What is Inbound Marketing? 3 Things All the Cool Kids Know
Inbound marketing is one of those terms that marketers toss around. Also called content marketing, inbound is like KPI, ROI, CTA, and CYA[i]. It’s one of those terms so common that everyone who needs to know what it means, does. Right?
Not really, no.
Everyone comes to B2B marketing from different backgrounds, experiences, and industries. You might already be doing some inbound marketing; that’s just not what you’re calling it. So it makes sense that some B2B marketers feel left out of the conversation all the cool kids seem to be having.
And let’s face it. There’s nothing worse than being left out. That goes for business terms, the latest plot twist of that popular show, or the big play in last night's game. (You know, when the guy did the thing with the thing? Can you believe that?)
There are very real reasons to learn more about the ins and outs of inbound marketing. Consider these findings from Hubspot’s Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics 2019.
47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
81% of B2B companies use blogging as a content marketing tactic
55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority
In the spirit of pulling you into the inbound in crowd (aka the cool kids), here’s your starting point. In this post, you’ll learn three basic aspects about inbound marketing:
What it is
How it works
How to get started
Don’t worry. You’ll be slinging the lingo in no time.
1. Inbound Marketing: What It Is
Inbound marketing is a methodology based on your internet search habits. It recognizes that you go onto the web in search of something; that you have a problem you need to solve. But, as you recall from your stages of awareness studies back in the day, before you can choose a solution, you’ll first want to learn something about the problem.
47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
What you find in your search is most likely someone’s inbound marketing content. These days, all successful brands are online publishers to some degree.
Let’s say your landscaper, Dempsey, is researching ways to lower accounting costs. The accounting-software brand with the content that’s most relevant to Dempsey’s problem will likely catch his eye. He’ll read it and come away a little more informed.
In fact, he’ll likely find one brand provides a lot of content related to his particular situation. Chances are, he’ll come back to that brand for more or similar content when he needs it.
This concept runs opposite of traditional marketing, also called outbound marketing.
Traditional marketing relies on interruption. Under this method, marketers try to get their product or service in front of as many people as possible. Think TV commercials, radio ads, print ads, cold-calling, billboards, and the like. The premise? Among all those people watching the game, reading the newspaper, or driving to work, some of them will want to buy your product or service.
Outbound marketing has creeped onto the web, too, of course. You've seen pop-up or pop-under ads, and you get email you never asked for.
But outbound has fallen out of favor in the last 10 years. Because of oversaturation, Outbrain contributor Audrey Ference says, people now ignore display advertising.
That opened the door to inbound, the strategy that lets the customer find the seller – on her own terms.
2. Inbound Marketing: How it Works
And that’s the key. Content is not intended to offer a hard sell. Rather, content informs, engages, and maybe even entertains.
You’ll find inbound content takes a number of formats, including these:
Blogs
Checklists
Ebooks
Email newsletters
Infographics
Podcasts
Social media posts
Video clips
White papers
When done right, content marketing positions its brand as an authority in its industry. Readers consume valuable information with no strings attached. This sense leads readers, over time, to feel that they know, like, and trust that brand. The more they learn from the brand, the more confident they will be about buying from it.
81% of B2B companies use blogging as a content marketing tactic
This scenario illustrates the persuasion principle of reciprocation, which Richard Cialdini discusses in his seminal book, Influence. In Dempsey's case, say, he recognizes that Quickbooks has given him a lot of valuable content. He, in turn, feels inclined to reciprocate by giving Quickbooks his business.
3. Inbound Marketing: How to Get Started
Understand that you won’t master inbound in a day. There is a lot to comprehend and to figure out what works best for your particular situation. The key, experts say, is to start and make improvements as you go.[ii]
Here are steps you’ll need to take before going all-in.
Learn the method. A great first step is to access the many free resources available. Ramona Sukhraj, head of content at IMPACT, recommends enrolling in HubSpot Academy’s free Inbound Certification course.
You’ll also want to read blogs by organizations such as Content Marketing Institute, Copyblogger, CopyHackers, HubSpot, KissMetrics, Social Media Examiner, Unbounce, and more. Many sources also generate podcasts. And here are some books I recommend to any B2B marketer hoping to up their content marketing skills.
Audit your current marketing. Take a hard look at what you’re already doing. What is your current budget? What are you currently doing and how is it performing? What assets already exist, such as branding, online content, presentations, printed content, website content, videos and the like?
Define your marketing goals. What are you selling and why? How do these objectives line up with your overall business goals? What are you asking customers to do and why? The answers to these questions form the foundation of your inbound marketing strategy.
Establish clear buyer personas. You’ll need a very detailed picture of your ideal customers. These details help shape content that addresses their wants and needs. They also reveal why customers buy one brand over another.
What are their demographics? What roles do they fill at work, in their family, in their community? What goals are they striving toward? How can your brand help them?
Create a marketing plan. Once you have clear goals, you can put together an inbound strategy to achieve them. You’ll need a content strategy, a lead-generation plan, and content and social media calendars. IMPACT offers a more detailed discussion of what that entails.
Shop for needed technology. There are many tools available to help you manage all the moving parts involved. These include marketing automation platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and content management system (CMS) software.
Test, report, test, revise, repeat. The technology mentioned above will help you understand what aspects of your inbound marketing are working and which are not. By tracking metrics such as conversion rates, click rates, and website traffic, you can see your content’s performance and see where to improve it.
Conclusion
So there you have it. With a little time (OK, a little more than a little), planning, and buy-in from the higher-ups, you’ll be on your way to outbound marketing expertise.
Like everything else in marketing these days, this is a journey.
So be sure to blog about it.
Notes & Sources
[i] KPI = key performance indicator; ROI = return on investment; CTA = call to action; and CYA = cover your ask-your-mother.
[ii] https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/inbound-marketing-process
