The Essentials of Inbound Marketing

The landscape of marketing is changing. It’s becoming more essential and customer-centered as marketers increasingly turn to Inbound Marketing. It is cheaper than most traditional marketing methods and marketers report that it is four times more effective. These tactics are also easily deployed through the digital landscape where most customers now prefer to shop.

Inbound marketing is a worthwhile addition to a brand’s marketing strategy. Here are a few tactics you can use to start out:

Personas

Buyer Personas are all about figuring out who exactly you are targeting and it’s arguably the most important inbound marketing tactic. They are fictional, generalized profiles of your ideal customer. Some companies have just one customer persona while others have multiple.

All of your marketing, sales and product decisions should begin and end with the customer persona, it should inform all of your decisions. When you have a deep understanding of your customer you will better understand their wants and needs and as a result, be able to create strategies that will appeal to them.

Website and Mobile Optimization

Another marketing tactic is to make sure that your online presence is optimized for your users. Not only should you consider the design and ease of use, but your website should be easy to find when searched. Pepper keywords throughout your website to make sure it shows up on the first page of keyword searches relevant to your brand.

Once found, your website design should consider the end-user rather than the search engine. For example, most users these days access websites through their phones, as a result, a website should be responsive and optimized for mobile use. In addition, you should have a clear homepage and navigation.

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    Content and Keywords

    Creating high-quality compelling content is essential to a successful inbound marketing campaign. It should be compelling enough that other websites and online sources want to link to it, providing inbound links. Also, it should be filled with appropriate keywords that make it easy to find.

    A keyword is a word or phrase that a consumer types into a search engine. When a consumer types in a keyword that is relevant to you and your business, you definitely want to be one of the sites that pop up.

    Social Media

    Social media is a multifunctional tool; it’s a great marketing strategy and a great way to communicate directly with your consumers, push out your content, and is also a lucrative advertising platform. Companies that make the most of this platform may see significant growth and an increase in ROI. Social media advertising is both cost-effective and uses highly customizable targeting. 

    Convert and Nurture

    The marketing tactics above focus on increasing traffic to your website. Now that you have people’s attention it’s time to convert them into sales. Perhaps consider a preliminary offer, have a prominent call-to-action, or use landing pages to entice consumers to make their first purchase. Once you have implemented these marketing tactics, ensure that you are testing and analyzing the results.

    Nurture Leads Over Time

    Another great way to make conversions is to nurture leads over time. For many customers, a business or brand must engage with them six times before they convert into a customer. Stay connected and nurture these relationships over time to build trust and let the customer know that you have them top-of-mind. Make sure that you target them with messaging that is relevant, valuable, and timely. This will create more sales-ready leads. In addition, once you implement these marketing tactics, ensure that you take the time to analyze their effectiveness, and make refinements.

    Inbound marketing has proven to be a quite effective and valuable addition to the overall marketing strategy. By implementing the above tactics one by one you can slowly transform your marketing efforts to be much more profitable.

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