Inbound marketing is the process of publishing valuable content and making it available to a prospect when he/she is looking for it. Instead of interrupting a prospect with an outbound message, you create powerful content to attract them to you. It leverages all the content you’re producing in your content marketing efforts.
Website becomes a content hub
Inbound marketing starts with a well-designed website that is easy to navigate, search engine friendly, mobile ready and easy to update. Leverage your content marketing throughout your website to attract visitors. Then leverage content offers and calls to action to convert visitors into leads.
Blogging
Research shows that 78% of B2B companies that blog at least once a week have acquired customers through their blogs. Blogs that are updated regularly increase overall traffic by as much as 55% and also incras engagement. Your blog is a place where you can drive engagement and build a following. It should reflect your overall content strategy, but should not be used for promotional purposes. It’s a place to share your thought leadership and educate your readers. Not sure what to blog about? Start with the top 20 questions your prospects ask in the sales process.
Search engine optimization
Identify the best keywords for your business, and review every page in your site for keyword use. Create keyword targeted content. Using a keyword and SEO strategy in your blog and all your content will substantially improve your search engine “findability.” Search engines are interested in sites that are frequently updated and provide real content about topics.
Social media
Engaging in social media to promote your blog and other content can dramatically increase its reach. Likewise, syndicating content on social sites also dramatically increase its findability. For example, at PropelGrowth, we syndicate much of our capital markets content at TabbFORUM. This industry forum has far more visitors than our website, and most of our clients discover our work there before they visit our website.
Marketing automation
Marketing automation is a category of technology that supports the process of converting visitors into known leads, observes their behavior, and automates a nurturing process. When integrated with a well designed site, marketing automation can dramatically improve inbound marketing results.