Did you know that 81% of people research before making an online purchase? Gone are the days when you can interrupt someone’s attention with an invasive ad banner. These days, marketing needs to be more nuanced.
It needs to attract the attention of the customer naturally. That’s where inbound marketing comes into play. If done correctly, inbound marketing can help attract new customers by organically drawing them into your products or services.
So, how does it work? If you want to find out, then you’re in the right place. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about this new marketing approach. Let’s get started!
What Is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing can be a difficult concept to understand, but essentially it involves encouraging customers to come to you, instead of going to them.
Traditional outbound marketing, which involves the use of television, web, and radio ads, is all about selling a product to the customers. Unfortunately, this mode of marketing is becoming quickly outdated.
For one thing, it’s expensive. But, more importantly, it’s also incredibly invasive. No one likes their viewing or listening experience interrupted with ads. As such, from the start, you’re less likely to attract a sale with outbound marketing. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, works to attract customers through the use of helpful information.
Remember that research statistic at the beginning of the article? Shoppers want to know and trust a product or service before committing to it. Inbound marketing allows them to do that on their terms.
Now, creating great content that your target audience wants to consume isn’t always easy. But, there’s a lot of reasons to choose this type of honey over vinegar solution when it comes to marketing. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.
Benefits of Inbound Marketing
The two biggest benefits of inbound marketing are its cost and the customer satisfaction that comes with it. Anyone who has purchased a traditional video, print, or radio ad knows that it can cost a lot of money to produce and air.
And while inbound marketing isn’t free, many of the strategies do use free platforms. This, plus the limited team that’s needed to run an effective campaign, makes it much more affordable.
As such, it cost a whole lot less than these popular forms of outbound marketing. What more, it’s also much more effective. So, not only are you spending less money, but you’re getting a higher return on value.
On top of that, inbound marketing also provides hire customer satisfaction. Many forms of interruptive outbound marketing can make a potential customer hate your business for cutting into their program.
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, makes the customer more educated and aware. It also provides them with a clear incentive to shop from your business. So, it’s not hard to see why customers appreciate it more.
Components of Inbound Marketing
Now that we know what inbound marketing is, and the benefits that come with it, let’s take a look at some of the components. Specifically, we’ll briefly discuss five popular methods of inbound marketing: SEO, social media, blogging, viral marketing, and influencer marketing.
If you want to know how to implement these components, then make sure to check out this blog article on inbound leads changing your marketing strategies.
1. SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of utilizing searchable keywords to increase your business’s website ranking in Google searches. The higher your website is on the list of search results, the more likely you are to attract new customers.
The good news is that you can increase your SEO by doing a lot of the other inbound marketing components. However, it’s still important to utilize metadata when organizing your website.
2. Social Media
Social media allows you to keep in touch with your current customers. However, if you use it effectively, then you can also attract new customers. Many larger corporations have realized the value of giving their social media brands a personality.
Funny tweets or helpful content can make new people follow you strictly for enjoyment. Then, you have a free shot to post about your services or products. Because the potential customer follows you, they’re more likely to trust your product.
However, it’s important to be careful when running social media. If you say something wrong, then you can just as easily lose customers.
3. Blogging
Blogging is essential to increasing your SEO rankings. However, this isn’t the only benefit it provides. It can also increase customer’s trust by educating them on topics related to your business.
Then, while they’re on your website they’re much more inclined to contact you for your products or services.
4. Viral Marketing
Viral marketing refers to making things like memes or infographics that get shared by thousands or even millions of people. This type of inbound marketing can be tricky.
However, if it works, then the payoffs are big.
The only drawback is that even if your content is great, there’s no guarantee that it will go viral. However, considering the amount of new business that popular viral content can bring in, it’s worth the cost.
5. Influencer Marketing
Influencers are people on social media who recommend products or services to their fan bases.
Sending your products to an influencer, or hiring them to talk about you, is a great way to put your brand in front of them. Then, if they’re interested, they can pursue you on their own.
Want More Content? Keep Reading
We hope this article helped you learn more about inbound marketing and the importance it plays in the digital age. Outbound marketing will stick around in various forms.
However, we can expect this form of permission-based marketing to increase in the coming years. So, the more quickly you can learn to do it successfully, the more profitable your business will be.
Did you enjoy this article? If the answer is yes, then you’re in the right place. Keep exploring to find more topics that you’re sure to love.
