Inbound marketing is the “new hotness” |

Travis McAshanMarketing
Aug 2011

Outbound marketing is DEAD!

It used to be true that when most small businesses had a yellow pages ad and great word of mouth marketing, things were rosy. In fact many businesses are still using true “outbound” marketing techniques such as trade shows, print advertising, call centers, radio & television advertising, billboards and even infomercials. The whole idea is to PUSH/HAMMER out the marketing message, getting in front of as many people as possible with the hope of reaching a few quality leads. As we progress, we see that these traditional forms of marketing are becoming less and less effective for two important reasons.

Reason 1: People HATE interruption-based marketing

Think about it… when was the last time you stopped to talk to a telemarketer during a busy work day? That is if they even made it past the call blocker or caller ID. What about the last time you actually read a single piece of junk mail. Or perhaps you skip right past the commercials on your TIVO or maybe get all your music online without ever listening to the radio? And do we even need to mention email spam?

Reason 2: The internet is RICH with free information

In the example above, you may not have spoken to a telemarketer in years but I bet you have “googled” information about potential purchases and products multiple times in the last 24 hours alone. Why fly across the country to a trade show when you can get all the information you need right off a company websites? And who needs TV with 13 minutes of commercials for every hour when you can download your shows online?

What is “Inbound Marketing”?

So if you’ve stuck with me so far you’ll quickly find yourself asking the million dollar question, “What is inbound marketing?” It’s actually pretty easy to understand and not all that hard to begin applying; however, true success lies in wait for those who are willing to stay in it for the long run.

(1) Content – Content is the substance of any Inbound Marketing campaign. It is the information or tool that attracts potential customers to your site or your business.

(2) Search Engine Optimization – SEO makes it easier for potential customers to find your content. It is the practice of building your site and inbound links to your site to maximize your ranking in search engines, where most of your customers begin their buying process.

(3) Social Media – Social media amplifies the impact of your content. When your content is distributed across and discussed on networks of personal relationships, it becomes more authentic and nuanced and is more likely to draw qualified customers to your site.

Content, SEO, PPC, Blogging and Social Media… ???

If you’re an overworked business owner, don’t fret too much; many of the services needed to accomplish the basics of inbound marketing are not as hard or complicated as they sound. For example, “blogging” is really just about YOU, the business owner, committing to writing about your business every so often, about the things that you normally do on a day to day basis. Typically, if done consistently, you would have fresh original content that’s automatically industry and keyword optimized, is engaging and shows your business has an online pulse. All that and you just threw up a few articles about your thoughts on the flower industry or how to save money on your taxes, or how to properly insulate your home.

Your website is your MOST CRITICAL marketing asset!

Do you think this is bold, presumptuous, cocky and just a little too confident? You might be right, but let’s talk again in 5 or 10 years. Show me the local plumbers or lawyers or builders who found a way to generate their leads online, and I’ll show you a company that is healthy and growing. My personal opinion is that there is simply not enough leads for word of mouth marketing to go around. I work with hundreds of businesses a year, and the ones that have a quality website that generate quality leads, are growing. The businesses that don’t, are failed, failing or are showing serious signs of trouble.

How do I get started?

So you might say, “I’m sold, how do I get started?” That’s a great question, and my first answer is call GLIDE… ha. OK, I might be jumping the gun here, but I’ll have to be honest that the first step is to find someone, anyone, that knows more about inbound marketing than you, and learn from them. When you feel like you have gleaned all you can from them, move on and up and find someone even more knowledgeable. Odds are anyone that has taken the time to learn a fare share of internet expertise would be more than willing to impart that with a humble request. Go ahead… try us to start with.

Quotable Quote…

“Set higher standards for you own performance than anyone around you, and it won’t matter whether you have a tough boss or an easy one. It won’t matter whether the competition is pushing you hard, because you’ll be competing with yourself.”
— Rick Pitino

Be the first to comment

Inbound marketing is the "new hotness"

Pin It on Pinterest

Related Posts

Related Posts

Pin It on Pinterest