Why inbound marketing is the new marketing

Why inbound marketing is the new marketing

All the hype created by inbound marketing is real and true. Till now, the concept of inbound marketing has been around whenever you needed it, but now, that’s not the case. Inbound marketing is so tired of waiting in the shadows that it just decided to come forward and reassert itself.

But before we go into that, how strong are you in your knowledge of inbound marketing? If you are fuzzy, let’s brush up a bit on the concept.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a kind of marketing technique that will get you found online. It is that simple and true. You must be familiar with content marketing, aren’t you? Well, inbound marketing and content marketing were good friends ever since they first met and now, things have changed and they have become inseparable.

The fact is that content marketing has evolved itself to be a subset of inbound marketing, now lets go in a little deeper and check why inbound marketing is getting all the hype it is getting this year:

Inbound marketing and social media marketing

Social media marketing is marketing with a human touch to it. Both complement each other and go hand in hand. Using social media to bring leads through inbound marketing is a cost-effective move that brings instant results. It would help you interact on various social networks on your behalf, encourage customers, convert them and make them loyal. The whole story is about converting a total stranger to a die-hard fan of your company, and inbound marketing with social media campaigns that really make it happen.

Here is how it works

Total stranger/someone who is unaware of your product => Attract him through marketing and content marketing=> Regular visitations on your blog=> Stranger becomes a promising lead => Conversion to Customer takes place => Success in closing the deal => Stranger becomes loyal customer, spreads the word

Attracting only the cream of target segment

There is a reason why experts say that inbound marketing is the new “in” thing. It attracts people, spreads the word through content, making it easy for marketers. Through inbound marketing, you are not getting all the people that walk by your way, you get only the ones that are truly interested in your product. So when you start with inbound marketing, you start by taking good care of your blog, your website and your SEO efforts. If you want to get found online, your blog should be well-maintained with good content – content that educates your customers and answers their questions. You must anticipate the possible questions asked by your prospective customers and answer them. If you do it right, you will have a regular stream of visitors in your website. Treat them well, give all that they want, and they will talk good about you, buy from you and stand with through thick and thin.

Inbound marketing works where outbound strategies fail. Until a few years ago, marketers were content with cold calls, flyers and email marketing. But not anymore. If you continue with outbound strategies, you will be shown the door and your flyers will lie crumpled, and face down inside their the trash can. People get irritated because outbound marketing techniques have been used and misused till they got really tired of it. You can still use inbound marketing to win them all back.

Through inbound marketing, you don’t have to force yourself on people

The best thing about inbound marketing is that you don’t have to be irritating to spread the message. The idea is to educate your target segment and equip them with the knowledge regarding your product. You are only helping them to make informed decisions, and, people would definitely approve that.

You can plan a calculated mix of marketing ideas that people would accept

With inbound marketing, it is possible to create a calculated mix of content creation, social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing and website optimization. You just have to catch it when people are receptive about it. So aligning your prospect’s interests with your marketing strategy will bring in results.

Making the change from “attraction” to “leads”

With inbound marketing, you can convert the attraction (of the stranger) into leads. It is not an easy process, but with brand awareness, you can generate the interest and motivate them to visit your website. Eventually they will become your leads.

Taking leads and converting them into customers

This is the trickiest part of the job. All this while, the lead did not have to spend his hard earned money because he was going through the process of changing from being a stranger to a lead. But now you reach a position where you are motivating them to buy your product. And to make people part with their money is not an easy task at all. Inbound marketing helps you with this, through timely content.

Retaining your customers

Now that your lead has progressed into a customer, your job changes. Now you use inbound marketing to keep the relationship alive. Happy customers will change into promoters, meaning they will bring more people to you. Encourage your customers to write positive reviews about your product and service, indulge in repeat business and referrals and you can change your customer to loyal promoters.

This is the story of how a “few careful strokes of the brush”, meaning proper inbound marketing can convert a total stranger into a loyal promoter.

Interesting links about the topic:

Inbound Methodology
Why Inbound Marketing Is Crucial In 2016

Pictures: Flicker / C.C. Chapman / Seven Atoms / Kyle James / Mike Mozart

The author: Reema Oamkumar is engaged as a thought leader at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.