Yes, you want to skyrocket from startup to success. But the question is- are you ready? Do you have what it takes to go from scratch to finish with a bang? There is a lot to discuss when it comes to success formulas. However, focusing on one aspect of your startup venture at a time allows you to thoroughly go over necessary preparations.
Your inbound marketing is one of the important strategies to have to put serious attention to. Contrary to traditional outbound marketing which operates primarily on the concept of broadcasting to customers, inbound marketing puts emphasis on crafting ways to make customers voluntarily come to you! If you are new to this idea, yes, you can strategize reasons for customers to come to you.
Inbound marketing, coined by HubSpot in 2006, consists of three stages:
- Attract visitors by creating “compelling content” that will appear as they search for relevant keywords.
- Convert visitors to leads, close deals, and create customers.
- Exceed customer expectations with excellent content.
This system has been tested and proven to have worked for the best companies in the world. Countless startups have claimed to follow the same strategy and achieved success beyond their expectation. Here are some effective inbound strategies you should prioritize especially when starting up with your business:
#1: SEO
SEO (search engine optimization) is a fancy name for a strategy when employed, your website will appear on google’s top search results. When a website’s content and structure is “optimized”, it will have higher chances of receiving organic traffic from potential customers. A thoroughly optimized website enables Google’s web-crawling software to accurately index your site’s contents, then associate these contents to specific keyword searches. Since SEO is responsible for bringing customers into your website, it is a vital part of your inbound strategy. Remember, if they can’t find you, they can’t buy anything from you?
You will need help from an SEO specialist to assist you in optimizing your website if your website is already up and running. But if you are still at the stage where you are considering a website built for your business, find a web developer who can offer professional SEO services as well. Don’t settle on mere claims that they know how to do it. Ask for proof of experiences like a portfolio of websites that show google search results or specific keywords.
#2. Social Media
Social media is today’s marketing game changer! Since people spend more time on social media than on websites, marketers take to social media the products they sell on their site. And with so many products and services promoted on social media, an increased number of people have become accustomed to searching for products on social media instead of doing the traditional web search.
The community-building opportunities on social media are incomparable to all pre-existing avenues. A lot of people have successfully created groups, either for small personal and non-profit campaigns and causes, to huge commercial launches. So here are 3 tips on leveraging social media to the fullest of its potentials according to Ana Gotter:
- Focus on Relationships, Not Sales
Use social media to build a trusting relationship with your prospective customers. Offer something that does not come with monetary value or something they may be interested in that is also relevant to your products and services. Interact with them sincerely and listen to what they say about things related to your brand and use these as first-hand inputs when formulating your marketing strategies.
- Think About Transparency
“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity”, says Dalai Lama. Be professional when it comes to handling unfavorable comments. As a matter of fact, a survey showed that 94% of consumers are more loyal to brands that include transparency in their marketing campaigns; as Luis Congdon asserts, “transparency marketing is letting the world see your brand’s human side”.
- Choose the Right Platforms to Be On
Know your customers. Different groups of people use different social media platforms for different reasons. Identify what platform most of your prospective customers are using. Building an audience on a social media platform that is not popular with your group of prospective customers is a total waste of time, not to mention resources.
#3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most important digital marketing strategies to include in your arsenal. It is so effective that it can give businesses up to 4,300% ROI.
Email marketing is effective for sending a commercial message to a list of email addresses derived from various lead generation activities. In general, emails sent to potential or current customers are technically part of email marketing.
#4. Influencer marketing
The most advanced in this list, influencer marketing takes advantage of the fact that people are drawn to influential figures and are likely to do things (like buying stuff) by mere influence. This is done by targeting influential personalities like thought leaders, celebrities, and popular profiles who hold the biggest share of audiences in their respective niches. By interacting, or better yet, working with influencers in a niche or related niches, you can cross-pollinate audiences with them which can be beneficial to your brand.
The most critical part of this strategy is choosing the right influencer and convincing them how they can benefit from your brand or engaging in your campaign. This is very difficult yet very effective. In fact, 38 percent of marketers who are not currently using this strategy to drive inbound traffic agree that they will use this in the future.
Many easily get overwhelmed by the myriad of strategies they can include in their marketing arsenal. Avoid taking all things at once. While it is important to get a good picture of all things going on, you are only limited to your current level of understanding, training, and experience. Inbound marketing is a good place to start then go outward to the other strategies as you see fit. Good SEO lures visitors to your site… Social media forges trusting relationships… Email Marketing closes deals… and influencers can rally a million supporters. Learn which to prioritize at the right time and you see your inbound customer engagements rise beyond your expectations.