inbound marketing is the methodology of attracting new customersby tailoring content and experiences to them.
Unlike outbound marketing, which promotes products or services in a traditional way with paid campaigns, the inbound methodology allows a company to grow organically thanks to the calendaring of useful and interesting content, while also strengthening the relationship with current customers.
The goal of inbound marketing is to accompany consumers throughout their buyer journey, on that path that begins with the search for a product and ends with its purchase, through the use of marketing automation, SEO optimizationin search engines, call-to-action and landing page.
Relying on inbound marketing strategies has so many benefits, here are the main ones:
- optimal cost-benefit ratio;
- detailed performance analysis of business teams;
- authority on the web with respect to specific topics in the long run;
- qualified lead generation, creating content based on the buyer persona;
- personalized messaging, through the use of a CMR and profiling;
How does inbound marketing work?
Inbound marketing involves the marketing, sales, and customer service teams,because it is concerned with:
- attract. Enter and relate to people potentially interested in your product or service, attract leads by sharing useful articles and offers on blogs and social, optimize for SEO.
- involve. Have you ever thought about proposing solutions that align with your goals, requirements, and pain points? To engage your customers provide valuable information about your reality, products or services.
- delight. Support and help your customers even after they have bought or consumed your product or service. A satisfied customer will also support you long after they have made a purchase, while agents on your team become consultants who assist and provide solutions. For example, you can use chat bots or offer surveys to collect feedback and assess their satisfaction.
If you can meet customer expectations at each of these stages, you will be able to create a self-sustaining cycle because they will share the positive experience, bringing other interested leads to your company.
For these reasons, the inbound methodology acts more like a sales funnel in flywheel, a flywheel.
The flywheel is a business model that helps create unique and exceptional experiences by putting customer satisfaction first, in fact it is nurtured every step of the way. The goal then is no longer just to provide a good service or product, but to deliver the best user experience possible.
The latest trends for inbound marketing strategies
To attract new customers, it is very important to experiment with new techniques and refine existing ones. During the past few years, new strategies have been developed to operate inbound by targeting blogs, local marketing, video pills, podcasts and influencer marketing.
1. Content remains the undisputed protagonists
Creating new content and organizing a rich editorial calendar on each site's blog is undoubtedly one of the main strategies related to inbound marketing.
Publishing articles, including from an SEO perspective, that relate to your industry, ranging from tutorials, offers, news and frequently asked questions.
Writing high-performing content and anticipating your users' issues helps your inbound strategies:
- attract new visitors to your site. If your blog can answer users' questions it will increase visits to the site, also improving its ranking on search engines. When you write an article start from users' questions, in addition to the articles offered in the blog of course you can build a more structured and comprehensive FAQ page;
- convert visitors into leads. Be sure to strategically promote your offers. If the user lands on your site and wants to learn more about your topic direct them to the landing page or a dedicated offer;
- become an expert in the field.The more original, unpublished and useful content you publish on your blog, the more users will see you as a reliable source of information in the field in which you operate.
If you have a blog now think about the articles you usually publish, which ones are the most read? Do they answer the most frequently asked questions?
2. Local marketing, a new opportunity
Local marketing became a need during the pandemic because it prompted many people to geolocate goods and services, but this need soon became an opportunity for every business.
How to tell people about your products and services? Especially how to be found by users who are in the vicinity?
Local marketing such as that driven by a Google My Business tab, addresses all these needs, because it promises to bring more customers to physical stores through strategies that include storytelling and geolocalized marketing activities.
Presenting special opportunities dedicated to customers visiting physical stores with posts, stories, blog articles, newsletters, offering previews, dedicated discounts, and gadgets can draw attention; while inviting customers to leave more reviews (Google My Business, TrustPilot, Facebook ...) certainly gives more visibility on search engines.
Monitoring the conversions of a campaign in physical outlets, using specific discount codes, helps measure and optimize all strategies.
3. Video pills to tell your story and capture attention
Short videos are increasingly being used in inbound marketing strategies in all sectors, from tourism to retail.
This type of communication we find her social media that are in vogue today such as Instagram and TikTok. Even YouTube today allows the uploading of two types of videos, longer videos, ideal for detailed information about the features of products or services, and short videos, perfect for increasing brand awareness.
Here's why we recommend conveying your content through video to attract new customers:
- have greater reach because they meet the main needs of web audiences;
- they allow you to capture attention easily;
- it is possible to make excellent videos even with a small budget, so as to ensure a good ROI (Return of Investment).
4. Podcasts, the new frontier
Have you thought about podcasts yet? It is one of the most widely used tools for attracting new customers. Audio content is growing, in the last two years its use has increased in Italy by 15%.
According to Ipsos research in 2020, about eight million Italians say they listen to podcasts, with the average length of listening also growing. 61 percent say they listen to podcasts for the entire duration of the episode, a growth of nearly 20 percent over the previous year, this translates into a growth in the medium's ability to engage.
Podcasts are a great marketing tool, especially if they are used to "educate" the customer. According to statistics 74% of respondents say they listen to them to learn new information, so you can use this audio format to involve and increase knowledge about your products and services.
5. Influencer marketing, the power of community
In recent years we have seen another trend, the use of influencers.
Web stars have become important to inbound marketing strategies because followers trust their judgment. A story can greatly increase a brand's visibility and awareness.
With an influencer marketing campaign you can attract quality leads and ensure a great ROI (Return of Investment), but you need to engage influencers who can represent your company values, with a community close to that of your brand.
Do you want to improve your inbound strategy? Switch to HubSpot!
Do you also want to invest in inbound marketing strategies? You can start by using a platform such as HubSpot to centrally manage contacts (B2B and B2C), data collection, campaign analytics, and what all your teams can use.
HubSpot provides many features. In addition to the CRM you can count on a CMS and a number of tools dedicated to user engagement through landing pages, forms, call-to-action, email marketing and workflow.
The platform provides five Hubs:
- Marketing Hub: to increase site and social traffic, convert visitors and launch campaigns;
- Service Hub: with dedicated customer service features, to easily communicate with your users on all your channels and immediately turn them into promoters;
- Sales Hub: to be always aware of current negotiations and have information and statistics on prospects;
- CMS Hub: to flexibly manage your website content;
- Operation Hub: to synchronize Apps, organize customer data and create automation.
Trust a partner like power2Cloud
power2Cloud is a HubSpot Platinum Partner, our team can help you migrate to HubSpot or walk you through adopting a new tool for your needs.
You will find a partner who will guide you in using the platform, configuring it according to your needs, to make the tool perform well, organizing training sessions for all your teams.
We can also take care of all integrations, if you need to connect other Apps you use such as: Gmail, Aircall, Zendesk WordPress, Shopify, LinkedIn, Asana, Twitter, Facebook Messenger. If it is not in the MarketPlace, we will develop a tailored solution for you via API.
Trust us if you want to:
- increase leads;
- simplify business processes;
- have more control over site management;
- use marketing automation tools;
- create campaigns;
- measure performance in real time and with customized filters;
- manage in the CRM all B2B and B2C contacts;
- create landing pages, CTAs or forms;
- offer omnichannel support;
Do you want to know more? Fill out the form and contact us.