Using your own content to create a valuable experience that draws people in, leading to a positive impact on the customer and your business, is what inbound marketing is all about. This differs from the more traditional outbound marketing, which seeks to get a consumer’s attention among the competition.
There are three stages to inbound methodology: attract, engage, and delight. First, your business needs to get the attention of the potential customer, then get them to engage with your business, and finally delight them with your service or product.
How can your business ramp up an inbound marketing methodology to reach your target audience? We’ve put together a list of ideas to help your business attract, engage, and delight consumers.
Attract: How will you lead people to your business’s website?
In order to attract consumers, a business needs to get their information out in the universe. A great way to do that is to start a blog and create content positioning your business and leaders as experts in the services or products offered. The blog will draw people to your business’s website to learn more about what you do and, more importantly, what you can do for them.
When writing blog posts for your business or organization, remember that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important. SEO is how you will be found on search sites like Google, so be sure to incorporate the name of the business or organization and keywords about services and products offered.
Social media is another way to get the word out about your business or organization and draw in potential customers. Create a page on the platform your users are coming to your website from. You can use Google Analytics to discover what platforms work for your organization whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any combination of them.
Once you set up your social media accounts, post consistently to ensure your followers are getting a constant flow of information from you. Post links to your blog, product launches, events, and information about your business and how your services or products will add value to a customer’s life.
Engage: How will you engage with potential customers?
So, the potential customer saw your social media or blog and decided to visit your website… what now? A good way to get customers to engage with your website is to offer something. Put a downloadable PDF on your website with a coupon, discount, or information that the customer will find valuable. Adding a simple form on the downloadable content means you will receive some customer information, such as an email address. This allows them to engage with your content and gain something of value, while you get their contact information.
You can use their information to add them to an email list. Email marketing is a great inbound engagement tool. You can send information, coupons, event dates, and so much more in a customized email to a target audience who is already interested.
Be sure to use your email platform’s analytics tools to keep up with how customers and potential customers are interacting with your content. Good metrics to keep an eye on include: the message open rate, clicks, and click-through-rate.
Delight: How will you know if customers are delighted?
Customer feedback and testimonials are crucial to know how your business is doing. If you sell products or offer services where you meet consumers face-to-face, have associates ask consumers how their experience was, what you can do to improve the experience and other questions to gauge satisfaction. Look for trends on what is working and what needs to be improved in order to delight your consumers.
If your business operates online, ask consumers to send a comment or testimonial in an email or comment box on your business’s website. Not only can you use this to improve your business practices, but you can also post them on social media and your business’s website to attract others.
By implementing a few simple strategies, you can attract, engage, and delight consumers, and hopefully, in turn, they will become an advocate for your business’s services or products.
About Scooter Media
Scooter Media is a full-service communications agency in greater Cincinnati specializing in public relations and social media. If you’re a social media or content marketing pro looking for more tips, don’t miss our primer on effective blogging for small businesses, as well as our strategies for getting the most out of Facebook for your brand.
