If you do business online inbound, or “pull’, marketing has to be part of your marketing strategy.
Relying solely on traditional outbound, or “push” marketing tactics like paid tv, print ads or even an AdWords campaign is simply not enough. Why?
Contemporary audiences are savvy to the point of not wanting to be ‘pushed’ to buy a product or use a service. They want to learn something, laugh and generally feel valued.
And that is where a compelling content marketing strategy comes in.
But before we dive into some inspiring examples, let’s first define what inbound marketing is.
What exactly is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing involves creating truly useful content that your audience needs and appreciates. Everything you produce needs to be specifically designed to appeal to your audience. It needs to be timely, relevant, and engaging – it needs to “pull’ them into your orbit and keep them there.
How?
It could be a free ebook download, a how-to video, a super helpful blog post or a witty social media campaign. Whatever it is, it needs to entertain and educate your audience.
6 content ideas for your inbound marketing campaign
With that in mind here are 6 ideas to make sure your content is on message and “pulls” people in:
1. Get blogging: Think blogging is an old hat? Think again, if you blog frequently – like daily – you significantly increase your chances of acquiring new customers. Besides, search engines love it when your site is getting updated often. The first step is to get organized and develop your awesome post titles, get them written and keep going…
2. Get visual: If a picture is worth a thousand words, why not develop some real eye-catching visual content for your site or to share on social media? It could be a clever graphic that simplifies a complicated process or a video explainer that is easy to digest. Images are more likely to be viewed and shared, which can only mean more eyeballs on your content.
3. Get social: You might be familiar with Facebook, you may even tweet – but did you know there are other social networks out there? If your business is product-based or visual friendly you could use Instagram or Pinterest to showcase these. And don’t forget about using video, where YouTube can help you connect with customers anywhere.
4. Get personal: If you want to be truly memorable talk directly to your customers. Don’t treat them like a stranger. Take the time to get to know them – you need to know what makes them tick. You can then tailor your content to answer all the questions they have. It could be a small detail, like using a person’s first name in your newsletter. That personal touch could just help turn them from a stranger into a fan.
5. Get a brand ambassador: Getting someone who loves your business to tell people about it is a good old fashioned word of mouth. You can amp this up with a brand ambassador, who can be your mouthpiece via their online presence. The secret to making this work is teaming up with someone who has a similar audience to yours and carefully coordinating the messaging they put out.
6. Get on the free train: Here the trick is to help your customers with no strings attached. Give them free stuff, but make sure it is useful – otherwise, they will see right through your ploy. A feature-packed ebook or checklist perhaps?
If you would like to help to develop your inbound marketing efforts, get in touch today. We can help you make it happen
