Many clients are asking us what is inbound marketing thing we keep talking about? Just google inbound marketing, and after you see there are 5,310,000 results (the first couple thousand related to industry leader HubSpot – Spoke8 Marketing is a HubSpot Channel Partner) you’ll have some idea of how important this inbound marketing stuff is. Further, does inbound marketing for Lansing businesses work?
When was the last time you picked up a direct mail piece out of your mailbox (or inbox) or heard a commercial on the radio and thought “this is PERFECT, it’s just what I was looking for?” Pretty rare, usually. The fact is that most of us have changed our acquisition and research habits to be seekers of our own information, rather than collectors of external information. When we need something, or need to know something, we Google it.
As smart marketers, it’s up to us to make sure that when people Google something that is an area that our customers are awesome at, that our client’s site is one of the top results. Just a few years ago this was the domain of SEO companies (and they have a vital role even today, but the game is evolving.)
Now, it’s the domain of us – of you – the marketer. You create the content that is enriching to our customer, that they are willing to exchange their contact information to receive, it’s that good. And you do it all the time, so that there’s this mass of Google-able content that is out there attached to your product, service or brand that customers want.
It’s inbound. It’s not outbound (media, radio, television, direct mail.) People are searching for your product, your service, your expertise.
There are four key aspects of inbound marketing that can be put to work for almost every business:
- Develop unique and awesome content for your site (blog)
- Put related even more awesome content behind a landing page designed to pique the interest of your prospect
- Ask them to exchange their contact information for that even more awesome content
- Nurture that relationship until they’re ready to become a customer by providing additional awesome content
An example:
Internet retailer Christine Jonson Patterns is a 15-year old fashion design company that sells home sewing patterns, an exclusive collection of imported knitwear fabrics and does wholesale pattern design for fashion houses. Ms. Jonson, the designer, and her team, wish to boost traffic to their web site for Google searches around topics related to the exploding DIY and home/creative sewing market (if you’re a 23-year old woman, you know what I’m talking about.)
We placed unique content – a DIY infinity twist scarf pattern, available free – on the web site and in exchange for contact information (sign up for the e-mail list or update your profile), the user can access the web page with instructions. This was repurposed into a Pinterest pin, linking to the site, and used on Facebook and in e-mail marketing, so existing and new clients had access to the premium content.
Ms. Jonson and her team have years and years worth of creative pattern design alterations that can be placed behind landing pages that require the user to submit their marketing information to receive a link. This content can be created and live on the web site forever – attracting new Google searchers every day! Repurposing content you already have is a great way to breathe new life into your web site and your business!
Want to learn more about the effectivness of inbound marketing? Download our free guide
