We’ve been posting a lot lately about mobile marketing, eCommerce, social media and more. We’ve also been talking about the trends in shopping online as the holiday season is underway. If you’re not currently selling online, you’re missing out. Period. The numbers continue to rise and the way in which people are “marketed to” is much different than it was ten years ago. Today, we’ll present the differences in marketing techniques and give you some ideas and examples of how you can begin your journey with Inbound Marketing. It’s definitely where most businesses are going or should be.
Let’s begin by defining Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing. We like these definitions as presented by trust eMedia:
“Inbound Marketing is a marketing strategy where businesses implement tactics to “get found” by customers. Inbound Marketing involves creating and providing valuable content for your customers, promoting your remarkable content, building customer relationships, and overall “pulling” the customer toward you. Inbound Marketing strategies create brand awareness, improve Search Engine Optimization, create thought leadership, develop valuable customer relationships, establish credibility, and build trustworthy reputations.”
“Outbound Marketing, or traditional marketing, is the marketing strategy where businesses try to find customers through building their brand awareness, buying into advertising and promotion, and interrupting the consumer. Because of the new customer being able to not put anything in their face that they do not want in their face, outbound marketing is just not working anymore. With spam filters, caller ID, Tivo, and just plan garbage cans, our busy new customer is hard to reach, especially, when they just don’t want to be reached that way anymore.”
This infographic by Voltier Digital presents a wonderful visual with many key points.
A few keys points to note . . .
- Inbound Marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing.
- Inbound Marketing tactics don’t just generate leads, they generate revenue.
- Inbound Marketing is about providing added value and earning customer loyalty.
So, what are simple ways you can move in the direction of Inbound Marketing?
Expand your Content Marketing. Take a look at your website. Does it tell your story? Does it have all of the info a customer needs to know about you when they land on your page? Do you have a blog and are you updating it regularly. Your website is open 24/7. Use it wisely.
Use social media regularly. Post your blogs on Facebook and Twitter. Engage with customers regarding new things happening within your store or organization. Run contests, promotions and giveaways to create buzz. Instead of talking “at” people, talk to them. Build relationships.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) matters. Make sure your site is built with software that enhances SEO. Ask if your whole site is readable by the search engines (including your product catalog). Use meta tags and location information in the backend of your site to get found locally. List your website with all of the search engines to help build SEO. Start with Google Places and Yahoo Business. Pay attention to key words. Hire a technology company that is well versed in all of these areas.
Look for more information on Inbound Marketing and eCommerce in upcoming weeks. We’re here to help you sell more stuff! Contact us today to get started.