The Art of Attracting Customers With Inbound Marketing Tactics

Your goal should be to convert your website visitors into sales and brand ambassadors. Inbound Marketing can help you accomplish just that through a well executed inbound program that gets you found by your target market.
There are many different ways to promote your business online and attract valuable leads and subscribers, which can make the process intimidating to many just starting out on a marketing plan. Added to the mix is the fact that both social media and the state of search are in a state of flux due to the latest technologies and consumer behavior.
To make it simple think of this as relationship marketing and Seth Godin’s idea of permission marketing — defined on Wikipedia as “a non-traditional marketing technique that sells goods and services when advance consent is given.”
Inbound marketing in a nutshell encompasses publishing to blogs, social networking, video, ect. in order to create more online visibility. It has also often been referred to as “Pull Marketing” because you are pulling people into your sphere of influence by being findable and available for communication.
Traditional marketing or outbound marketing is where brands focus on finding customers. Think of this method as intrusion marketing and Godin’s term, interruption marketing. This is also referred to as “Push Marketing” where the advertising or promotion is done through search and on social media.
As marketing trends continue to change there are three in particular that Neil Patel points out will be a dominant factor this year. These include:

• Guest blogging to attract organic inbound traffic to your own website.
• Publishing quality articles that are at least 2,500 words, and more focus on live chat instead of static signup forms.
• Readers are now looking for actionable details that explain to them how to exactly accomplish something. This is enhanced with graphics that provide the right steps for them as well as helpful videos that walk them through the process.

Five successful uses of using inbound marketing include:

1 – Consistent content

This includes your blog, guest articles, videos, etc. Plan to publish at least once a week as you are getting your business established. Google will not only pick up on your articles faster but as you share your articles to social media you will begin to see a steady growth in reader interest and sharing.

2 – Promote through email marketing

After spreading the word through your social networks you will want to continue this process with your subscribers by offering them information and updates that go beyond what is being published on your website. This can include new and advanced topics that you can expand on and provide exclusive information.  It’s important to send to a target segment of your readers in order to generate more interest — sending out the focused message to just one list of subscribers can diminish your efforts.

3 – Search Engine Optimization

SEO is still a vital component in your marketing strategy despite the recent updates to Google’s algorithm. In fact, a well optimized post makes it easier for potential customers to find your content — especially if they are conducting a voice search command. The buying process begins when the right information is provided instead of previous lead generation methods that had relied on search engine ranking and producing more inbound links.

4 – Automate your workflows

Social media is to be mainly used to develop authentic relationships that draw qualified customers to your site. Automation helps spread the word on your content through a regular feed to all of your marketing channels, including email. A successful strategy does not rely on this alone, but rather keeps a balance between real-time, authentic interactions and regular emails and scheduled tweets and posts.

5 – User-centered approach to website design

Your website may have worked a few years ago — but have you taken a look at its overall design and appeal to mobile users? A static landing page just doesn’t garner much attention any more. Instead visitors are drawn to an interactive experience where they can get to know your brand and find the answers they are looking for right away. Integrated technology such as live chat bots and real-time updates are now being more widely used.
The world of online marketing has changed and if we are going to be effective in this new technology and people driven world, we need to have the awareness to do so as well as become prepared for what is to come. But one thing remains the same — it’s all about the human connection, which ultimately builds more visibility. The better your brand gets at reaching people where they are at the more successful you will become.