Are You Using the Right Marketing Strategy?

If you have been paying attention to recent marketing trends, you may have heard the terms “inbound marketing” and “outbound marketing,” but what do these terms really mean? Representing more than just a marketer’s love for making up new terminology, these two concepts embody a recent cultural shift in marketing, and are used to help marketers strategize their message across various channels.

What is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing used to be known simply as, “marketing.” Traditionally, marketing was understood to be a disruptive concept, a message that was being pushed onto an audience whether they wanted it or not. Examples of outbound marketing include, television and radio ads, billboards, newspaper and magazine ads, pop-ups, telemarketing, banner and display ads, and contextual ads.

It can be argued that outbound marketing has fallen out of favour over the last 10 years. Oversaturation, especially on the internet, has caused people to start ignoring display advertising. Tools such as ad blockers have only made this disregard for advertisement worse, as click-through rates are at a dismal 0.05 percent, according to marketing advice company Smart Insights. Social media platforms, such as YouTube, are capitalizing on ad blockers by offering the public subscription-based services, which include ad free accounts. As a result, younger audiences are becoming desensitized to advertising.

According to Hubspot’s State of Inbound 2017 report, marketers consider paid advertising, such as outdoor billboards, broadcast materials, and print, to be the most overrated marketing tactic. Since this type of marketing was the standard for many years, it is still considered relevant. But times have changed, and inbound marketing is gaining popularity. Considered to be less expensive, businesses of all size can now compete, thanks to digital media platforms.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Unlike outbound marketing, the term inbound marketing is a relatively new marketing concept, and it refers to the concept of marketers leveraging on interesting content to pull in potential customers. Also known as content marketing, inbound marketing involves creating blog posts, social media posts, infographics, search engine optimization, boosted posts, and white paper marketing.

In theory, if the content is engaging, consumers will interact with the content. This interaction could be in the form of sharing, reading or commenting on pieces of content. The idea is to ensure that consumers come away with a positive impression of the brand, which will influence future purchasing decisions through the building up of credibility and consumer trust. Inbound marketing is very hands-off and indirect style of marketing. In other words, there is never a noticeable sales pitch.

Inbound marketing nudges customers through a sales or conversion funnel by increasing their engagement with the brand. Here’s how it works.

1. The customer begins the journey as a stranger.

2. They are pushed through the funnel to a website or landing page, which is also known as a conversion. The customer is now considered a lead.

4. The customer makes a purchase or effectively learns more about the brand. Further prompt to sign-up or download an item may be beneficial at this stage.

5. The experience should then lend itself to a purchase or final conversion turning the lead into a customer or user of the product or service.

Which Style of Marketing is More Effective?

Right now, the trendy and most fashionable marketing choice is inbound marketing. According to the State of Inbound 2017 report, a staggering 71 per cent of global companies reported that their primary focus is on inbound marketing. This statistic is not surprising, as inbound marketing provides a better return on investment (ROI) and marketing efforts are 62 per cent less expensive than outbound.

However, while inbound can be attractive, it can be difficult to measure. It relies on raising brand awareness; providing value rather than the hard sell. Because of this issue, it’s difficult to wholly quantify how well the strategy is working.

While this problem has been a criticism of inbound marketing, outbound marketing is usually criticized for being expensive, not targeted, and non-responsive. The report states that companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on radio and television advertising, sending it blindly out into the world and hoping for the best.

Both styles of marketing have their pros and cons, but it usually comes down to how much a company is willing to spend on marketing. Because inbound can be less expensive and more competitive, it is favoured by businesses big and small.

Social media plays a key role in inbound marketing. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow for marketing tactics such as retargeting, contextual ads, and lookalike audiences, which amplify reach. Ads can be directed specifically to users based on their interests. This form of marketing demonstrates the previously untapped potential of advertising, and is a great way to get around ad blockers.

Inbound marketing incorporates a strategy of presenting customers with specific information that is helpful or interesting. Today, it’s all about content marketing, and as such, companies are implementing a combination of brilliant inbound strategies and retargeting outbound display ads. By implementing these strategies, companies are able to use specific targeting to attract customers. Marketing dollars are thus used more efficiently, and the return on investment can be measured and improved upon in future campaigns.

Finding the Right Strategy

Creating a good inbound strategy involves creating content that appeals to your desired audience, then helping them find that content through social media, engine searches, and discovery. By creating a strong strategy, you’ll optimize your content. Who do you want to attract with this content? How will this audience find you? Will you promote your content on platforms, such as Creator.ai? Will you push it to social media? When will you post your content? Once you have these questions answered, you can move forward with creating the content that works best for you.

You will also need to find a way to measure your success, as metrics will drive what you do going forward. But remember, any successful marketing strategy is dynamic, and changes based on the data you collect and the effectiveness of your content. No matter what type of content marketing you choose, it’s imperative to figure out what people want and give it to them in a timely manner.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to try new things, and to continuously tweak the old things that are working. Analyze your data frequently and remember that audiences constantly change. What worked six months ago, or last year, may not work now. People get tired of seeing the same thing, and marketers who don’t keep up with changing times will watch their marketing efforts run into the ground.

Consider doing a mix of inbound and outbound marketing, and be prepared to scrap or change your marketing campaign frequently. Add new technological features, and keep on top of the changing ways marketers are connecting with people. Be open to experimenting, measuring, and repeating the process. A good strategy is an open-minded strategy.

About Creator.ai

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Originally published at www.creator.ai.