A new study just released jointly by the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs reveals that nearly 75% of marketers say lead gen is their primary goal for using content marketing.

But just how can you use your content as a means of bringing in more leads to the pipeline? Here are three of the most effective methods modern marketers are using:

Premium Downloaded Content
While not a new method by any means, offering premium content continues to be a highly effective way to capture new potential customers. Keeping the items in a single location, such as a resource center, offers readers a one-stop shop for all their needs. Collateral such as whitepapers, guides, eBooks and case studies are viewed as high-value items which allows targets to justify offering up their contact information. If you plan to continue this method, however, be sure your content truly is truly valuable which information that is engaging, entertaining and educational.

Industry Events
Industry events remain an excellent source for lead generation and connecting with target prospects. Opportunities ranging from speaker presentations to personal interactions at booths and networking events offer a number of ways to disseminate your content, as well as curate new content. Before the event, consider conducting interviews with conference participants or attendees as a way of engaging with prospects. During the event, offer live updates to those who may not be able to attend the event. At the end of the event, consider doing an event wrap-up or reaching out for post-event interviews. This is a tactic we recently employed here at Modern Marketing Today in conjunction with the Inbound Marketing Summit.

Webinars
As webinars are often considered high-value, people happily provide their contact information and details in exchange for hands-on training, real-life application and expert knowledge — all from the comfort of their desk. To enhance your lead gen success, consider asking lead-qualifying questions to better gauge the intent of registrants on the event sign-up page. After the event, you can use the recorded replay of the webinar to place in your resource center or send out to future prospects to help cultivate new relationships.

There are a number of methods that can be employed to generate  leads with content marketing. In fact, 28% of B2B marketers reported using between five and nine content marketing tactics to drive leads, while 64% reported using more than nine. As you can see from these statistics, a successful content marketing strategy includes a variety of methods and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, the methods listed above have produced impressive results.

For more information on how companies like yours can plan for the new year and how your content marketing efforts can help boost your lead generation, be sure to check out the upcoming webinar, Content Marketing 360: Rev Up Your Lead Generation Programs in 2014 featuring Marc Hausman, President and CEO of Strategic Communications Group and Bob Collins and Butch Stearns of the Pulse Network.