Inbound marketing is the approach behind most successful internet marketing systems. Done well, inbound marketing can turn your website into a customer magnet, drawing motivated prospects towards your business.
Traditionally businesses have relied on broadcast style marketing and advertising to create awareness of their existence and offerings. Television, radio, press, billboards and Yellow Pages have all been the cornerstone of marketing efforts for the last 50 years. And these media have served us well, offering the most efficient means with which to reach a large audience quickly.
Broadcast marketing by its nature is like using a shotgun. You aim it roughly in the right direction (ie. general target demographic), pull the trigger and hope that you hit the right audience. Of course, you’re also paying to hit some unwilling bystanders (non-target demographic) but that’s unavoidable. You then trust that the people you have hit will react to your efforts.
Inbound marketing turns this approach upside down. It involves discovering where potential customers are searching, positioning yourself correctly so they’ll find you and letting them discover whether you have what they are looking for.
Notice the difference? Rather than trying to force yourself onto unsuspecting masses, qualified prospects are ambling up to you.
Broadcast marketing relies on potential customers noticing you when YOU are ready (spending money on advertisements). It also means they won’t notice you if you aren’t active.
Inbound marketing allows potential customers to find you when THEY are ready. Any time, any place. It delivers motivated, qualified consumers to your door (website) 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Inbound marketing basics:
- Create a search engine friendly website
- Discover what customers are really searching for and how many of them are searching monthly
- Optimise your website to be found in these relevant searches
- Give visitors to your site information that will help in their decision making process
- Capture information about visitors to your site
- Provide methods for visitors to make inquiries or purchases
- Repeat
The result can be a cost-efficient, totally measurable marketing strategy that turns your business website into a customer magnet.
NEW INBOUND MARKETING INFOGRAPHIC
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