decision makers receive each week.
PRO-TIP: Don’t send emails on a Friday! You’ll get a higher rate of out of office bounce backs than any other day. If Fridays are when you work on your agency’s new business, just draft the emails and schedule them to go out on Monday.
Want to hone your lead generation skills? Our Business Development Accelerator Programme is a 6 week course, designed to take you from a new business novice to a lead generation pro.
Find out more details here.
18. INDUSTRY LISTINGS
Just like awards, appearing in respected industry listings can increase your chances of being selected for a roster review. In addition, it can be a shortcut to appearing on the first page of Google.
If you search “Best Creative Agency”, none of the first page organic results are actually for agencies. You’ll be served up with Campaigns ‘Top 100 agencies’ and similar from Manifest, and The Drum. So if you want a quick(er) win to make sure your agency is more visible in search, having your agency included in industry listings is a great place to start!
19. SPEAKER OPPORTUNITIES
Taking part in speaker opportunities allows you to join conversations and share your expertise, to an audience that wants to learn more about your specific sector or industry. It’s a great way to connect with your target audience, spark conversations and build a pipeline of new leads.
GETTING STARTED
And you don’t have to wait around to get invited to speak at an event, you can be proactive and get started straight away. Start by speaking on your own channels, whether this is LinkedIn live, Instagram live, a recorded video, or hosting a podcast, you really can start to build awareness around you as a thought leader and specialist in your industry.
REACH OUT TO YOUR CONNECTIONS
Keep an eye out on what your network is up to, are they hosting any events where your expertise would be helpful? Keep building your network and relationships within it, and share your interest in joining the conversation when a speaker opportunity arises.
SEARCH ONLINE
You can search directly online for speaker opportunities by looking up ‘Call for Speakers’ or ‘Speaker Proposals’ within your specialist area. Once you find some that look interesting, start to analyse whether it’s the right fit for you. Will the right audience be there? Does it align with your expertise? Do you want to be associated with this organisation?
20. PASSION PROJECTS
If your client work isn’t giving you the opportunities to shine in the spaces you’d like to, then invest in your own projects!
This demonstrates gumption and putting your money where your mouth is!
This sweary little project by Impero went viral and won the agency a handful of awards.
21. RE-ENGAGE WITH PAST CLIENTS
Whether they’re from your current agency or a previous role, this should be a rich stomping ground for conversations and leads. Whether you’re looking through your company’s CRM, or email database, identify your target list of past clients and look at ways to re-engage with them. Whether it’s sending an email to check-in, inviting them to your event, or offering something for free. We always find that offering something of value is a great way to spark up a conversation.
22. FREEBIES
Offering a freebie of your agency’s services is an effective way to attract new leads, because it provides potential clients with a low-risk opportunity to experience your expertise firsthand. By offering something valuable—whether it’s a consultation, a brand or website audit, or a mini version of a service you provide, you demonstrate the quality of your work and build trust right from the start. This not only helps to generate interest and spark conversations, but also encourages potential clients to envision how your full service offering could benefit their business. A well-targeted freebie can act as a powerful lead magnet, converting interested prospects into long-term clients.
SUMMARY
Now, we know that’s a lot to throw at you in one go, you can’t do them all at once and you won’t always get it right the first time round. Planning is important. Getting your brand tone of voice right and your agency proposition is crucial. Once you get started, you’ll learn so much in the process and be rewarded richly for doing something imperfectly, rather than doing nothing at all.
So, pick the tactics that you think will be most valuable to your agency and start building these out into your new business and marketing plan for 2025.
Ensure you measure KPIs for each tactic, so that you can
- Analyse and optimise
- Streamline your investments for the following year and cover only the ones that are most effective for your agency.
Once you’ve got the leads, the next huge job is converting them, check out our ‘how to successfully nurture new business leads article’ for help with that.
Need a little more from us?
If you’re looking to nail your agency’s new business strategy and become a lead generation pro for 2025, check out our new business training courses.
Or drop sam.wheatman@thefuturefactory.co.uk a message and let’s chat about how our lead generation services can help you.
