What is Inbound Marketing?
Any Kansas City small business owner who expects to achieve success and increased visibility online must use inbound marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy. The question is, what is inbound marketing? This page will briefly cover the basics of this type of “attraction” marketing, versus the more direct or “push” approach of conventional marketing – and will help you determine if Kansas City inbound marketing services would be a good investment for your business.
At its core, inbound marketing is about developing compelling, informative content that attracts potential leads and customers to your website. Once there, visitors see the incredible value you offer in the form of information, resources, videos, articles, downloadable files, or other media, and convert to a lead or paying customer. Once you have established this connection, you then nurture the relationship in order to maintain the lead/customer, and enjoy his/her business for life.
Now let’s break inbound marketing down a little further:
Inbound marketing is not “interruptive,” as so many marketing methods are. Simply put, it is delivering the content your target audience is looking for when they are looking for it, in the places they congregate online. Potential customers love your delivery, and feel that what you offer is helpful, useful, and relevant, not “pushy.”
First, you attract targeted traffic to your website through blogging, search engine optimization, and social media. Your actual website pages should be designed to attract potential leads as well. Your website is your “digital” storefront, and the most important property you own online to generate business. Be sure it delivers what potential customers are in search of!
Next, when you have attracted visitors to your website, it’s time to convert them into leads. This means collecting their name and email address so that you can build a trusting relationship with them. This is accomplished by effective landing pages, calls-to-action, and web forms with a compelling offer.
Once you have developed leads, you convert them into buying customers using email, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and other tools. How you convert or close leads will depend on their specific interests, for instance whether a lead visits your website and downloads a free eBook or report, follows you on Facebook, is a loyal reader of your blog, etc.
Finally, inbound marketing is about nurturing your customers. Once you develop a new customer, you want to keep him/her. What is the solution to keeping customers? Keeping them happy and continuing to provide them with outstanding solutions. Engage socially, conduct surveys to learn more about what your customers really want, and continue to give them exceptional content that delivers answers and solutions.
Inbound marketing is just as it sounds – the opposite of outbound marketing. Instead of pushing your offer on potential leads and trying to find them through direct mail or blatant advertising, they come to you because of the remarkable value and information you provide through various forms of content marketing. As a small business owner, this is one method of marketing you don’t want to overlook!
