When was the last time you enthusiastically sat through a commercial break, devouring whatever info that popped up on the screen?
If you ask me that question, the answer would be… NEVER!
That’s because I don’t like getting interrupted by Ads that have got nothing to do with me. And neither do I know anyone that does. Frankly speaking, we often wonder why ads exist in the first place!
But as a marketer, I understand.
That’s why inbound marketing is all the rage these days. Instead of trying to persuade unfamiliar audiences (like in the case of traditional outbound marketing), inbound takes the approach of ‘value first.’ That way, people develop trust first and are more likely to give you their business when the need arises.
And the best part is that inbound marketing campaigns don’t even cost as much as outbound because you’re mainly targeting a slimmer yet more enthusiastic demographic.
So, how do you get started? Keep on reading this guide to find out!
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Inbound marketing strategies to 10x your business
Inbound marketing strategies require persistence, sure, but they also tend to generate a higher ROI over the long term. And if you’re a small or medium-scale business owner without a big ad budget, that’s exactly what you need!
Here are some critical elements of a kickass inbound marketing strategy you could use to drive targeted leads and sales:
1. SEO
Search Engine Optimization or SEO can be best defined as the collective efforts we undertake to bring in more organic traffic from search engines.
It is the process of optimizing a website’s content and structure to make certain keywords rank higher on the search results.
SEO can be a critical part of your inbound marketing strategy because it essentially lets you ‘be found.’ However, SEO is not something simple that you can do over the weekend and expect to get results. It can get very complicated, very fast, and you may end up figuring out how to deal with content, site structure, building links, internal code, etc.
In collaboration with your stack of inbound marketing tools, SEO can bring many qualified leads to you.
But if you want to get started right away, begin by identifying which keywords your target audience might be looking for. You should ideally have a list containing primary and secondary keywords with enough search volume and user intent.
Search engine optimization is not easy, but if you’re determined to learn, there are enough free resources to set you off on the right track. Some of my favorites are:
When doing SEO, it’s critical to have a solid plan of attack that can be pursued step by step; otherwise it is like taking a shot in the dark and hoping something hits.
2. Off-site Content Marketing
One of the best ways to get the word out about your business involves writing well-written and valuable content that everyone will cherish. But instead of publishing it on your own site, you give it away to another. And if that site happens to be a major media publication, you’re guaranteed to grab some eyeballs!
The primary advantage here is that you have a chance to get familiar with an audience base that has probably never heard of you. In addition, you get referral traffic and more brand reputation as you keep publishing on bigger and better sites.
Like every other strategy, this one will also cost money, at least when you’re starting out and getting your brand name out there. But when you become an authority figure in the niche, you can expect to get featured without paying anything. In fact, people will approach you to get your opinion on things and post it on their blog.
Some of the wildly popular media publications today are:
3. Social Media Marketing
Organic Social Media Marketing (SMM) has gotten a lot tougher over the years and is mostly “pay to play” now. However, if you have the talent for creating funny, witty, informative posts daily, then SMM can be an incredible way to generate visibility. MEMES are quite popular now and can work as a marketing tool when used right.
Social media platforms let you communicate with pretty much anyone, and leveraging that ability, you could build up a real audience that listens to what you say. Throw your website and off-site publishing in the mix and your following will have even more reasons to stick around.
Aside from building your brand and generating more traffic to your site, it will complement other inbound marketing strategies to get more leads and sales. SMM is also a fantastic way to build up relations with your customers and solve their problems 1-on-1.
4. Email Marketing
Even though some might say that sending out emails should be considered an outbound strategy, I beg to differ. In my opinion, intent matters. If you’re sending out bulk emails, blasting your list with sales offers, then it wouldn’t be right to call it an inbound strategy.
However, email newsletters are mostly sent to subscribers to keep them on the loop with the latest happenings or other important info. That way, you get to increase retention and build up brand loyalty, all the while traffic keeps trickling down to your site.
Since your email content is offering value to the readers first instead of advertising products and services, it can be considered to be a form of inbound marketing. Moreover, email marketing is extremely cost-effective and has a track record of fetching incredibly high ROI. They don’t say “the money is in the list” for no reason!
5. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing—you hear that term a lot these days, and the idea is relatively simple. What you do is collaborate with the movers and shakers in your industry or pay to get them to promote your business. Since these influencers hold a significant portion of the audience in any given niche, working with them can bring great results for your business.
However, the hardest part of this marketing strategy is identifying these so-called influencers who could benefit your brand. And even if you do recognize them, not everyone will agree to work with you even for huge sums of cash.
That’s why you must have a plan of action prepared to reel those influencers in, whom you know will have a guaranteed positive effect on your business. Great places to find influencers? Well, you will find them pretty much anywhere – Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
It’s wise to pick an influencer from a platform where they have the most reach.
6. Landing Pages
Using landing pages is another overlooked aspect of inbound marketing. That’s because many people think that landing pages only work in conjunction with paid ads—that’s not true! A landing page, in simple terms, is a page where your leads land after clicking on the CTA (Call-To-Action) button.
It doesn’t matter what you use the landing page for—be it to give away a free eBook, advertise products, or get your leads to subscribe to a service—it must always be top-notch! Otherwise, you’ll end up losing warm leads that were bound to turn into customers at a later date.
Many things go into creating the perfect landing page (if that even exists!) but it’s mostly about three components:
- Design: This is #1 in my books because the design is the first thing your lead notices once they land on the page. While creating a landing page, your aim should be to keep visitors engaged and perform the action they’re supposed to. So, use images, videos, testimonials, and all other trust signals to optimize the page for easy viewing and maximum conversions.
- Copy: The words you use to entice your audience is another factor that can make or break your landing page. How well do you know your audience and their problems? Do you know what they like, want, fear, need? How old they are, which product will solve their problem? Well, you better put all your research and writing skills to test here if you want to succeed.
- Focus: Your landing page should have a SINGULAR focus. Not two, not three, just ONE! So, if the goal of your landing page is to get users to “Fill Out this Form,” “Download the eBook,” or “Buy this Product Now!” then make those CTAs prominent and easy to notice. Also, limit the choices you give to your visitors to prevent them from navigating away.
- Relevancy: This point is self-evident, but many forget anyway. Don’t forget to make your landing page relevant to the ad that drives the leads! So, if you’re running an ad about roofing services, don’t make the landing page about swimming pool cleaning. All that’ll do is piss off the leads and ruin your reputation. Run separate ads for both, with different landing pages.
What will you try first?
So, those were some of the best inbound marketing strategies you can try out today. The question is, which one will you pick? If you’re unsure, don’t worry; get in touch with us, and we’ll take over all your inbound marketing efforts to give you the best ROI. I’ll be back with another guide very soon.
Ciao!
