Marketing is an ever changing field of business that professionals are still spending a lifetime to truly grasp. Ever since the need to sell a product or service existed, so has the idea of using effective marketing.
From the traditional yellow book ads to the fifteen second long Snapchat ads that dash over our mobile screens today, it’s safe to say that marketing has evolved faster in the past ten years than ever before.
At one time in history, using cutting edge technology was limited to just a small fraction of the population. Now, with technology advancing quickly and customers becoming more picky with what media they allow to be interrupted by, it’s incredibly important for marketers to use tactics that will provide the most bang for their buck.
Let’s look at which methods are making waves through the cluttered media scene and what are leaving old fashioned brands behind in the dust.
Marketing Back In The Day
Let’s go back a decade in time and revisit the marketing environment that grabbed the attention of customers. The year is 2008, the stock market just crashed, the Lehman Brothers just caused a worldwide recession, and iPhones are still a considered a prized possession for the richest to enjoy.
What type of marketing do you think was convincing enough for businesses to pull customers out of the trenches? The answer was outbound marketing, a method thatis very interruptive and pushes out a brand’s message to a mass audience. This was never dependent on whether or not the audience wanted to actually hear it. The types of vehicles that are included in outbound marketing are the cliche television and radio ads you’ve heard as a kid, traditional telemarketing, pop up banner and display ads, roadside billboards, cut out newspaper ads, or door to door cold calling.
Back in the 2000’s, these methods worked like a charm since our phones were not as advanced as they are today. People were still walking outside and actually looking at what ads or posters were mounted up in their surroundings. We had cable lines attached to walls that rang with questions from salesmen, we still treasured the Sunday newspaper, and our living room television was our best friend.
I remember waking up early on Saturday as a kid was the best time to catch great TV cartoons and funny commercials. Today, premium Hulu is available for even a five year old to skip ads and watch shows on via iPad.
Introducing the Internet
Although the Internet has been around for much longer than ten years, the advances that it has allowed for technology has been unprecedented. With the rise of Facebook videos, Instagram ads, Snapchat news, the online blogging scene, and online or on demand television via Netflix, there is less and less space for physical ads to catch the eye of shopping consumers.
Just think about it. When was the last time you were in a grocery store and looked at your paper catalog for the best box of cookies to buy? Most likely you pulled out your phone, entered “what is the best tasting cookie brand” on Google through the Safari app, and read customer reviews instead.
To keep up, most brands are using internet marketing, or “inbound marketing” to behave as a hub to attract these technology adapted consumers.Instead of spreading a generic message to thousands of people, it’s been found more effective to pull in potential customers with interesting content that provides them valuable information.
As a result, using inbound marketing involves writing exciting blog posts, posting engaging videos and pictures on social media, sending out encouraging email newsletters, and other content to people who are already interested in your product.
Another popular method that falls under inbound marketing is using search engine optimization to boost the visits to a website through seamless software design, keyword placement, and professional content.
In a nutshell, if you are providing information that is engaging enough and calls for action, customers are more likely to interact with it, share it with their network online, and build a positive impression of your brand that influences purchasing decisions in the long run. Placing the relationship with customers at the forefront is the key to keeping your business at the top of their list.
Successful Inbound Campaigns
It’s definitely confusing to think about how inbound marketing works without a solid example to go off from. In the past few years, social media marketing has boosted the idea of inbound marketing to new levels as it has the power to make or break up and coming brands.
As a fitness nerd, I’ve been closely following the growth of the activewear brand Gymshark over the past few years. Compared to powerhouse brands like Nike or Adidas, their brand has a full grasp of using calls to action for its customers and building a genuine relationship with its followers through social media influencers.
Instead of airing commercials to millions of people who may or may not be interested in fitness, Gymshark has used the power of popular content creators and organically promoted coupon codes to promote its clothes. As a result, any customer can visit its fitness blogs, official website, or Instagram accounts and see how it’s spearheading a positive moment involving millions of people to get active in the gym.
Another great example of inbound marketing is by looking at the efforts of one of my entrepreneurs, Gary Vaynerchuk. As a social media guruand overall marketing genius, he constantly is pushing out free content to his followers with free ebooks, marketing based podcasts, and Youtube videos for people interested in the idea of marketing itself to consume.
From there, he asks for email addresses and Youtube subscriptions in return which eventually lead to people buying his books and other online products. With the leverage of acting as a genuine resource to his network, people are constantly sharing his content and allowed him to catapult to extreme fame in the past few years.
Be Your Own Consultant
You don’t have to have a PhD in marketing or have millions of dollars to design an effective marketing campaign for your business. The point is that you can use inbound marketing and outbound marketing wisely to push your brand’s messages with different media platforms. The smart thing to do is to take time to double down on what your customer niche is and where they are consuming content every day.
After doing that research, choose what aspects of outbound marketing you can invest a bit in. Then, look at what inbound strategies will give you the most cost effective results and reach your desired customers directly. The power isleveraging traditional marketingtechniques with the internet and social media to achieve amazing growth!
