How to generate qualified B2B leads online

December 2, 2024 Toni

Finding B2B leads online is simple if you know where to start.
You can use several tactics. Let’s focus on: inbound marketing, outbound strategies, and social listening. Each method works in its own way, and together, they help you connect with the right businesses at the right moment and generate more qualified B2B leads online.

Here’s a closer look at how to make them work for you.

Inbound Marketing: Attract Leads Naturally

Inbound marketing is all about bringing leads to you.

Think of it like fishing with bait—you put out content your ideal clients find useful, and they come to you because they want what you offer.

How to Use Inbound Marketing Effectively:

Write Helpful Content:
- Blog posts, guides, or videos that answer common questions are a great place to start.
- Focus on topics your audience is actively searching for and give them real value.
- Not sure where to begin? Just think about the questions you hear the most from clients.
- To find relevant topics to write about, you can use AI queries on tools like perplexity, and search for the latest trends in your industry.
- You can also use buska and enter your industry topics and check on Reddit for posts/discussions to identify the most discussed topics to write about.
Offer Free Tools or Resources:
- Templates, calculators, or checklists are popular because they’re easy to create and incredibly useful.
- These kinds of resources position you as a helpful authority and encourage prospects to engage with you.
- Who doesn’t love free stuff that solves a problem?
SEO Matters:
- Use the words your audience searches for so they can find you easily.
- Don’t overcomplicate it—just make sure your content answers what people are looking for.
- Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you figure out the right keywords, but common sense goes a long way too.

When done well, inbound marketing builds trust and brings in leads who already see value in what you offer.
It’s about creating genuinely helpful content and making sure it’s easy for the right people to find.
But building trust takes time, it is a long-term game, that will bring impactful effects over time.

Outbound Strategies: Reach Out Directly

Outbound marketing is more proactive. Its impact is visible in the short term.

Instead of waiting for leads to come to you, you’re taking the first step.
Cold emails, calls, and ads are all about getting your message in front of potential clients.

How to Make Outbound Work:

Personalize Your Outreach:
- Nobody likes generic messages. Mention their business, industry, or a specific challenge they’re facing.
- Using tools like La Growth Machine can help you automate outreach while keeping things personal.
- It’s all about making them feel like you know their situation—because you do.
Target Carefully:
- Don’t waste your time (or theirs) on leads that aren’t a good fit.
- Focus on businesses that need your services.
- Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Apollo can help you zero in on the right contacts.
- And for a little extra help, Clay can help you get the data you need to personalize your approach.
Follow Up:
- Let’s be real—most people aren’t going to respond to your first message.
- “Fortune is in the follow-up”.
- It’s normal. Following up is key, but there’s a fine line between being persistent and being annoying.
- Make sure each follow-up adds value—maybe share a helpful article or an interesting stat related to their business.

Outbound can get results quickly if you know your audience and approach them thoughtfully.
It’s not about spamming people—it’s about crafting the right message for the right person.

Social Listening: Find Hidden Opportunities

If you don’t know what Social listening is, it’s pretty much like being a fly on the wall for conversations about your industry.
It helps you spot potential leads who are already talking about problems you can solve.
You engage with people who are aware and therefore further down the sales funnel.

How to Make Social Listening Work for You:

Set Up Your Keywords:
- Use tools like Buska to track key terms—like your industry name, common pain points, or even mentions of your competitors.
  This helps you find opportunities where your product or service can step in and make a difference.
Get Alerts:
- Buska will let you know when someone is discussing these topics.
- That way, you can be among the first to join in when someone expresses a need related to your offerings.
- You can be notified via email, slack, discord or even use webhooks.
Engage Thoughtfully:
- When you jump into these conversations, focus on being genuinely helpful.
- No one likes a sales pitch disguised as a comment.
- If you have insights or solutions, share them.
- It’s all about building trust first.

Social listening lets you act quickly on opportunities, and it’s useful for finding businesses that are actively looking for solutions.
When you step in at the right moment, you’re far more likely to turn a conversation into a lead.

Combining Strategies for Better Results

No one method works every time, so it makes sense to mix inbound, outbound, and social listening.

Inbound helps you attract leads by creating valuable content.
Outbound lets you reach out directly to prospects with a personal touch.
Social Listening helps you find leads who are already talking about their needs.

Using all three gives you a steady flow of leads and keeps your pipeline full without putting all your eggs in one basket.

You can mix efficiently outbound + social listening in different ways:

Tools to Get Started

Here are some tools to help boost each strategy:

Inbound: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Perplexity, Reddit
Outbound: La Growth Machine, Clay, LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Social Listening: Buska

Ready to Get Started?

Generating B2B leads online isn’t about luck—it’s about being where your ideal clients are and offering something they need.

Whether you’re creating content, sending emails, or responding to social mentions, consistency is key.

Start small, test what works, and build from there.

Get started: try buska for free for 7 days here

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