Why Successful Companies Have Made the Switch to Inbound Marketing
Wouldn’t it be nice to have customers come to you, rather than having you go to them?
It is possible — with a practice called inbound marketing – and more and more companies are catching this new wave to success. Inbound marketing is essentially having quality content – usually on a website – that draws customers in, through blogs, keywords and social media. Let’s look at the three types of content, and how to optimize them for your benefit.
Blog What You Know
Blogs should be about little-known facts about your business or industry; something that would interest the reader, but not sound too much like advertising. For example, a bakery could blog about the differences between gluten and gluten-free cupcakes; or a clothing store could provide information about some of the clothing lines it sells. Information is key, but it has to be conveyed in a way that is engaging, and not like a lecture.
Unlock Your Best Keywords
Keywords are the words that visitors enter into search engines to find something they are looking for. There are long-tailed keywords (full phrases – “where do I find a bakery that sells gluten-free cupcakes?”) and everyday keywords, which are usually one or two words long (“gluten-free bakery”). The keywords that reflect your business are the ones that will bring you the greatest amount of visitors; but they need to be included naturally – no “keyword stuffing!”
Be a Social Media Butterfly
Social media is still one of the best ways to draw in new customers. The content on your social media should be a mix of engagement, informative and entertaining posts. Engagement gets your audience involved, informative tells your readers what you’re about, and entertaining is well, just fun. The best recipe is an even mix of all three. Our bakery could have information about their new sugar-free chocolates for informative, a picture of a funny cupcake picture for entertainment, and a survey of flavours – “Chocolate and mint or chocolate and peanut butter?” for engagement.
© 2015, Bateman Design Group. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without prior written permission of Bateman Design Group.
Bateman Design Group is a boutique creative agency in Barrie offering graphic design, marketing strategy, website development services and custom content management systems since 2003. We are available to work independently or as a freelance part of your marketing team.
