I was sitting with my 92-year-old grandfather and thinking about the changes he’s witnessed over the decades. Technology means the world looks completely different now compared to his childhood. When you narrow down each industry, marketing has been similarly impacted. Marketing a small business has changed more in the last two years than in the previous 50 years combined. Why? The biggest change is inbound marketing.
A Brief Explanation of Inbound Marketing
The sole purpose of traditional marketing is to push marketing messages onto customers. Consider traditional forms of advertising like TV and radio ads, print advertising, telemarketing and direct mail. Customers didn’t ask for it, but they’re seeing it anyway. If that’s the only marketing you’ve been doing, it’s time to make a change. Customers are responding positively to inbound marketing, which doesn’t interrupt people from what they are already doing. Instead, the goal of inbound marketing is to make your business what the customer is interested in so they seek you out for more information.
The Recipe for Inbound Marketing Success
It’s not an accident when an inbound marketing campaign successfully attracts new customers and generates buzz on the Internet. In fact, there’s a specific recipe for success.
Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website for popular search engine terms associated with your business. Focus specifically on the URL, the page title, the header tags, the alt tags in your images, and the text on your site. Strategically placing keywords in these locations will ensure customers see your website first when they’re searching online.
Blogging: One of the very best ways to increase your online footprint is by regularly updating the blog on your website. A well-done blog actually increases your website’s performance in search engines. You can even pair blog posts with premium content – like a landing page where you can build an email list – to generate leads through your blog.
Social Media: Gain visibility through social media platforms like Facebook. Through social media, you’ll find fans of your products and those fans will “like” or “follow” your business for more information. Social media is also a great way for customers to share information with each other. Create a calendar that you can follow so you post consistently.
