Why inbound marketing is “in”
So much has changed in the marketing world in the past ten years, thanks to the internet and smartphone era. Remember the days when a marketing campaign consisted solely of a mix of newspaper, radio, direct mail, billboard and TV ads? These are all examples of outbound marketing, a dying breed of media.
Outbound Marketing
In traditional marketing (outbound marketing), companies focus on finding customers. It’s like casting a net of advertising messages in all the places you assume your customer will be looking. The hope is that at least a small percentage of the group will actually listen to what you have to say. These days, finding prospects in this group is a very long shot that is likely not worth the marketing dollars.
A few statistics to back up how “out” outbound marketing really is:
- Only 25% of direct mail actually gets opened
- 72% of Americans are on the national Do Not Call Registry
- 85% of people with a DVR fast-forward through commercials
- 84% of Millennials are likely to click off a website with several banner ads
Inbound Marketing
The opposite of outbound marketing is inbound marketing, or permission-based marketing that focuses on getting found by customers. Hubspot, an inbound marketing software company, defines the term like this:
“Inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the content you publish with your customers’ interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time.”
Inbound marketing works like this:
- Communicate with your target audience using mediums they use on a daily basis and feel comfortable communicating (social media channels and email).
- Answer questions your prospects want the answer to and spread the answers around the web to anticipate their questions through your blog content.
The stats tell even more about the success of inbound:
- Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing.
- The average budget spent on company blogs and social media has nearly doubled in the past two years.
- The number of marketers who say their Facebook page is “critical” to business increased to 83% in the last two years.
- 66% of marketers say blogging is “critical” to their business
Inbound marketing is a powerful tool and can help businesses looking to boost online engagement with leads and revenue. Contact us to see how inbound marketing can transform your business.
Sources:
https://mashable.com/2011/10/30/inbound-outbound-marketing
https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4416/Inbound-Marketing-the-Next-Phase-of-Marketing-on-the-Web.aspx
