HubSpot coined the term “inbound marketing” in 2006. Around for over a decade, Inbound Marketing refers to an approach used to attract customers through relevant content and interactions. So, for example, instead of buying space for print ads, you develop a blog, SEO strategy, and a social media presence.
Inbound marketing services are designed to attract visitors to your content or site naturally. Used in one form or another by marketers today, HubSpot’s inbound methodology involves attracting, converting, closing, and delighting customers. You push relevant information out to your audience to promote engagement. Conversely, outbound focuses on pulling potential customers into your business.
Which inbound marketing services will garner the most significant investments in 2018? Two activities will play major roles in the coming year: blogging and in-depth content creation.
Blogging Delivers New Organic Inbound Traffic
Content marketing, specifically blogging, provides the best way to drive leads quickly. Simply put, blogging drives traffic. However, to generate a substantial return on your investment, you must create a blog and then consistently populate it with engaging content.
Also, guest blogging provides enormous benefits. When you post on industry sites, you gain exposure for your brand; you position yourself and your company as thought leaders; and, most importantly, you drive relevant traffic back to your website. Guest blogging creates a win-win-win scenario for your business, the site on which you post your blog, and the site’s audience.
In-Depth Content Can Transform Your Businesses
In the past, marketers focused on SEO techniques that would get them ranked favorably in search engines. They would whip together content full of keywords and short on substance. Many marketers cared more about the ranking than creating compelling content that would engage their audience.
With the evolution of Google algorithms, fortunately, those days are gone. Although keywords still play a strategic role in content development and search engine optimization today, they do not dominate the effort. Instead, smart marketers create high-value content that their audience wants to consume.
In addition to blogs, this content includes articles, white papers, ebooks, case studies, infographics, and webinars. To drive the highest levels of organic traffic, marketers must create a focus on providing meaningful information and less fluff.
Inbound Marketing – Complex and Ever-Changing
As technology and buyer behavior evolves, so will inbound marketing. To generate the best results, you must keep pace with these changes and adapt your inbound marketing strategies accordingly.
For more information on how your organization could benefit from inbound marketing heading into 2018, and to request a complimentary marketing audit, contact us today.
