Inbound Marketing – what’s it all about?
It may sound like jargon but inbound marketing is actually very simple. In fact, you’re participating in a bit of inbound marketing right now. You’re reading a blog post and connecting with a company in a more personable way. Maybe you didn’t realise, but that’s precisely what it is.
Inbound marketing focuses on earning customer’s attention through finding value in your online content. Working alongside traditional methods of marketing (outbound marketing) like brochures and posters, inbound marketing helps customers find you, share you to others and engage you in conversation about their needs and preferences.
Why is Connecting Online so Important
Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the rest have traditionally been – particularly by employers – seen as those silly sites that teenagers and employees waste their time on, but in reality they have also helped millions of people to connect. Not only with friends, but with businesses, charities…the works.
By creating real dialogue with your customers you show that you are a brand that cares and that’s what people really respond to. We all want to connect with other human beings in our daily lives, so by making your brand personable, customers will be more drawn to work with you.
Real-time Reactions
Customers like to feel that their opinions matter, with social media they can tell you when things go wrong and you can react in real time and make an immediate amends, turning a negative into a positive. It’s the stuff that marketing dreams are made of!
Savings in Inbound Marketing
Investing in an online presence allows you to see big results but also big savings. Social media, search engine optimisation (SEO) and blogging can cost less than a lot of other strands of the marketing mix, but get you a whole lot more shares, retweets and therefore most importantly sales. The potential return on investment (ROI) is vast.
It can seem like a new fad but social media is here to stay. Think about it – Facebook alone has over 1.2 BILLION monthly active users… it isn’t going to die anytime soon – so getting on the bandwagon and getting advice for how it can work for your business is crucial. Your clients will love you for it.