If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re no stranger to inbound marketing—at least, not completely. Inbound marketing is a fantastic tool for companies looking to create a stronger connection with their audience, and the popularity of inbound speaks for itself; it’s easy to implement, works as advertised, and produces positive results.
But sometimes, agencies and companies alike get caught up in the “process” and forget the why behind what they’re doing. These companies look at their inbound marketing tactics like a strict set of rules that cannot be bent or broken. And we’re here to tell you, that’s B-O-L-O-G-N-A.
If you’re only focusing on the inbound side of your marketing strategy (i.e. blogs, white papers, social media promotion, etc.), you’re missing out on a ton of other avenues for engagement. Creating compelling content is just the beginning.
What happens next? Where do we go from here?
It’s easy to get caught up in the process. Publishing blogs, gating downloadable content, scheduling social media posts… it’s like a never-ending production line or a 24/7 marketing machine. When this happens, the process itself becomes its own obstacle, which means it can get in its own way when you’re trying to build a well-rounded marketing campaign.
In addition, adhering to a strict, unchanging process doesn’t allow you to think smarter about your campaigns, nor does it provide much creativity or flexibility in achieving your goals. It limits your ability to think outside the box, which is a major concern as marketing campaigns tend to ebb and flow, requiring constant tweaks and changes.
That’s why you need to break away from the process, especially if it’s cluttering up your strategy, and think about your marketing campaign holistically. The copy-and-paste-approach won’t work for every company, and if you don’t have the opportunity to think strategically about your campaign using the variety of tools, technologies, and solutions on the market today, what’s the point?
What Should Your Marketing Strategy Focus On?
Take blogs, for example. All of your blog content needs to be created with goals in mind, or else there’s no way to know whether you’re achieving, exceeding, or failing to meet your original expectations. Ask yourself questions like:
- What is the purpose of this blog?
- What pain point or challenge does this blog solve for the reader?
- How will the reader engage after finishing the blog?
But that doesn’t mean each blog needs to be the same—these goals and pain points are a way to keep your content focused. They’re questions you need to be thinking about before, during, and after your content is published.
What about email? Remember, your job isn’t finished once you hit the publish button. You also need to be sure you’re nurturing visitors (in an authentic way) who have submitted their information and have downloaded your gated content. Think about:
- How are you currently nurturing these visitors?
- What kind of emails are you sending and how frequently?
- Are your emails and offers focusing on your prospect’s pain points?
What are you doing to ensure your customers are happy with your business? You need to continue to inform your customers after they’ve purchased your products or services, because guess what? The happier they are about your services, the more likely they are to recommend you on to friends, family, and others via social media.
- Is your team publishing content that your customers love to read/watch?
- Are you using social media to engage customers and keep them checking back for more?
- Are you creating educational content (vs. promotional) that informs your customers?
The content you produce should also be utilized in other channels outside of blogs, email, and social media. The key to creating compelling content is to get it in as many forms as possible—at least, as many forms as your buyer persona is interacting with! Do some research into the most prevalent print magazines and opportunities available for your business, but make sure to choose an outlet your prospects and customers are interested in reading. Additional opportunities include:
- Social Media Ads (Facebook and LinkedIn)
- Videos and Webinars
- Industry Magazines
- Trade Shows
- Etc.
Getting too processed in your inbound marketing campaign can hurt any-sized company, especially those that suffer from shortsightedness. When you’re able to expand your strategy to include opportunities outside of inbound marketing, you’re able to build a more effective, comprehensive solution. Leverage all available marketing tactics available, and you’ll be able to sleep soundly knowing your strategy is covered from top to bottom.
Marketing isn’t black and white. Marketing is colorful, which means your campaigns should be as well. They should incorporate many different elements, tools, and strategies in order to be as effective as possible. When your inbound marketing strategy is too processed—this way and ONLY this way—you aren’t gearing yourself up for success. Eventually, your leads will become stagnant, and you can only write a white paper so many times…
Want to make your inbound marketing strategy a little more colorful with a mix of strategy and design? Let’s talk.
