Inbound marketing helps companies increase their online visibility and reach a wider audience.
Sounds pretty basic. We already know this.
Remember the process of inbound.
Why does this matter now?
ChatGPT and other AI content-generating tools will allow lazy marketers to flood your space with content.
In my last Industrial Executive email newsletter, I talked about outbound marketing (anything that interrupts the prospect - cold emails, cold calls, LinkedIn connection requests, etc.) and how marketers are ruining these channels through overuse, abuse, and laziness.
Add these two trends together, and you can see why I believe Inbound is more critical than ever.
Here are some ways to do inbound well and increase your company's visibility:
Content marketing is one of the most effective inbound strategies for increasing your company's visibility. By creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that addresses your target audience's needs and interests, you can attract them to your website and establish your company as a thought leader. This can include blog posts, videos, webinars, whitepapers, infographics, and more.
Engineers and technical people rely on your content to decide their purchases and partners.
Source - Trew Marketing State of Marketing to Engineers Report
You can improve your website's visibility and attract more organic traffic by targeting relevant keywords and creating high-quality content that addresses your audience's needs. Other SEO tactics include optimizing your website's structure and metadata, building high-quality backlinks, and improving your website's loading speed.
Use a tool like SEMRush to analyze your site and see how you perform technically and by keyword. Pay attention to the technical aspects of running your site. Poor backend site structure does affect your ranking.
The best SEO, though, is creating high-value content for your target audience they engage with. Original research about your target audience and their industry challenges and opportunities is the gold standard of B2B content. Do not just talk about how great you are; educate them about their world and your place in it.
Social media is another powerful tool for inbound marketing. By building a presence on social media platforms your target audience frequents, you can share your content, engage with your audience, and attract new followers. Social media can also be used for targeted advertising to reach specific audiences and promote your content and offerings.
Source - Trew Marketing State of Marketing to Engineers Report
Be careful to avoid getting caught up in trying to be everywhere on social media. As the above graphic shows, not all social media channels are equal. Choose your channels wisely. YouTube and LinkedIn are great places to start. YouTube requires you to create video content which is a big deal in and of itself. Where LinkedIn helps you define and connect with a specific audience.
Email is still the least expensive marketing tool you can deploy. But you need to earn the audience by only emailing people who opt-in and want to hear from you. Blasting emails to any contact you can grab is ineffective (see the above comments about outbound being ruined by lazy marketers).
Email marketing is a highly effective way to nurture leads and build relationships with your audience. Creating targeted email campaigns that provide valuable content will keep your company top-of-mind and drive traffic back to your website.
One of our clients told me that recently they had a contact reach out to them with a huge potential deal. The prospect said they appreciated the helpful content they had received over the past two years, making it a no-brainer of whom to call when their project was ready to go. This contact opted in to receive marketing emails and never contacted the company during those two years. Content built brand awareness which directly led to a significant deal.
Email marketing can also promote offers, such as webinars, e-books, or product demos, which can help increase conversions and drive sales.
Influencer marketing is a newer inbound marketing strategy that involves partnering with influencers in your industry or niche to promote your brand and products. By working with influencers with a significant following and influence in your target market, you can reach new audiences and increase your company's visibility. This can include collaborations, sponsored content, and product reviews.
If you do not think your industry has influencers online, dig a little deeper. They are there, I promise!
If you want to increase your company's visibility, focusing on inbound marketing strategies is essential. By creating valuable content, optimizing your website for search engines, building a presence on social media, using email marketing, and leveraging influencer marketing, you can attract and engage with your target audience and establish your company as a thought leader in your industry.
Do not fall asleep on Inbound; it is still the best opportunity to connect with your audience.