Marketing is how brands get their message across to prospective customers. There are countless types of marketing, with some being more costly than others. Typically, there are two types of marketing strategies: inbound and outbound. If you want to generate leads quickly and don’t care about the cost, outbound marketing is for you. However, if you’d rather play the long game, spend less, and ultimately generate more leads, you should consider inbound marketing. Although it takes longer to master and see a return, it’s worth having a go. Throughout this article, we will define inbound marketing and outline five effective strategies.
What Are Inbound Leads?
Let’s start for a moment with outbound leads. As mentioned, they are used to generate leads fast. One of the simplest examples of this is the Superbowl commercials. These ads are seen by thousands of people, but you’re not going to get that many leads. This is because when people are watching a game, they don’t care about the ads.
This is where inbound marketing comes into play. Instead of being thrown in potential customers’ faces at inconvenient times, such as mid-way through their sports games, it relies on advertising when a customer needs you. When you create an inbound marketing plan, you will use high-quality content including videos, email, and audio tracks. Inbound marketing will take you more time and require more thought. However, you will be speaking to customers without them knowing it because they’re already looking for you. Below, are five types of effective inbound marketing.
Music Ads
Music ads are advertisements that use songs to connect with a listener. They have become increasingly popular over recent years, especially with the rise of music streaming services. As you will know, if you don’t pay for a premium account on the likes of Spotify, your listening experience will be dotted with short 15 second ads. Although these music ads are interrupting your music, you know what you’re letting yourself in for. These ads are important because they use emotions to generate leads.
Getting music ads right takes a lot of skill, especially when you’re trying to hit a customer’s emotional response. Luckily, you can generate DIY audio ads using AI. With Decibel Ads, you can create your audio ad within ten minutes and have it live within around 12 hours. All you need to know is your desired message and target audience, then sit back and wait for your DIY audio ads.
Start a High-Quality Blog
Blogging is a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your field. People use blogs every day to find out answers to their questions, and they’re directed to them through search engines. With the correct research, you can write blog posts that answer the most searched questions. If you keep on doing this, your website’s domain authority will rise and your SEO ranking will increase. When people can find your blog and they enjoy what they read, they’re more likely to check out the rest of your website. There is an art to successful blogging, but don’t underestimate its powers.
Grow Email Subscribers
To the untrained eye, you may think that email marketing is a lost cause. After all, marketing mail tends to head straight to the spam folder. However, it’s been proven that for every $1 spent by businesses on email marketing, there has been a return of around $30. This ROI is insane, especially for a marketing stream deemed to be ineffective. Through your other inbound marketing efforts, you should be pointing people to your email lists.
Try Podcasting
Podcasts have boomed in popularity, especially amongst younger people. Statistically, around a third of all Americans under 35 listen to podcasts. You don’t have to run the podcast yourself; you can simply act as a host for an external podcast. If you onboard a popular podcast and give them airtime, they will thank you by recommending your product or service.
Remember Books?
We tend to forget about books when we’re surrounded by technology, but there are more people reading books than ever before - even if that is online. You don’t have to print your book; you can sell it through Amazon’s Kindle marketplace or have it on your website. However, having a well-written book within your field of business will help to set you apart from the competition. When readers come to rely on your information, they will rely on you to provide your services.
Marketing is how businesses get their brand message out into the world. There are outbound strategies and inbound strategies. When you need to generate leads fast, you should consider outbound leads. However, if you wish to generate more leads, and consistently, you should use inbound marketing. This relies on high-quality content that talks to people without them knowing it. Email marketing, blogging, and writing books are all great ways to grow leads over time.
