In the marketing world, the term “inbound marketing” often comes up during strategic planning discussions. Those of us in the marketing industry know exactly what that entails (it’s kind of our job). If you’re a business owner simply trying to market your products or services, however, the jargon can be confusing.
What does inbound marketing even mean? What does it entail? And why is this strategy important for your business?
All are valid questions. Fortunately, we have answers! Keep reading to learn the magic of inbound marketing, and how you can use this strategy to connect with your customers in a meaningful way.
Inbound Marketing 101
If you’ve ever gained a new customer after they visited your website or scrolled your Facebook page, congrats! You succeeded in using the inbound marketing strategy. How? Because they took the time to engage with you, rather than the other way around. (That would be outbound marketing, but that’s for another blog.) But the first step is to produce content for customers to discover.
In a nutshell, inbound marketing occurs when you create engaging, eye-catching digital content that entices consumers to interact with your brand. It’s all about two-way communication. If you’re consistently creating content that is informative and interesting for potential customers to find on your website, social media, or blog, you’ll generate leads more organically. Let’s dive further into how you can use these media channels to your advantage.
Essential Media Channels
Inbound marketing is chock-full of digital media to explore in your marketing strategy. A few of our go-to channels are websites, social media, and blogs.
Websites
A professionally designed website is an absolute must if you want to make it in today’s marketplace. Think of your website as the one-stop-shop for people to learn who you are, where you’re located, and what you offer. Without an online hub for your audience to visit when researching a product, consumers will find your competitor instead.
Blogs
Do you have company news you want to share? How about information that your customers may find useful about your product? Create a blog! Using a blog to educate your audience, solve problems, or answer questions is a great way to boost your credibility. Plus, blogs provide keyword-rich content that helps boost your search engine optimization (SEO).
Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn… There are tons of social media platforms you can use as part of your inbound marketing strategy. Social media offers a chance for your brand to engage more authentically with your audience and receive customer feedback. However, this does not mean you need to be on all social media platforms. Quality over quantity matters here. Only choose platforms that help you reach your target audience. After all, that’s the whole point of inbound marketing, right?
Other channels you can use to implement your inbound marketing strategy include:
- Email campaigns
- Videos
- E-books and white papers
- Webinars
- SEO
Crunching Numbers
What makes inbound marketing even more wonderful? Analytics. These digital avenues provide exceptional data on who is coming to your material, what they’re doing during visits, and more. Wielding this information to your benefit is made easier than ever before with fabulous tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. The more you know about your audience, the better you can give them what they want. It’s a win-win.
Ready to get your inbound marketing strategy up to snuff? Our team can help get you started in the right direction. Contact us to set up a time to chat about how we can implement these innovative solutions into your marketing strategy!
