Inbound Marketing: What is it?

Enjoy this article I wrote on Inbound Marketing for client eNudge's newsletter.Inbound Marketing is one of the newer marketing buzz words that I’m sure you have heard about from time-time. But with the marketing landscape moving at ever increasing speeds, many business owners miss the definition of these new marketing strategies for their business.Inbound marketing isn’t complicated, however, and can be easily applied to your business.At its essence, inbound marketing is about giving your customers the opportunity to engage with you; it is bringing them to you rather than you going to them. The terms has come from the premise of “permission marketing” that was made famous by marketing guru Seth Godin and ties in with the move away from telling clients what to do via fliers, print advertising and TV advertising (outbound marketing) and, instead, speaking with your customers, not at them, and allowing them to grant permission for you to market to them.A good example of inbound marketing is rather than using the traditional marketing technique of direct mail to sell your services to unknown sources, you develop regular BLOGs on your website that discuss topics within your business services, highlighting your knowledge-base as a leader in your industry. These BLOGs will give you more qualified leads from prospects wanting to contact you due to your expertise.Much of inbound marketing is related to the use of Social Media, which goes beyond the platforms of Facebook and Twitter and includes such things as adding your details to online directories that allow for customer feedback, and the writing of BLOGs, articles and email marketing campaigns. Also consider e-books, videos, whitepapers and podcasts.A quick test of your inbound marketing is to Google yourself and your business name. If you are using the technique well, then a number of links from different sites will appear in the search result, all leading back to your business website and contact details.Why email marketing is a good inbound marketing strategy?Email marketing is a fantastic strategy for your business’ inbound marketing strategy not only because the practice is about giving customers the choice to opt-in to your communications, but it is an opportunity for you and your readers to share your message in various platforms, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, allowing for new prospects to find you and learn about your industry knowledge.Inbound marketing allows you to start building a customer relationship before they have even made contact.And what’s even better, a good inbound marketing strategy will organically work on your Search Engine Optimisation!