Inbound Methods to Consider for Your Next Marketing Campaign

Inbound/Outbound - Don't Be Shy About Sharing

A quick glance at almost any marketing magazine, ezine or newsletter tells you that "inbound marketing" is trending. There's a great deal of buzz about inbound, and in our opinion, there are good reasons why. Inbound is a phenomenon born out of the digital revolution. It's organizing principles and methods reflect indisputable changes in consumer behavior and preferences as a result of the internet. So where does that leave you if you're producing traditional marketing collateral? Well it certainly doesn't need to leave you out! Why let "inbounders" keep the new trend to themselves? Why not cherry pick items from the inbound menu that can make your own product even better than it already is?

Read More Tips on Using Buyer Personas with Outbound Collateral

What Makes Sense to Share 

We suggest giving thought to several inbound ideas before embarking on a new "outbound" marketing campaign. Among those factors to consider are:

• Long-tail keywords - since nearly every piece of collateral we produce eventually ends up on the web, consider using SEO techniques and incorporate long-tail keywords based on your target customer or buyer persona. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by an unexpected visitor.
• Identify a pain-point - rather than trying to grab a potential customer's attention with your product, consider delivering an answer to a problem that they find troubling. Focus on the solution and show how your client is uniquely qualified to provide it.
• Use selective language - not everyone speaks in your vernacular so consider addressing the potential customer in their own colloquial manner. Choose words familiar to the buyer persona and use vocabulary that is easy for search engines to crawl.
• Employ calls to action (CTA's) - after you point your message in the buyer's direction, consider using a CTA that requests them to point back to you. Include content that is value laden, engaging and likely to evoke a response. 
• Include banner ads - Consider placing your CTA's in appealing banner ads designed to attract. Link the banner to other related content.
• Blogify - consider magnifying the power of your collateral by linking it to company blogs that reference your product, program or solution.

Read More Adopting Inbound Tactics: Keywords in Marketing Collateral

Most of all, consider Inbound marketing methods as another set of tools to add to your box. Take them out. Experiment. Play. Have fun while creating powerful collateral with rewarding ROI.