3 Reasons Why You Need Inbound Marketing

So you’ve heard the term “inbound marketing” being tossed around and don’t really know what it means? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Stop pretending and read on to find out what this mythical beast of marketing is really all about.

What is Inbound Marketing?

At a glance, inbound marketing is a newer mindset of marketing that focuses on creating content people need, when they need it, rather than just pushing information at them. While standard marketing tactics are still important to overall campaigns, incorporating inbound is necessary to foster relationships and naturally attract visitors by providing them with valuable content that they actually want.

Remarkable content—that is, content that is interesting, engaging, and, most importantly, addresses needs—is the core of inbound marketing, and strategically sharing this content in blogs, emails, and social media helps attract the right leads and convert them into visitors. In this day and age, consumers are changing. They’re online and more informed than ever. By positioning yourself as an industry expert and providing information that consumers want, you’ll create more loyal supporters, brand ambassadors, and leads.

“When you boil it down, #InboundMarketing is creating content that people WANT & LOVE”

Traditional marketing consists of cold emails, interruptive ads, and sales-y pitches—in other words, it’s marketer-centric. In stark contrast, inbound marketing is customer-centric, made up of email nurturing, SEO, and blogging to attract leads. The best thing you can do for your current visitors and leads is to create—and keep creating—remarkable content so that they’ll eventually come to you first…instead of your competitors.

3 Reasons Why Inbound Marketing Works

1. Inbound marketing is organic

Inbound marketing allows you to target potential leads in ways that outbound can’t. Rather than sending out blanket messages in the hope that the right people will pay attention, inbound marketing focuses on where your target audience is and what they’re already looking for.

2. Increase traffic to your website and social media channels

Inbound marketing’s foundation is built on clearly identifying personas and offering them the content they want. Rather than understanding age, income, and geographic reach, personas take into account the behaviors, needs, and pain points of target audiences. This allows extremely targeted content and sub-messaging to be created and delivered to each persona, connecting with them on a deeper level.

3. It’s measurable

One of the greatest benefits of inbound marketing is to be able to create comprehensive campaigns for a variety of verticals and marketing messages on smaller budgets…and show real results. And best of all, inbound marketing takes a holistic approach to make all of your digital marketing efforts and collaborators work in synergy.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? HERE ARE SOME ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR INBOUND BEGINNERS:

• The grandaddy of inbound marketing, HubSpot outlines its Inbound Methodology
• Speaking of HubSpot, take a deep dive into its most recent State of Inbound
• An oldie (but still a goodie) infographic from Mashable
• Forbes has jumped aboard the inbound train with its take on Why Inbound Marketing is Essential