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Intro to 4 Necessary Inbount Marketing Elements
I have posted that the shift from outbound to inbound marketing has been growing. Companies who part with traditional marketing methods to follow customers online stand to blow key growth metrics like marketing efficiency and sales productivity out of the water. You need to think about how to build out your marketing strategy to accommodate these new online objectives. A piecemeal approach will not suffice. Anything less than a well-planned inbound strategy will produce poor results and leave money on the table. I will post four key elements to inbound success over the next several weeks.
Have you ever done a web search before making a purchase, choosing a restaurant or going to a movie?
• There are 100 billion searches each month
• Over 82% of all product research begins with a web search
• Inbound Leads have an 8X greater likelihood of closing compared to other leads.
More importantly:
• 70% of buyer’s view 4 or more pieces of content when making a considered purchase.
• 71% of buyers trust brands that provide useful info without trying to sell something
• 67% More leads are generated by B2B companies that create interesting and useful content.
This is not really news, it is the way marketing has been practiced for centuries. People have always trusted the opinions of family, friends and co-workers more than the advertising claims made by businesses or for products. Again, this is nothing new, except now it is at the speed of light. That is why Social Media and Sharing websites like Yelp, Linkedin and Facebook are a significant source of pre-purchasing information. After all, who do you trust more, your best friend Mary or the advertising claims made by an actor portraying an insurance salesman?
Your prospects don’t have to wait for the family Sunday Dinner get together to exchange recommendations.
More than ever before, that information and more is available at light-speed 24/7 through the internet, on your home computer, that handy tablet or the smartphone you’re holding right now – make sure Inbound Marketing including Social Media is part of your marketing mix.
Content Marketing Tips
Content marketing is now a required component of Inbound Marketing SEO. And it works by engaging new and existing audiences, and encouraging sharing.Most business cite difficulty in producing fresh content. Here are some helpful tactics for staying on course with the consistent creation of content. First set a calendar for content creation strategy that will help to focus on your objectives.
Look at current social trends in your industry or related current events and make comments on the topic possibly taking a taking a controversial position.
Repurpose content you have already created. Look back at blogs and marketing material you have made and update or add new information.
Create a survey. This will help you to better understand issues in your industry and create new opportunities for future content. Constant Contact has a great tool that is easy to use for making surveys. Plus you can try it for free.
Try Constant Contact for FREEInbound Marketing Brings Customers to You
Most business owners advertise their business. The major trend today is toward Inbound Marketing. This method of Online Advertising offers several benefits, but the biggest is targeting. Targeting is the ability to show your ad to people with very specific interests — namely, people who are interested in your products and services.
Other types of advertising put YOU on a difficult and daunting search for potential customers. Online TARGETING using inbound methods lets potential customers search for you. This is very cost-effective plus you track customers and determine how they found you.
Constant Contact Introduces TOOLKIT
Every day, Constant Contact is helping small business do more business. And now they’ve built an all-new Toolkit. It’s the one source for all your online marketing campaigns that will help you reach new customers like never before. Start a free trial today and see how it can help you.
Finally, with a single login you can engage and grow your audience in all the places that matter: the inbox, mobile, social media, and the web. The Constant Contact Toolkit has beautiful, customizable templates to create your campaign fast. Integrated contact management and
real-time reporting insights help you see results with each campaign.
Need a little help with Toolkit or your marketing? That’s why I’m here. As a marketing expert and Constant Contact Partner, I’d love to help you grow your business. Contact me to see how together, we can boost your revenue and expand your reach.
My services include:
- Content Creation
- Website Design and Development
- Social Media Creation & Management
- Website SEO
- Print Collateral – Cards * Brochures * Banners & More
Start 2014 with a Facebook Page
In 2014 many firms and entrepreneurs will look toward social media for new marketing opportunities. In reality they will be exploring the model of Inbound marketing which I highly endorse. Most will start with a Facebook Page. There are four basic steps necessary to success on Facebook.
1. Build your Facebook Page
2. Connect to Fans
3. Engage your fans with quality content
4. Influence the friends of your fans
Marketing in 2014
Make some marketing resolutions for 2014. Effective marketing should combine multiple channels. Many firms limit themselves to only email or paid search. While newer channels such as social media (Facebook) and You Tube tend to be overlooked for many reasons, not the least of which is unfamiliarity with these effective platforms. Take a look at the opportunities offered by inbound marketing.
How do people interact with brands they like?
2,834 US online adults ( ages 18+) were asked how do they normally interact or keep in touch with brands they like or purchase on a regular basis.
46% Join the brand’s eMail list.
34% Join the brand’s loyalty program
31% Visit the brand’s store
31% Join the brand’s maiing list
25% Browse the brands’s website
24% become a fan of the brand on Facebook
Baby Boomers do online research prior to purchase.
A new eMarketer report examines the digital shopping habits of baby boomers in the US. While this cohort may see themselves as young at heart, their digital behavior is distinctly reflective of an older demographic. The desktop is where digital shopping and buying is conducted, not on a smartphone while shopping..
The good news is that in May 2013 polling for business technology consultant Infosys conducted byKRC Research, two-thirds of US internet users ages 50 to 69 agreed “strongly” with the statement, “When making a big or expensive purchase, I search online to compare prices across stores or retailers.”
The lesson is: A brand that targets boomers is apt to have the best luck reaching them in their pre-purchase planning stage at home, rather than at the last minute in a store. And when boomers do see a marketer’s message, it’s more likely to be on a roomy computer screen than on a small smartphone screen.
The take away is that the marketers may regard baby boomers as a market with money to spend, are you positioned to connect with this market when they search for your product category online?
Using Social Media Effectively
Social media can be used effectively to build publicity, customer collaboration, thought leadership, market research, product development, enhance SEO, lead generation, new business, customer retention, brand recognition, and trust.
Blogging is the most effective tool you can use to show your customers and prospects that you are participating, you understand your industry, and your a thought leader providing insights and information.
A blog only takes a few minutes, requires 400 words once a week, and creates and invaluable platform for you and your customers / prospects to engage in meaningful dialog that builds trust; which ultimately leads to sales. Simply by publishing a weekly blog you can increase the two most weighted criteria used by all search engines; “Google Ranking” and “Inbound Links”. You get a greater SEO ranking just because you’re blogging.