Inbound marketing in simple terms is creating useful, compelling content and sharing it with established clients as well as potential ones. It’s basically extending an invitation to your business culture and your line of thinking. Unlike traditional marketing which in a way is a one-way conversation, inbound marketing invites your potential customers to an ongoing dialogue. You engage the customers in both professional and congenial fashion. The beauty of it is clients don’t feel ambushed, rather the content is interactive as opposed to traditional marketing which is interruptive.
Online consumers have become more aware of what they do and read online. They are actively selecting what it is that they need and consciously ignoring outbound marketing methods such as unsolicited emails. This is why inbound marketing has become one of the most effective methods of online marketing.
What digital channels form inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is a made up of a subset of online marketing methods that help you to maximise your reach and connect with potential clients. Some of the aspects forming inbound marketing include:
Content Marketing – you ought to make content marketing and blogging your friend to become a thought leader in your field. Potential and established customers will be looking at your business for information, making sure that you are the right company to trust with their business.
Social Media Marketing – writing useful, informative content is only the first step. Making sure your target audience actually read it is the next important step. Social media gives you the opportunity to reach your prospective clients where they are online, multiplying your online reach exponentially. It gives your customers direct access to your content on a more personal level, increasing your brand’s interaction with your prospects.
Search Engine Optimization – since customers are already searching online for products and services in your industry, it only makes sense that your brand appears in those results. It is a more effective way of marketing as opposed to putting an ad in a magazine that gets overlooked.
Conversion Rate Optimisation – Increasing traffic to your website is great, but if your website isn’t geared up to convert them into leads then all your hard work will be wasted. This is where Conversion rate optimisation or CRO plays a pivotal part in any inbound strategy, generating leads from your website traffic driving more prospects through the sales funnel, where they can be nurtured late through marketing automation.
Marketing Automation – contacting a potential customer is difficult, especially when it’s a cold call. Marketing automation allows you to communicate with your prospects on a more relatable level by firing off emails automatically when they complete a certain action. If a prospect spends more than 2 minutes on your services page, an automation will fire sending the prospect an enticing offer on the exact service they were viewing, increasing your chances of opening up a dialog from your initial contact.
What do you gain from inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is ten times more effective when it comes to increasing your websites traffic, lead generation, lead conversion and eventually increase your sales.
You achieve this through inherently aligning your website content or social media posts with your prospects interests and needs. What you get is inbound traffic that is not coerced or tricked into needing your services or products but prospects who want to connect. You continuously engage them, convince them, and satisfy their needs. This results in more qualified leads and delighted customers.
Inbound marketing needs to be a continuous process if you are to reap the numerous benefits it has to offer. When it starts to pay off, and it will so do not become complacent. Remember getting to the top is only part of the challenge, the other challenge is remaining at the top.
You should continuously be adding relevant content and promoting your brand, keeping your clients engaged on social media sites and through targeted emails. That is how you will remain relevant and optimise your inbound marketing strategy.
Executing a successful inbound marketing strategy requires an experienced inbound marketing agency with the right expertise. If you like to find out how inbound marketing can help grow your business, contact our team today.