If you run a business that depends on a strong web presence, it's important to understand how to best leverage your brand. This isn't as easy as simply having a website and a few social media accounts.

It's going to take a bit more work than that but the good news for you is that by practicing inbound marketing techniques, you can quickly elevate the online position of your site. Inbound marketing is different from traditional marketing because it essentially admits that what worked in attracting customers years ago simply doesn't anymore. What inbound marketing does is turn ineffective and disruptive marketing into being customer-focused and results-driven.

What Makes Inbound Marketing Different?

For years, when it's come to marketing and advertising, the standard procedure was to get a message in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Things like billboards, television commercials, banner web ads, and pre-roll videos on content people want to view all fit that bill. The problem with that though is that they are disruptive to customers and mostly annoying. Today though, with new technology like DVR and Ad blocking, customers have found a way to avoid these unwanted messages.

This is where Inbound Marketing shines because instead of pushing unwanted content in front of people, it divests its focus into attracting them like a magnet. By having valuable content, inbound marketing turns that into bringing new customers that are more likely interested and willing to learn more about your product or company.

Inbound Marketing in Action.

Inbound Marketing has a very structured design it follows. It turns marketing into a four-stage process that includes attracting customers, customer conversion, closing leads, and delighting customers after a desired transaction. Here's an example:

Say your business is a hiring firm. Chances are you have data or information that your customers would find interesting. Since inbound marketing puts a premium on attracting customers, perhaps you can turn that data into an ebook that visitors can get for free when they register on your site. After they register, the ebook they got should continue to steer them to your site for more information. At that point, they have been primed and can be converted into a customer. After that, you need to continue to delight them with more valuable information, such as e-newsletters or other resources that make them feel they made the right decision.

Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing

Some Examples of Inbound Marketing:

  • Email Marketing to an owned, targeted list
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Content offered via a website to help convert (blog posts, ebook, etc)
  • Targeted online advertising
  • Reputation Management
  • Website Design & Optimization
  • Podcasting
  • Industry magazine advertisements

Some Examples of Outbound Marketing:

  • Direct Mail
  • Bulk email marketing
  • Untargeted advertising
  • Billboards
  • General magazine advertisements
  • Decals on a vehicle

How Does Wapiti Help?

Here at Wapiti, we help our clients get well versed in the inbound marketing methodology and guide them along the way to implementing successful campaigns.  If you aren't an expert in things such as improving your SEO rank, email marketing, or responsive web design, that's okay because we consider it to be our job to help you in these areas so you can focus on your day-to-day business. If you still aren't sold on inbound marketing, we invite you to contact us and ask any questions you may have.

The bottom line is that inbound marketing isn't some kind of buzzword or trend. If practiced right, it can turn your business into a successful one and that's something we can vouch for.