What is Inbound Marketing?

So what is Inbound Marketing and why is it the buzz these days? Well it's really nothing new. Permission-based marketing has been around for years but we are now seeing an influx of interest around the topic.

Permission Marketing (Inbound)

Inbound Marketing is a permission based methodology that focuses on driving relevant traffic to your website, converting that traffic to leads, and finally, turning those leads into sales. Relevant traffic is driven to your website through attractive blog articles, social media, and effective search engine optimization techniques. This method of attracting qualified traffic is much more effective than the alternative – blasting a message to thousands of uninterested people in the hopes you’ll have a return rate of around 2%.

Once qualified visitors are on your website, the inbound marketing methodology drives visitors to attractive offers such as premium videos and ebooks. In exchange for these offers, website visitors will provide their contact information. This method of sharing offers is much more effective at generating leads and filling your sales pipeline than the traditional “contact us” link on the navigation bar.

The obvious next step of the sales process would be to turn leads into sales. The inbound marketing methodology utilizes marketing automation to collect social media information about your leads, segment them into targeted leads, and manage the initial follow-up for you. Tools like lead nurturing and e-mail marketing could help close up to 50% more leads.

What Inbound Marketing is Not

Simply put, it’s not outbound marketing. This may seem obvious, but the differences between the two cannot be overstated.

Outbound marketing generally consists of marketing methods such as trade shows, e-mail blasts to purchased lists, internal cold calling, outsourced telemarketing, and advertising. There was a time when this was the standard and a very effective method of getting your message out there.

Times changed, and technology evolved. People were no longer using the yellow pages, unwanted marketing messages are easily blocked out by caller ID’s, DVR’s and spam filters. Not to mention the fact that everyone is too busy to meet with a door-to-door salesperson or attend a trade show. Times have changed but the demand for your product or service hasn’t. Are you marketing to those who actually want your product?

The “Let’s just blast this information out there to as many people as possible and hope that we receive a 2-5% response rate” method of marketing is no longer effective.

Why Inbound Marketing Works

Because the inbound marketing method generates more qualified traffic to your website, you’ll be in a much better position to convert this traffic into leads. In fact, studies show a 61% lower cost-per-lead than traditional outbound marketing efforts.

It’s quite simple really, if your website is attracting consumers who are in fact interested in the type of service or products you are offering, the result will be a higher percentage of leads who can be converted into sales.

Services in an Inbound Marketing Program

Marketers using inbound marketing techniques will utilize various services to help achieve their goals. We’ll break this down from start to finish here.

Building a Marketing Strategy for Success

The first part of any successful inbound marketing plan is to identify the goals and current marketing challenges a prospective client faces. The target market must be established and also how they currently use the Internet as part of their buying process. From there, an understanding of what the available budget is for an inbound marketing plan is discussed as well as how fast you want to grow. Lastly, it must be determined how this marketing program will provide a return on investment. Inbound marketing is not an expense; rather an investment in the growth of your business.

Website Development

A website is the hub of any inbound marketing campaign. It is critical that any inbound marketing strategy start with a lead generating website, preferably on a content management system. It must be clear to the visitor what you do and why they are on your website within the first 5 seconds of being there.  Your website also needs to be easy to navigate and has to be built using on-page SEO best practices. Lastly, with a rapid increase in the use of the Internet on smart phones such as iPhone, it’s now essential that all websites are mobile friendly.

Drive Relevant Website Traffic

Once a powerful website has been built, it’s now time to start generating some serious traffic. These are common inbound marketing traffic generating services:

• Blogging
• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media Marketing
• Convert Traffic To Leads
• Development of Attractive Offers
• Landing Pages and Fillable Forms
• Calls-to-Action
• Convert Leads to Sales
• Lead Management
• Lead Segmentation
• Lead Nurturing
• E-Mail Marketing
• Closed Loop Reporting
• Measure Everything
• Website Analytics
• Competitor Tracking

Should You Hire an Inbound Marketing Agency?

Answering this question is quite simple really. Ask yourself if you have the time and resources to fully immerse yourself into an inbound marketing campaign and all that goes along with it.

Do you have the time to generate blog posts and ideas with enough frequency for it to be a success? Do you have the tools necessary to help with lead generation and other analytical tools?

Are you well versed in the various social media platforms, and will you be able to engage with potential consumers in a frequent manner through them?

These are all questions you must ask yourself when determining if you should hire an inbound marketing agency. If you’ve answered no to many or all of these questions, then it sounds like you should strongly consider doing so.

By doing this, you’ll be free of the burden of constantly having to worry about engaging and staying current with these services. Let a team of “digital natives” handle all of these online tasks for you, and you will undoubtedly realize the value in having a website that is maximized for its potential.

What Does an Inbound Marketing Partnership Cost?

The cost of an inbound marketing program is really dependent on your needs as a company and what you’re looking to get out of it. You can expect to pay anywhere between $3,500-$15,000/month.

It’s important to view the partnership as an investment rather than a cost. Think of your fully optimized website as a potential return on investment once the necessary pieces are in place to help your company’s website realize its full potential.

Need Help?

If inbound marketing is something that you are interested in but don’t know how to get started, contact me today to schedule your free marketing analysis.

credit to hubspot/impact branding & design