You’ve probably heard of the concept of inbound marketing. It’s the process of setting up a semi-automated system that drives good leads to you so you don’t have to work as hard to find them. If done correctly, it will make your business grow exponentially.
So why the weird title?
Well, in reality, it’s not that weird. Tons of companies are looking for some magic formula or secret sauce to get their inbound marketing working well. They’re confused about where to start and what to do, and they think it takes tens-of-thousands in ad budget every month to get it done. Simply put, that’s just wrong.
Stop Over-complicating
Ever had someone tell you that you’re thinking too much? Chances are, that’s what you’re doing to your inbound marketing strategy. You’ve probably assumed that you need to hire entire departments in order to do it right, or that it takes too much time. You have no idea where to start or what to create, and you don’t think you have the information put together.
It’s a common thing to think we don’t already have the resources available, especially when we compare ourselves to our slightly-more-polished competition. They seem to have all the pieces in place for a good inbound marketing strategy, and we don’t even know where to begin. But, really, the answers are usually right in front of our face, and all we have to do is open our eyes. It’s time to put pieces together.
Why MacGyver?
What were talking about doing is building your inbound marketing system. To do that, we need resources, so we’ll have to be resourceful. Do you know anyone more resourceful than MacGyver? I mean, I once watched an episode where he broke into an armored truck using a blowtorch that he made from a bicycle.
It’s in that spirit I offer you these 5 resourceful tips.
5 Resourceful Inbound Marketing Tips
Inbound marketing is really simple. It’s the process of giving people a reason to find you. You’ve likely already got the information in place. You just need to take a deep breath and make a plan. We’ve previously discussed what to create, so let’s talk about how to create it.
Focus on the reader. It’s a huge mistake to do anything that turns people away from your inbound marketing funnel. When you create content, make sure it’s what the reader wants. Create content that’s entertaining and readable as opposed to full of keywords and SEO elements.
Get social with it. The best way you can get people to pay attention to your content is to put it in front of them yourself. Share your content to your company’s social media page, then have your team share it with their friends. As those share numbers increase so do your odds of getting it in front of the right people.
Get the readers to pitch in. It can be difficult to create all the content yourself. If it applies, do something to get your readers to contribute to the inbound marketing content effort. User submissions as a part of a contest boost your available resources. Have your readers share pictures or stories in exchange for a contest entry or some sort of discount.
Switch it up. Look, you don’t just have to build a text blog. Videos, cartoons, infographics, and all sorts of other media capture people’s attention. People are attracted to all sorts of different media, so you need to make sure you’re offering them the options.
Repurpose successful material. Hand-in-hand with the previous tip, reusing old content is a great way to avoid burnout. When you had a successful blog article, recreate it as a video, podcast, infographic, or even a lead magnet. That’s going to give you more to offer without killing your creativity.
Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Yes, I just used that cliche. No, I’m not sorry. There’s no way to overcomplicate your inbound marketing strategy if you stick with the basic principles. Your knowledge is valuable to your clients. Share it often and make it easily accessible. They’ll gladly come to you when they’re ready to buy.
Image courtesy of ToolsAreHome.
