Even if you’re just an amateur in the Digital Marketing sphere, you’ve probably heard the phrase “inbound marketing” at some point. However, understanding what it is, how it works, and why you should implement it in your business can be difficult.
Inbound processes go back a long time and were already in existence long before Brian Halligan (Co-founder and CEO of HubSpot) first popularised the terminology in 2005. Since that time, the concept of inbound marketing has grown to become a robust methodology for businesses.
In this piece, we’ll help you understand inbound marketing methodology and how it can benefit your brand.
Understanding Inbound Marketing
One of the most effective ways to build trust with your prospects is by offering them insights and valuable advice for free. That way, since you have their trust already, you’ll be the first business they think about once they decide to buy.
Inbound marketing focuses on attracting leads to your business by creating high-value content customised just for them. This form of marketing identifies the problems of your audience and connects them to personalised solutions. Now that is quite different from outbound marketing which tends to be more aggressive, but also effective when implemented the right way.
When using the inbound methodology, you’re keen on identifying peoples’ pain points and solving them through inbound content. As you help people find solutions, you make your business more attractive to them. And, in the end, that trust transforms them into qualified prospects.
How to do Inbound Marketing
Your business will only grow if you have a steady influx of qualified leads. That means you must find a way to keep your flywheel spinning. And to be able to do that, you must ensure that your business attracts, engages, and delights customers.
Inbound marketing helps you achieve that, which is why proactive brands are now using the method. So let’s talk about some inbound strategies that can help you reach your target audience.
Strategy 1 – Attract
Attracting strategies involve creating and developing content that appeals to your target audience. Some ways to do that include using social media content, blog posts, and content offers.
For instance, you can identify a pressing challenge and create information that helps solve it. You may also publish “how-to” guides that educate prospects on how to make the most of your products.
While applying attracting strategies, don’t forget to include an SEO strategy. Having your content optimised for specific members of your audience helps you build a deeper connection with them. Your SEO strategy involves identifying keywords and key phrases that your prospects are searching for related to your product or service. You will then have to target those keywords and phrases by building content around them.
That way, people searching for related information can find your content on the results page of search engines. These are the people you want to target and attract to your business because you stand a higher chance of converting them into customers.
Strategy 2 – Engage
Your engagement strategy determines your success in building long-term, productive relationships with your prospects. You want to use inbound engagement strategies that amplify the benefits and value your customers get from your business. The goal here should be on selling the solution and not just the product or its features.
So, when prospects reach out to you via inbound sales calls or other inbound channels, how does your customer service team handle and manage such calls? Your engagement strategy should focus on reaching agreements that provide mutual benefits for both you and the right customers by solving their problems.
Strategy 3 – Delight
Delighting your customers is about keeping your customers satisfied, happy, and cared for even after buying. Delighting inbound strategies involve drawing from your power as an expert to assist customers when the need arises. It has to do with you and members of your team playing the role of advisors.
As people move from being leads to become qualified customers, your goal should be to create a journey that gives them a sense of value. You must be willing to provide such assistance and support even if your business doesn’t benefit directly. Providing this support helps transform your customer into a promoter for your brand. Here’s how you can do it:
Social media listening
Your customers are most likely following you on social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Customers feel like they matter when they receive responses, so make it a priority to engage with your followers on social media.
Videos
Using video is one of the best ways to develop a strong connection with your customers and build trust. Videos keep them returning for more, making them powerful delighting tools. Create ‘How-to” videos that demonstrate to your customers how to benefit more from your products. Videos are an easy way of communicating with your customers where they are, giving more information and making your brand feel more approachable and helpful.
Chatbots
Deploy intuitive chatbots to provide assistance and support to customers at the exact time they want to talk to you. You can also use bots to introduce customers to new processes that offer more benefits.
How Does Inbound Marketing Benefit Your Business?
Inbound marketing, when done right, has significant benefits for businesses, and that shouldn’t be any different for yours. Here are three ways that your brand can benefit from going inbound:
Generate the right traffic
Inbound marketing focuses on connecting with only the right audiences. That means you have a higher chance of attracting qualified leads who are interested in your products or services.
Build trust
Rather than interrupt random prospects by pushing unwanted sales at them, you’ll build more trust if you become intentional with your content. Your audience recognises your brand as a valuable resource when you provide tailored experiences, making it easier to convert them into customers.
Channel diversification
Inbound marketing positions you on different fronts (referrals, social media, organic search, etc.) So you benefit from having a variety of channels from which to source quality traffic, thereby reducing one channel dependency.
Start Implementing Inbound Marketing Today
With a robust inbound marketing strategy, you can market, engage, and convert better. If you need help discovering what kind of inbound process works best for your business and audience, get in touch, and we’ll be happy to help make your next marketing campaign more results-driven.
