If you've read any business oriented content on the web these days, you've probably run into the term 'inbound marketing' more than a few times. If you know what this term means, then skip ahead. If you don't, listen up.

Inbound marketing stems from the classic term 'marketing,' which is a fancy way of saying "Making a business look attractive so people will give it money." And before you ask, yes. There is such a thing as outbound marketing. Let's take a look at the difference between the two terms.

Outbound Marketing is considered the more traditional variant of advertisement. Any form of marketing media that you do not physically go out and find yourself is considered outbound. Billboards, TV ads, and spam mail are all great examples of outbound marketing.

Inbound Marketing is a much newer idea. Inbound marketing revolves around getting you, the client, to come to a business to learn more. Unlike outbound, you are physically taking action to learn more about a company.

Which is better?

Without a doubt, inbound marketing is becoming more and more useful as time progresses. To explain this, you must first understand why outbound marketing is becoming obsolete. Think of all the outbound marketing you run into in your day-to-day life. Newspaper ads, Radio commercials, flyers… Hundreds of little media bits that are vying for your attention. Now think about how easily you ignore all of those attempts. People have become programmed to tune out all of this useless information being thrown at their faces.

And there's the big secret. The reason why outbound marketing doesn't work. The information is useless! Well, not entirely. But you'll see what I mean in a second. When a furniture store owner puts out a TV ad for his products, he's participating in outbound marketing. Let's say his ad is broadcast and it reaches 10,000 viewers. His first reaction is one of excitement. 10,000 people saw his commercial! But here lies the major weaknesses of outbound advertising. Only 50 of those viewers actually need new furniture. The store owner poured hours of his time and thousands of dollars into producing an ad that only a few people will ever respond to.

What could he have done differently?

Inbound, baby!

Instead of a commercial, the store owner could have produced a podcast, or a blog, or a little online newsletter. He could have posted on his Facebook account, outlining the deals advertised in his commercial. All of these actions cost nothing, and yet the same number of people are reached. Maybe he gets 75 leads this time. If you're still confused, let's look at it this way:

There are two firefly collectors. One hunter likes to use a good old fashioned net and jar to get the job done. The other uses a trapper laced with chemicals that attract only fireflies. When the first hunter wants fireflies, he has to go out and swing his net around, hoping to capture the right bugs. Sure, he'll capture some fireflies, but he will also pick up a lot of the wrong kinds of bugs. And since both men are only in firefly business. Ladybugs are useless. Meanwhile, the second collector sits on his porch, and watches as one by one, the fireflies wander into his container.

The guy with the net, the outbound marketer, is spending unnecessary time and resources trying to catch those pesky fireflies. (Clients) The other collector only has to focus his attention on the right bugs, because only the right bugs are flying his direction. This analogy demonstrates how inbound marketing is superior to outbound. If you haven't made the transition yet, get ahold of your favorite CT Web Design firm now.