The first thing we must be clear about is what the term inbound marketing means because many people talk about it, but maybe they do not even know if they are really applying it or not.
Inbound marketing is nothing more than a set of marketing and communication strategies to attract traffic to a web or blog through quality content, thus making users loyal and getting traffic and conversions ((whether they are new followers, an email, sales, etc.).
Said in this way, the inbound seems a vast concept in which everything could fit, but we must underline its main difference: quality. We go beyond the simple SEO or SEM because we seek to build loyalty to an audience through content (blog, social networks, etc.), which are of the highest quality and offer added value.
Thus, the buyer establishes a continuous relationship with us over time. We do not only look for a particular sale or a specific ‘like,’ but that it follows us in time. And if you follow us and we trust you, we will be able to achieve greater goals.
In short, or what differentiates inbound marketing from traditional digital marketing is that it claims to be ‘non-intrusive.’ Faced with paid advertising on Google and social networks like Facebook, the inbound seduces, enters the user indirectly. And, even when they have already become loyal, it is you who directly seek the brand and not the other way around, as has happened in the past.
Inbound marketing strategies go beyond having a blog with quality content. This is a usual mistake: to think that writing good articles on a blog is already being done inbound. It is one of the legs, yes, but the table has many others and in the end what works is the combination of all of them to support the entire board.
When we do inbound, we must set some short-term objectives, which will require strategies, and others in the long term that will involve the formulation of different strategies.
In the short term, some of the inbound strategies that you can develop are:
- Quality blog It is a fundamental part but not the only one, as we have reflected. It is about making items that interest beyond selling a brand or product. It’s worth wasting your time looking for the right essay or subject. We can even create a blog that is a web apart from the own brand or company, with its entity, to make it less intrusive and give it more credibility.
- Strategies in social networks. Social networks, in addition to serving to move the content of the blog and viralize it, are another of the fundamental legs of inbound marketing. The interaction with users, always responding to them (even when their comments are negative) and calling them to action, will make us loyal to our audience. For this, we can use contests, raffles, videos, GIF content, surveys, etc. Let´s no repeat the content that puts the whole world, let’s be clever in our communication in social networks.
- External collaboration. It consists of contacting to other similar blogs on topics that are already positioned and recommend or link a post from you to redirect traffic and give you value. The same is done with influencers on channels such as YouTube or Instagram.
- Useful and downloadable content. Let’s us take advantage of our blog to make useful content for the user, such as video tutorials, graphics or guides that the user can download and take advantage of in their day-to-day. It will take us more time and effort, yes, but the contents will be much better valued and, the brand, even more.
“When we do inbound, we must set ourselves short-term objectives, which will require some strategies, and others in the long term that will imply the approach of different strategies“
In the long term, inbound marketing strategies have more to do with the analysis of data to know what content we have been generating has generated more conversions, have had more impact or strengthened our audience, to enhance or develop new content for that line.
It is important the keywords analysis and the positioning that our blog is having, as well as if we obtain the final objective of redirecting them to where we want them to go.
Likewise, it is worth mentioning that analytics is crucial in the inbound. After the analysis, we must optimize those contents that are working and, even if it is necessary to publish them again while developing new ones.
In short, inbound marketing is a concept as broad as you can think, it allows you to develop any strategy while meeting the definition of the idea.
If you decide to make your brand inbound, do it for real: find out, analyze results and make decisions. And, above all, convert.
