Inbound Marketing: What is it and how do we use it?

Inbound marketing is a way for companies to connect with and influence customers in a way that inspires trust and fosters long-term relationships. It helps marketers create a proper “customer experience” that attracts prospects and increases visibility.

A key element of inbound marketing is content. You may have heard the term “Content is the king,” but in the case of inbound marketing, it’s true. This means that quality trumps quantity and is something marketers should prioritize in their strategy. There’s a lot more to making inbound marketing work than just creating great content.

Like for example industries that are subject to strict regulation, costs or require information can help people through a process and benefit from inbound marketing. These industries include healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, recruitment and education.

So what is inbound marketing, how does it compare to outbound marketing, and what are its benefits?

Definition of “Inbound Marketing”:

Inbound marketing is a strategic approach that focuses on creating valuable content and experiences tailored to your audience’s needs to build long-term relationships. The key to inbound marketing is that it provides solutions to your customers’ needs. Using inbound marketing, you can build lasting relationships and cultivate advocates for your brand.

Inbound marketing vs. Outbound marketing:

Marketers in all industries are likely to use outbound and inbound marketing strategies to engage and convert leads.

But what are the differences between them?

There are several key differences between inbound and outbound marketing. Outbound marketing involves proactively reaching out to consumers to get them interested in a product. In contrast, inbound marketing focuses on creating and distributing content that attracts people to your website.

Outbound marketing usually takes a more aggressive, broad approach. Inbound marketing is usually more subtle and focuses on getting a specific group of people to make a purchase over time.

Inbound Marketing:

-Informative digital content, targeted to a specific audience to help solve consumer problems.
-Content comes in interactive forms such as social media posts, blogs, reports, webinars, etc.
-Messages are tailored to specific consumers.
-Comprehensive multi-channel strategy.
-Measure through digital marketing software.

Outbound marketing:

-Non-digital content designed to attract consumer attention to sell products.
-Content appears in direct mail, magazine ads, billboards, on TV, etc. and is meant to be passive.
-Messaging needs to stand out from the millions of other ads consumers see every day.
-Linear strategy with limited channels.
-Hard to measure performance from physical advertising.

Inbound Marketing:

With inbound marketing they start by looking for products and services or content to fulfill a need and solve a problem. Therefore, your content should explain how your products or services will solve their problems, answer key questions in their niche, or satisfy their needs.

There are many ways to do this, including:

-Blogs
-Video content
-Guides
-Other online marketing content
Each of these pieces of content can also serve as a way to differentiate your product from the competition. Embed product comparisons, competitive pricing and great reviews in podcast format, social media posts or your reports.

Benefits of Inbound Marketing:

There are several benefits of inbound marketing that can help you determine if it’s the right strategy for your company:

-Inbound marketing is non-invasive. Prospects can read your blog posts or watch a webinar.
-Inbound marketing content is educational. It is specifically designed for each stage of the sales funnel.
-With inbound marketing you can link every part of your strategy to a metric that is tracked over time.
-Your website and content are constantly updated, so inbound marketing continues to generate leads over time.

How do you use Inbound Marketing in large campaigns?

Below we look at a great example of inbound marketing for you to draw inspiration from brands and industry leaders.

Patagonia – Narrative and Activism

Patagonia is one of the largest companies with a “voice” that, through its product and brand, narrates and encourages activism. The brand is an outdoor clothing line, but has spent years speaking out about sustainability and the environment to attract customers. In fact, he is probably better known in the public arena for speaking out about social issues through stories, movies and media rather than his clothes. But one serves the other as the brand has been around since 1973 until today.

Inbound marketing is a highly effective methodology that focuses on creating valuable content to attract potential customers and convert them into loyal, paying customers. Instead of vying for your customer’s attention, inbound marketing helps you gain their interest through content and, more importantly, keep it.

Learn more here: http://bit.ly/2BPQn38

For more information contact us: [email protected]