Trying to track down great leads is a lot like dating—especially in our more “social” world.

You go to a friend’s BBQ. A photo of everyone at the backyard gathering goes up on Facebook; you’re tagged. And the friend of a friend adds you on the social networking site. He lurks your profile…I mean, looks at it. Common interests, no weird rants, sweet travel photos, no overly photoshopped profile pics—he likes what he sees. So he takes the next step. He messages you on the ‘book (what guy calls anymore?).

The two of you message back and forth casually. Smiley faces and an overuse of exclamation points abound, and then he asks for your number (he texts, of course). The date goes well, and the rest is history. This is much like the process of using great content to generate leads for your business.

People browse through online content all day. And they do just that—browse. This is until, of course, something catches their eye. Perhaps it’s an interesting infographic, a cleverly worded tidbit, an SEO-friendly blog post that comes up in search results, or a girl at a BBQ.

However, that guy that casually added you on Facebook could have stopped there and you could have easily become just another fish in the sea of “fake” internet friends had he disliked what he saw. The same strategies apply when using content to generate leads. The initial hook is what entices viewers to engage, but it’s the great content that ultimately generates the leads and the eventual request for more info (or the request for your phone number). Therefore, if you want leads, and dates, you’ve got to retain a few essential attributes:

Attractive– Don’t show up in spaghetti-stained sweatpants, and don’t fill your online assets with poor design or bad photography. The more visually appealing your content is, the greater the chance of that first attraction.

Smart– Your content must be intelligent and informative. If it doesn’t provide value to your audience, they’ll quickly see through the outwardly beautiful appearance.

Funny– Written content may be bursting at the intellectual seams, but without a little humor, some swag, and being engaging and entertaining, you’ll bore your viewers (and dates) to tears.

Athletic– Boost your potential to generate new leads by staying SEO fit. Load your content with SEO keywords and phrases that will help guide potential leads to your sites. And just like in life, if you start slacking on the workouts, it will start to show. Enhancing your content for prime search engine optimization is an ongoing battle—best to commit to a fitness plan.

Honest– Don’t cheat on your fitness regime with diet pills, and don’t start link farming to drive traffic. You’ll quickly be weeded out. In addition, your content should be honest. Be real. Be sincere. Be you.

So the next time you see a spike in your page views and traffic, or see an increase in time spent on your assets, but don’t see a correlating stream of sales leads, it’s time to reassess your content. Clearly the initial attraction is there, but maybe you’re focusing too much on looks? Perhaps you’re intimidating potential leads with your overwhelming intellectual prowess? Or maybe you’re just not being real? Whatever it is, figure it out and fix it—don’t be that one girl from that one thing that one time (but we’re still friends on Facebook).