The way customers shop has changed. Today, when somebody is considering making a purchase, the first place they turn to find the best product or solution for their problem is the Internet.  This is where Inbound Marketing comes in.

Inbound marketing is marketing that reaches today’s consumer.  Your best prospects are online, searching for solutions to their problems.  Inbound marketing positions you as that solution.  It attracts people to your website, where you win trust and credibility through epic content.  This transfers to leads, sales and often, loyal customers.

 

1) EMAIL 

Email marketing has gained a bad rep, and partly for good reason.  Nobody wants their inboxes flooded with spam or unsolicited advertisements.  Most of these are sent unopened to ‘trash’.  But even worse; businesses that send spammy e-mails lose credibility.  A bad taste is put in the receivers’ mouths through poor, spammy marketing.   What could have been a potential lead or future customer is now lost.

That said, email marketing is very much alive and well – when done properly.  There are an estimated 2.5 billion email users worldwide (according to Radicati Group research).  Most check their email every day. Here are some best practices for an effective email marketing campaign:

Never, ever, send unsolicited e-mails

• Don’t buy e-mail lists or send e-mails to those who haven’t requested them.   This is not only ineffective it is destructive.  It makes your business seem spammy and irritates people who otherwise could be potential customers.
• Use landing pages to convert visitors to leads and build a solid e-mail marketing list.

Don’t be salesy.

• Resist the urge to sell your company in your e-mails.  When tempted, think about how you feel when you receive sales requests in your inbox or a telemarketer calls during dinner.

• Provide value.  In each e-mail correspondence you have, make an effort to add value to your customer.  To provide information, answers and quality content.  Focus on the benefit for the customer, rather than the features of what you are offering.

Be Relevant

• Segment your list to tailor your e-mails to your customers needs.   Make your content relevant to your customers needs, desires and interests and you will earn attention and position yourself as the business these potential customers will turn to when their interest becomes a need

 

2) BLOGGING

Blogging is one of the most valuable practices you should implement into your marketing strategy.  By posting quality content directly related to your customers needs, you:

• position yourself as an industry leader
• gain respect as an authority in your field
• win visitors through SEO (your blog shows in google as a solution to their search)
• have the opportunity to turn those visitors into leads with a call to action

The inbound principles we mentioned regarding email campaigns are just as important, if not more, when blogging.   Make your content relevant, provide high quality information and focus on the benefits to your customers without selling.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Answer Questions

• Make a list of every question you can think of that a customer has asked regarding your product or service.  Devote one blog post to each question and answer as thoroughly as possible, yet with a conversational, easy-to-read tone.

Focus on Benefits

• Rather than focusing on the features of a product, which is self-focused, focus on the benefits, which is customer-focused.

Sometimes it helps to work backwards.  Let’s say you are selling an all-natural eye cream that contains almond oil. One benefit of almond oil is that it reduces dark circles.  Use this as a blog post “How to get rid of dark circles under your eyes”.

• Provide content that is truly valuable.

 

3) SOCIAL MEDIA

Why social media?

• One in five page views in the United States is on Facebook.
• Monthly active Facebook users now total nearly 850 million!
• There are 465 million Twitter accounts with roughly 1 million accounts added daily.
• 2 new members join LinkedIn every second.
• Pinterest has nearly 12 million monthly unique visitors and is the fastest site in history to break through the 10 million unique visitor mark.

With stats like this, the question isn’t whether or not your business should use social media, but are you doing so effectively?

Understand the Channels

It is important to understand each channel and use the channels which best reach your target market.  It is also important to use each channel in a way that lines up with that platform.

Pinterest targets women using high quality beautiful photos, which link to quality content.  Photos posted to Pinterest should be high quality, likened to eyecandy.  Whereas Instagram is a platform for spontaneous, non-professional photos.  Facebook is social, requiring conversations, with photo posts and short text posts perfoming best.  Twitter is limited to 140 characters and fits well with fun, quirky and informative tweets.

Provide Value

Again, don’t be salesy but provide value.  On social media, value can even come in the form of entertainment.  The lines between information and entertainment are blurring and social media is the perfect channel.

Think about your customers – and aim to inform, entertain, and engage with them.  Even if that engagement is as simple as making them smile.

Use Social Media and the Buyer’s Journey

Social media is the perfect tool to reach customers at each stage of the buyers journey.  Through social media, you can gain attention and visitors (followers/likes).  Through compelling content you can convert those visitors into leads.  Using social media effectively, you can engage not only with leads, but also with customers.  Then, keep the lines of communication open with previous customers – stay connected and earn loyalty.

 

Author: Naomi Sirmans (@naomisirmans)

 

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