So you are considering beginning an inbound marketing campaign- quite the big decision! Please make sure that you have an actionable plan, as change is often met with skepticism and resistance from bosses. To help you begin your transition towards inbound methodology, we have outlined four steps to get you started.
Patience Is Essential
We know...it can be really difficult to stay patient. If you want to run a successful inbound campaign, you need to understand the importance of patience and in due time, you will be rewarded. Realize this: when you start inbound, results are not immediate. You are educating readers, and transitioning all the work you previously completed and working towards a better future. It's a massive change, but it's for the better, so it is best to embrace it. We like to tell people that it takes about 3 months of blog writing to see a significant increase in website traffic. Continue that effort for 6 months and website traffic grows faster. Past 6 months, as you steadily add helpful content to your website, visits from search engines increase because of the volume of content.
Work On Establishing A Social Media Presence
Assemble your team of creative and begin brainstorming about how you can increase your social media presence, in order to position it for inbound success. I mean, your audience is online, so your business should be as well.
Social media should, ideally, be a two-way conversation that customers are intrigued by. Be consistent and reliable – answer any questions from followers, feedback or concerns –and be sure you are updating your presence daily with fresh content.
Nurture Your Offline Leads Through Your Website
I don't think I have ever met a salesman or saleswoman who loved cold calling. Whether you are the person dialing and talking or you have been the victim of calls during dinner, no one is ecstatic about interruptive marketing. We suggest that you focus your efforts on making small tweaks to your website in order to help people find you. You will want to spend some time on creating engaging calls-to-action and landing pages, and blogs that work to nurture your visitors and leads so that when it does come time to call them, they will be expecting your call. By providing your target audience with blogs and content that are valuable and relevant to your industry, you’re providing them with the information they need to help them come closer to making a purchasing decision. We know: this may sound like a lot, but start small!
Don’t Be Afraid To Reuse Some Old Content
We all know outbound marketing efforts to be outdated and intrusive, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some nuggets of truth or good ideas associated with your outbound campaigns. You could reposition some of your print ads or direct mail for use in an inbound marketing campaign. Here are some basic ideas to execute:
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Embed hash tags in your advertisements
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Attach a landing page to your print advertisements or direct mail, using a QR code or URL
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Include URL’s on anything that you are sending out.
Merging new inbound tactics with old outbound tactics will help you save time and money – and ultimately create a highly successful campaign.
CT Inbound Marketing
When it comes to attracting, converting, analyzing, and integrating, there is nothing that is out of the reach of our capabilities. As a leading CT Inbound Marketing firm, ImageWorks LLC uses state of the art techniques and is focused on the success of your business. We work with you to improve your current marketing plan, overcome your challenges, achieve your goals, and meet deadlines. 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.