Why You Should Be Using Inbound Marketing
You may have heard that Inbound Marketing, or content marketing as it is sometimes called, is the marketing of the future.
That's a pretty big claim! And you might wonder if you can really benefit from using content to promote your company?
And you would be right to wonder!
There is a lot of talk in the social media and marketing world about creating content, business blogging, and so on. But there seems to be little in the way of clearly defined methods, strategies, and - most importantly - the real benefits of using content for inbound marketing.
But the truth is, inbound marketing can far out-do more traditional outbound marketing tactics and PPC tactics - and for far less cost.
What Does Inbound Marketing Use?
There are many forms of content that can be implemented into an effective inbound marketing strategy. But experience and statistics show that there are 4 types of content that consistently work best for most businesses.
This infographic from our friends at Hubspot provides a clear illustration of the essence of goo inbound marketing and content types:
What Can Content Do For You?
A comprehensive list of how inbound marketing can benefit your business would take a much longer post than this. But if we were to narrow them down to, say, the top five they would be these:
1. Influence Your Market
Blogging, for example, will help you nurture existing relationships with prospects and customers. In addition, consistent posts with actionable value will provide thought leadership to your audience, and position you or your company as an expert in your field, or industry.
2. Give You A Competitive Edge
Inbound marketing helps you stay ahead of your competition who are probably trying to reach your same audience. While the others invest in trade shows, paid advertising, and publicity, these efforts are, at best, one-off tactics that do not maintain impact. With inbound marketing, however, your content creation and promotion creates assets that you own and can use over and again to deliver value over time.
3. Maintain Market Traction
It's never enough to reach out to your market randomly or sporadically. By consistently and regularly creating and sharing content through inbound marketing, you will attract and keep an audience that cares about what you do and the problems you solve. You will earn their trust, loyalty, and respect with content and thought leadership, while providing them with value.
4. Provide Tangible Marketing ROI
Part of the age old problem with traditional marketing methods is the lack of quantifiable ROI metrics. Broadcast media and print ads have impact, but it is notoriously difficult to track. Inbound marketing, however, uses real-time data that provide insights as to what what is working and what needs to be tweaked. For example, data tracking visitors to your company website and their activities there allows you to see the precise impact of your inbound marketing strategy.
5. Decrease Your Marketing Costs
Inbound marketing can be far cheaper and more effective in comparison to outbound marketing. So what is the actual cost of inbound? Lead to lead, inbound marketing costs 62% less than traditional outbound marketing (HubSpot). Content publishing platforms such as blogs and social media channels are, for the most part, free or at least very inexpensive. When inbound marketing is done strategically and well, the money invested can give the highest return on with greater lead conversions and lower costs.
Inbound Marketing and Your Great Content
A number of terms are often used to describe inbound marketing, such as "content marketing", "digital marketing", "social media marketing", and so on. We prefer the term "Inbound Marketing".
According to Hubspot:
"Inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time."
This content typically takes the form of blog posts aligned with periodic ebooks and even email campaigns. The end result is a cost-effective, multi-faceted marketing strategy that not only attracts ideal leads, but deepens the relationships with customers and clients, while positioning a company as an influencer and thought leader in it's industry.
Regardless of which term you prefer to use, the approach of inbound marketing holds great promise for your business.
But achieving these objectives with your content marketing strategy takes time. It won't happen with a few blog posts or great ebook. People will need to consume your content for a while before they contact you. Yet, without your content compelling them to contact you, your goals may never be met.
Get your Free Complimentary Inbound Marketing Session to help you make an informed decision or call BroadVision Marketing at 707-799-1238.
