Technological advances have had a profound impact on the way consumers shop for products and services and how local businesses look to engage those consumers.
Through technology, today’s consumer path-to-purchase is far different than in the past. Various studies show that 98% of consumers tend to engage in some form of research before making a purchase. A Harvard study suggests 73% of consumers use multiple channels throughout their entire purchase journey.
Consider your own experience. If you decided to purchase a new camera you might likely search for product options via Google; visit manufacturer’s websites; visit influencer channels; research pricing on e-commerce sites including eBay and Amazon; consult your social network, visit review and recommendation sites, and more.
These days there is a lot of product research going on prior to purchase.
Alongside this phenomenon, for generations, most forms of advertising could be described as ‘interruptive’. Consider driving to work and a radio advertisement interrupts your music experience; a television commercial interrupts your favorite show; a pop-up ad interferes with your online reading experience. All these are examples of advertising interrupting what people are interested in, instead of being what people are interested in.
At the intersection of these two phenomena, your business can position itself to overcome the challenges associated with interruptive advertising and provide the research information consumers are searching for.
This is where Inbound Marketing comes in. Inbound marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves creating informative content to attract customers to a business. It’s a way to connect with potential buyers by providing valued information that addresses their needs. The goal is to create a deeper connection with consumers and build long-term relationships by providing relevant and informative content.
Rather than interrupting what the consumer is interested in, inbound marketing, and the content related to it, becomes what the consumer is interested in.
What are some of the key aspects of inbound marketing?
- Content Creation: Inbound marketing relies on creating and sharing content that’s useful, engaging, and informative. This can include blogs, videos, infographics, podcasts, and more.
- Audience-Focused: Inbound marketing focuses on creating content that resonates with the target audience. For example, a company might write articles or create videos that answer common search inquiries about the products and services they offer. If you own a garden center, sharing your passion for gardening and providing educational content and advice including growing guides, planning tips, designer spotlights, seasonal advice, and more can establish your expertise.
- Builds Trust: Inbound marketing can help build trust and authority with customers and create a customer experience that doesn’t feel like ‘selling’. Establish yourself and your business as the authority in your niche where people will come to you as the industry expert.
- Different Than Outbound Marketing: Inbound marketing is different from outbound marketing, which involves attracting customers to your content and business vs. reaching out to customers through interruptive advertising.
How effective is inbound marketing?
- Cost: Inbound marketing can be more affordable than traditional marketing, with a cost-per-lead that’s 60% less than outbound marketing.
- Leads: Inbound marketing can generate three times more leads per dollar than traditional marketing. It can also be 10 times more effective at converting leads than outbound marketing.
- Audience: Inbound marketing is highly targeted because it attracts customers who are actively looking for information and solutions related to your business.
- Return-on-Investment (ROI): 82% of marketers report a positive ROI for inbound marketing.
- Customer Experience: Inbound marketing can help you build long-lasting relationships with your customers by providing needed expertise.
How does inbound marketing work?
Effective inbound strategies that resonate with and attract the attention of your target audience are built on content development.
Start by creating and publishing informative content including blogs and social media content. This content should focus less on sales and more on providing a service. Be sure to utilize good SEO tactics including keywords and phrases that your prospect might be searching for. Good SEO, and supporting marketing, can ensure your content is found.
When consumers find your content via search engines or social media, they’ll find solutions to their inquiries and recognize you and your brand as an authority in the space.
From there, continue to develop content in alignment with the customer’s path to purchase, offering useful information based on their stage within the sales funnel. As you nurture those leads via content, you’ll be establishing a relationship with those customers that will lead to sales conversions, recurring business, and raving fans.
Types of inbound marketing content:
- Blogging
- Social Media Content
- eBooks
- Infographics
- How-To Guides
- Webinars
- Whitepapers
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Testimonials
- Newsletters
- And more…
Although we’ve primarily focused on the differences between inbound and outbound marketing in this blog post, the two marketing types can be complementary. Inbound and outbound marketing can be used together to increase the number of touchpoints a consumer has with your brand throughout their purchase journey. For example, outbound marketing can attract consumers to your content and, as well, be used to directly nurture prospects and leads who could benefit from your business’ offerings.
Combining the two approaches can create a stronger strategy than either one used alone.
Embracing the inbound marketing methodology can establish your business and brand as an authority in the marketplace, attract new prospects to your business, and drive business growth.
Interested in learning more? Sentinel Solutions are expert in inbound marketing and can effectively integrate those tactics into a multimedia campaign to help your business grow.
Give us a call if we can help at 603-352-5896 or e-mail to Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com. We’re here to help you succeed.
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