In today's post we're going to talk about how to create quality inbound marketing content. But before we get into the details of content and quality, we're going to go over the basics: what inbound marketing is, exactly. Inbound marketing is advertising a business through blogs, videos, e-newsletters, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and more. By producing interesting content, businesses draw in readers and social media users to their website. In contrast, some people might be more familiar with outbound marketing, which involves mail marketing, TV or radio advertisements, telemarketing, etc. Inbound marketing does a number of things, including: attract traffic, convert visitors to leads, convert leads to sales, and turn customers into repeat customers.
What's your content?
We'll briefly discuss how to create quality content before we go on to what to do with that content. You may be thinking you have ideas, you're ready to jump right in. But you need to ask yourself some questions first. Does your content attract people as well as educate them? You should be driving traffic to your site, and also providing that traffic with free information they can get by following calls to action. Are you trying to sell something? If this is your first step of inbound content, you shouldn't be. Potential customers are looking to understand your business and your product or service. They don't want to immediately be badgered into throwing their money at something. Look at your content from the customers perspective--is this content something you'd want to read?
How do you publicize your content?
So now you've got the content, and it's sitting on your blog or website waiting to be read. So how do you get potential customers to visit and read? One of the biggest, and most successful options, is promoting through social media. Facebook is a great way to get your content out in the open. Sometimes simply writing a post about your business and creating a page is enough to get people to see your content. You can also include timed updates to let people know what's new and the content you're putting out. Twitter is also a good way to get your business news out there. Since your posts are limited to 140 characters, users are more likely to glance over what you've written. While these are the two biggest social media sites used by businesses, there are also other options available, such as LinkedIn, Youtube, and Flickr.
What do you get from inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing has many advantages, some most businesses may not even be aware of. With inbound marketing, you have to earn a user's interest, you can't rely on buying it or forcing them into it. Customers who are attracted to your content are genuinely going to be interested in your business and products. Another advantage to inbound marketing is an opened gateway for communication between business and customer. Now only is the communication interactive, but it's two-way. Sometimes, inbound marketing can even be less work on your part. You don't have to actively seek out customers--they'll come to you. They'll come through social media, search engines, and referrals.
Why is inbound marketing important?
Outbound marketing, while still being used, is starting to fade in the background. Gone are the days when businesses need to rely on cold-calling potential customers, getting angry responses from annoyed people. Some businesses don't even use outbound marketing tactics anymore, instead relying completely inbound marketing. With the constant rise of social media, businesses need to learn more and more about marketing with social media in order to stay at the top of the game. With the number of people on the internet each day, it's important to remember that everything read and seen on the internet can heavily influence a user's decisions. That includes what they're reading and seeing about your business. The more quality inbound content out there for users to find, the better.
To learn more about inbound marketing strategies, contact a Blue Archer professional.
Michelle Hawley
Digital Content Writer
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