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Inbound Marketing: What It Is and How It’s Different From Outbound Marketing


Nathan Johnson - February 20, 2016 - 0 comments

If you have a business and are still trying to get customers by the outdated methods of sending out direct mail and making cold calls, you probably aren’t having much success. Why not join the increasing number of business owners who are using inbound marketing. If outbound marketing hasn’t worked for you, here’s what you should know about inbound marketing and how it differs from outbound marketing, along with its advantages.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Simply put, inbound marketing is a way to promote a business by using tools, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, e-newsletters and other types of content marketing to bring in customers. Unlike outbound marketing, this method doesn’t involve TV ads, cold-calling, telemarketing, spam, sales flyers.

Let’s say you run a dry cleaning business. Rather than taking the time to go door-to-door, sticking fliers under doormats or windshield wipers, you attract prospective customers online who may not even be aware that they need a dry cleaning service.

In other words, inbound marketing techniques bring people to you, instead of you having to go out to them to capture their attention. Consider that in today’s electronic world, most people search online for answers to problems, rather than waiting for solutions to come to them.

Advantages of Inbound Marketing

  • Inbound marketing can provide you with more content. As a result, you’ll have more customers who visit your blog each day. By blogging more, your content is more visible to more people and the greater are the odds of obtaining clients through digital means.
  • This method is much more reader friendly. Most people would much rather read blogs than seeing annoying ads on websites and search engines.
  • Besides saving time, it’s a more cost-effective method for acquiring new customers than getting business by trade shows or direct mail.
  • Inbound marketing doesn’t interrupt potential customers with time-consuming phone calls and emails. Again, keep in mind that most people want to find information for their issues, on their own, when it’s convenient for them.

Basic Components of Inbound Marketing

Use several types of high-quality content. Inbound marketing is made up of a mixture of different elements, such as:

  • Blogs are one of the best ways to create interesting, helpful content for your business. People searching for answers to problems use keywords that can lead to your blogs where they can find help, along with products and services.
  • EBooks are another important element of inbound marketing. In most cases, they’re in downloadable form in exchange for a reader’s email address. While some eBooks are lengthy and intense, others are short and simpler.
  • Online videos, such as YouTube videos, are powerful methods for relating information. In fact, YouTube attracts over one billion viewers, daily. Often, people spend hours watching these videos.
  • Podcasts, which are audio, digital files that are downloaded online, can help relate valuable information that goes beyond what can be conveyed through written content.

Tips for Successful Inbound Marketing

  • Get involved with other relevant websites by contributing content. This is similar to creating blog content as it entails some writing. However, it can pay off in the long run. Look for blogs that have readers consisting of the same types of audiences that you have. By writing a few articles, you can give credibility to your reputation as a trusted business person.
  • Include positive reviews from satisfied customers in your blogs. This helps to instill confidence in your business.
  • Use social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for promoting your content and business. What’s more, social media is also helpful in enhancing relationships with other bloggers who can help with content promotion.
  • Be consistent in publishing content. You don’t want to let too much time elapse between blog posts as this can cause readers to lose interest.

Any questions?  Don’t hesitate to call us. Our business is ensuring that your business is successful. Please contact us and see how we can help you.

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