Inbound marketing is a somewhat elusive term, despite it being a very helpful tool for growing businesses. It helps drive user engagement, give industry knowledge, and to find the right audience.
Despite this, many still don’t know what it is or how to use it. Here’s why that needs to change today.
What exactly is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is creating content that drives user engagement, it’s used to bring in customers instead of seeking them out actively. In the past, it was more common to market through contacting customers, whether by call or email. However, these days, there are more effective methods of doing so through methods such as blogging or social media presence. it’s possible to use your time more effectively.
Inbound marketing is far easier and less time consuming
Instead of cold calls or emails, create engaging content that will bring views for months to come. It’s not uncommon to write a blog a day or a weekly subscription newsletter for example. You could even pair them together and have one-off content that leads people to long-term subscription-based content.
Because of this flexibility, inbound marketing is much easier as it shapes around the content creator. However, what exactly makes inbound marketing less time-consuming?
Put simply, this content can last long, although the engagement may fall over time. Whilst your content is up to date and relevant, it will continue to drive engagement within the target audience. This means instead of nonstop outbound marketing, you can set a monthly content quota and monitor its progress over time. It also has the added effect of making marketing far cheaper as the strategy allows for single, large pieces of content over expensive, targeted lead generation.
If marketing cheaply appeals to you, why not check out our blog: “Low Budget Digital Marketing – All You Need To Know”.
Inbound marketing is better at lead generation
Inbound marketing is excellent at creating long-term customer relationships. This effect stems from the fact that potential clients will be drawn to you through their own online searches. Emails or cold calls drive engagement in the short term but are inefficient for long-term engagement.
Inbound marketing creates an industry presence
Alongside the clientele benefits, inbound marketing creates an industry presence for you and your business. This is a side effect of creating content that shows off your knowledge and experience, or information relevant to it. Which in turn helps small companies establish themself and initiate growth.
What strategies are effective when inbound marketing
Not every inbound marketing strategy is going to work for your business. There are different variables you first need to consider to find out what fits you best.
Consider your strategy and audience
When considering what content to create, first consider your audience. It may be that certain types of content will differ or be more applicable. For example, if your content applies to working professionals, it should be quick and simple for their busy schedules. With content like videos, it’s important to research the rates of engagement related to the time it’s posted.
Create content that is relevant to you and your business/industry. If your content is not reaching its intended target audience, try a different strategy. An example might be blogging not reaching younger audiences, so you might try small social media videos instead.
Keep content up-to-date and relevant
Keep content relevant and up-to-date, outdated information is understandable but unprofessional. Set a review date for your content to guarantee you remain a reliable source for potential clients.