Inbound Marketing Insights

Over the last 15 years, there has been a major shift from outbound marketing to inbound marketing. Often referred to as “interruption marketing,” outbound marketing represents a technique that requires you to get your message across to your audience through aggressive methods, such as direct mail, cold calling, email blasts, banner ads, etc.

In contrast, inbound marketing allows you to use a variety of channels, such as content marketing, online videos, and social media, to earn your way into the minds and hearts of your consumers as they voluntarily interact with you, increasing your brand awareness and attracting new business. This paradigm shift in the marketing world makes it important for your business to implement an effective inbound marketing strategy that makes it easier for potential customers to find you.

More and More People Are Ignoring Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing has become more difficult because people resent advertising that disrupts their favorite shows, sporting events, and other programs. 86% of the people skip TV ads, and 46% ignore direct mail. Individuals want to be more in control of the information they receive and when they receive it. Companies that recognize this trend have reallocated marketing dollars away from outbound marketing to blogs, e-books, videos, and other forms of inbound marketing.

Inbound Marketing Helps Generate More Leads
HubSpot reports that inbound marketing techniques generate 54% more leads than traditional paid methods. Before the Internet, marketers obtained the names of potential buyers and passed them on to the sales team. Typically, the sales staff would have to educate early-stage buyers that may not be qualified. Today, buyers have access to a broad array of online resources and can conduct their own research about products and services, including:

• Search Engines
• Case Studies
• White Papers
• Webinars
• Social Media

The success of your organization requires you to have a long-term, strategic lead generation plan to help your target audience find you so that you can build a relationship. Organic search marketing provides one of the most effective strategies for generating leads. An effective SEO strategy executes several elements well, including website design, keyword selection, optimization, content marketing, social media, and conversion rate.

Inbound Marketing Costs Less
According to this Marketing Profs infographic, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads. Content marketing is one of the most critical elements of a successful inbound marketing strategy. Fresh, helpful content improves the probability of keeping visitors on your website and converting them to leads and, hopefully, customers, but this requires patience. You will have to focus on a strong and effective long-term approach that improves your brand’s visibility online and helps you build a more lasting bond with your customers.

You will need to produce content in multiple forms with the sole objective of helping your audience. The content types to consider are:

• Blog posts
• Whitepapers
• Email newsletters
• Social media posts
• eBooks
• Infographics
• Videos, webinars, and podcasts

Remember that your content needs to stand out, educate, inspire, and entertain your audience. In fact, one of the best ways we have found to communicate content marketing is through the use of videos. Here's an example of an explainer video centered around content marketing that has helped us educate beyond blog posts for individuals interested in visual and interactive content.

Inbound Marketing provides a powerful tool that businesses can utilize to empower people and give them the information they want at the right point in the buying cycle. Companies that practice this type of marketing can build strong awareness, trust, and loyalty for their brands.

Need help getting started? We invite you to schedule a complimentary inbound marketing consultation where we can discuss your current campaign initiatives, strategy, and even the process you have outlined to make sure it's a success.