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Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing uses content marketing to bring potential customers to you, rather than having your marketing efforts fight for their attention.

The Proven Methodology for the Digital Age

Since 2006, inbound marketing has been the most effective marketing method for doing business online. Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, buying email lists, and praying for leads, inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time.

The Old Way vs. The New Way

Marketing – in the old days – used to be done when, where and how marketers wanted to do it. Now everything is on the buyers terms.

Outbound Marketing

You'll recognise outbound marketing as:

  • Junk Mail
  • Print Advertising
  • Telemarketing
  • Billboards
  • Trade Shows
  • Bulk Email (SPAM)

Inbound Marketing

This type of marketing is less obvious:

  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
  • Search Advertising
  • Social Media
  • Social Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Marketing Automation

Now, people are more engaged with consuming content on screen than what's happening in the street. Traditional outbound marketing methods are no longer effective.

What is Inbound Marketing?

It's all about creating great content, and marketing the content, to bring potential customers to you – as opposed to the old days when your marketing efforts fought for their attention. Also, sharing is caring and inbound marketing is about creating and sharing content with the world. By creating content specifically designed to appeal to your dream customers, inbound attracts qualified prospects to your business and keeps them coming back for more.

The Buyers Journey

The buyers journey aim to convert your target personas from strangers to promoters. There are four actions (attract, convert, close, and delight) inbound companies must take in order to obtain visitors, leads, customers, and promoters. This is shown along the top of the image below. Along the bottom are the tools companies use to accomplish these actions. Note the tools are listed under the action where they first come into play, but that’s not the only place they’re applicable! Several tools, like email, can be essential in several stages of the methodology.
Inbound Methodology

What's the Difference Between Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing?

Many aspects of inbound and content marketing are similar so it's understandable if you get them mixed up. They both involve creating informative, relevant content but in slightly different ways.

Content marketing is a specific strategy focused on creating a range of content with your target market in mind.

Inbound marketing includes content but adds another layer. You'll often see both content marketing and inbound marketing techniques used in the same space.

For example, if you write a blog post targeting a specific persona, you're using content marketing. If you add a pop-up, CTA, or newsletter sign-up form you're using inbound marketing.

HubSpot Inbound Certified

Webalite is certified by HubSpot in Inbound Sales and Marketing.

Inbound Certified
Inbound Certified
Inbound Sales Certified
Inbound Sales Certified
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