Inbound marketing strategies are the “pull” approach that balances out the “push” tactic of most traditional outbound marketing campaigns. Inbound marketing efforts aim to use content (articles, eBooks, white papers, etc.) to provide lead generation opportunities and pull in potential customers rather than trying to push a message at consumers in hopes of creating an impactful response.
Inbound marketing relies on quality content, and the right content can act as lead generation fuel for a long time. One-time resource investments in inbound marketing tactics like a viral video or a long-form blog article can turn into some of the best lead-generating content you have to offer.
Quality Content is the Foundation of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation
Inbound marketing is often a big-picture, long-game strategy in the sense that inbound takes longer to see results but those results can influence all facets of your business. Companies mostly familiar with traditional outbound marketing tactics (paid advertising spots, mailers, print ads) expect the same kind of effects—immediate and easily analyzed—from inbound marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, this can make business leaders cautious when it comes to investing in inbound strategies.
The kicker is that inbound marketing has a way of building brand loyalty through quality content that outbound marketing can’t match. The lasting impact quality content has on consumers leads to long-term gains for both loyal consumers and the brands, businesses, and industry leaders that provide their product or service.
Inbound marketing quality content can include:
- A company blog
- Video content
- Podcast(s)
- Social media
- Search engine optimization
- E-mail marketing
Quality content comes in many forms, and each piece of the inbound marketing puzzle helps your business get closer to big-picture success. Each piece of quality content also has the potential to become a cornerstone in a much larger inbound marketing campaign, and viral content can change the way you do business.
3 Ways to Improve Lead Generation with Inbound Marketing
With quality content and its impact on business in mind, it’s surprising that companies don’t invest more time and resources into inbound marketing lead generation strategies.
Here are three ways you can bring home some lead generation wins:
1. Optimize Your Web and Social Platforms
Search engine optimization is as much a buzz phrase these days as it is a successful inbound marketing strategy. Some business leaders are quick to roll their eyes and picture keywords and catchphrases when SEO enters the conversation. The fact remains that fifty percent of all site traffic comes from organic search, so it’s in your best interest to make both your website and social media content as easy to find as possible.
The truth is that search engine optimization is the only successful way to ensure search engines find and display your content effectively.
Your content—website, blog, social media—is the lifeblood of your business in the digital age, and even the most compelling content can get lost on the web without proper SEO. Things like keyword optimization, title tags, and content variation all still play an important role as brand SEO best practices.
Leads come in organically, and much more consistently, when you’ve done everything you can to optimize your website and social platforms
2. Create a Company Blog that Provides Industry Expert Advice
One of the best ways to optimize website content is to create a diverse, industry-leading blog.
Your company blog acts as a window that shows potential customers that your business understands market trends, industry-specific information, and consumer demands. Today, it’s not enough to post short blog article snippets that cover surface-level topics. Business leaders understand that a great blog does more than that.
The right blog content hooks readers with insightful observations and keeps those readers reading with perceptive conclusions and actionable advice. You want people to visit your blog not only for the information but also for expert opinions from industry leaders. The more insights and interesting examinations you can provide, the better.
Content marketing guru Neil Patel is convinced that blog article word count is still important, and he finds the sweet spot for the most success/shares is between 2,000 and 3,000 words. But there is no one-size-fits-all blog format to follow for guaranteed success. That’s why the best company blogs have both short- and long-form content that covers a wide range of industry topics.
Position yourself as an industry expert, and consumers will continue to come back for more content. The more in-depth, relevant blog content you create, the easier it is for search engines to find and share that content with potential customers.
3. Invest in Quality Video Content
Quality video content can go a long way toward viral recognition and consistent lead generation. Some brands are defined by their video content, and viral videos have a tendency to put otherwise unseen companies on consumer radars in a big way.
In fact, video is quickly becoming a top priority for marketers who recognize just how impactful quality video content can be.
- 500 million people watch Facebook videos every day
- 85% of marketers were invested in creating more video in 2018
- People spend more than 2.5 times more time on pages with video
- 51% of marketers think that video content has the best ROI
The statistics speak for themselves. Video content is an inbound marketing strategy that takes time and effort to create, but quality video elevates your brand and business in the eyes of the consumer. It’s also an excellent way to offer countless opportunities for potential customers to find you online. Video content is easily shared, from social media to e-mail, and it has far-reaching impacts on lead generation.
Examples of quality video content:
- Tutorial videos that explain complex processes in simple ways
- Industry expert interviews
- Behind-the-scenes insights
- Company culture videos
- Topical trending videos (like the Ice Bucket Challenge or #trashtag)
- Customer reviews and testimonials
Inbound Marketing Lead Generation is Varied and Endless
The above-mentioned inbound marketing lead generation tactics are only scratching the surface of what the “pull” marketing strategy has to offer. Inbound marketing will continue to be an essential component to business growth as long as consumers continue to crave content.
As a result, business leaders and industry innovators strive to find ways to attract potential customers through quality content, be it video, blog articles, or social media and website optimization. It’s your job to find new and exciting ways to engage with consumers online and to create genuine, authentic interactions through your content. Remember, inbound marketing tactics take time to impact business, but when they do the results are worth the effort.
