What Inbound Marketing Is and Isn’t & Why Your Business Needs To Get On board!
by Andrew Millar
Marketing agencies and web designer gurus love to throw around hot button words like “inbound marketing.” While this term is a great asset for your business, it is also industry jargon which is often used and rarely explained.
When it comes to this kind of marketing term it is important for you to understand “What is inbound marketing” and what isn’t it?
What Is Inbound Marketing: Relationship Building
When you are thinking about “what is inbound marketing,” relationship building needs to be at the top of your list. Successful inbound marketers know that working in the digital sphere (online) doesn’t mean your campaign should be any less personal. Your inbound marketing campaign should engage visitors and develop brand trust. This is the key to building relationships with your customers and prospects.
What Isn’t Inbound Marketing: Shouting Out ‘BUY FROM ME! BUY FROM ME!’
Those who yell the loudest online may get noticed here and there. So too, do the radicals standing on street corners yelling from the top of a turned over box. This is not inbound marketing.
What Is Inbound Marketing: Sharing Value
Giving is the name of the game in the inbound marketing world. Visitors, prospects and customers all expect you to share valuable information. It is the reason they visit your site. It is why they will come back, opt-in to e-mail campaigns and follow you on social media platforms.
What Isn’t Inbound Marketing: Pop-Ups and Pop-Unders
Pop-Ups and Pop-Unders are a lot like placing advertising flyers on windshields in parking lots. You could do it, but it will typically annoy more people than it will attract.
What Is Inbound Marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is how you help search engines like Google crawl through your site and identify it as relevant for searchers.
What Isn’t Inbound Marketing: Search Spam
Websites which perform search spam pack their text with keywords and long tail keywords to try to convince Google they are relevant, when they are not.
What Is Inbound Marketing: Opt-In E-mail Lists
Sending mass e-mails to those who have not requested them is considered spam. It doesn’t position your website as trust worthy. Instead, you want to cultivate a list of individuals who have opted-in (requested) to receive e-mails of a predetermined frequency and topic.
What Isn’t Inbound Marketing: Purchased E-Mail Lists
Don’t do this. We repeat – DO NOT DO THIS. Purchasing e-mail lists is like Christmas the tree salesman who stuffs trees with cut branches. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s shady.
What Is Inbound Marketing: Word of Mouth Marketing
As your content builds trust and you continue sharing valuable information and providing high quality products, your customers become your advertising machine. This means, your customers start telling their family and friends why you rock.
What isn’t Inbound Marketing: Flooding Comment Forums With Sales Plugs
There are still some marketers out there who use comments as a way to attract attention and create link-backs to websites. There are also some folks who drink unpurified stream water. It might not kill you, but you are taking a good deal of risk.
“What is inbound marketing” you ask? It is your business’ strategy for attracting, converting, closing and delighting customers. In short, it’s your business ability to sell without selling.