An inbound marketing campaign seeks to attract customers by offering something of value (an ebook, for example) to draw them in, as opposed to an outbound campaign (such as traditional advertisements). The aim of an such campaigns is to promote a message about a product, service or brand in order to achieve a specific goal; usually this a sign-up or other action that moves the customer into a marketing funnel that ultimately leads to a sale.
This type of campaign, then, does not consist of one piece of content or other offer but rather a long term effort that seeks to achieve both an immediate action and long term results. An inbound marketing campaign needs to be carefully structured so that it aligns with an organization’s business goals and overall mission and provides valuable information to a potential customer. Oftentimes these campaigns are aimed at prospects that are not ready to make a purchase but are interested in doing so at some point. By making contact with such customers early in the sales cycle and promoting the brand and offering useful information, the goal is to create trust with them when the time comes for them to make the purchase.
The initial phase of inbound marketing consists of blog posts, content marketing, videos, events, social media and any other form of content that reaches a potential customer. When done correctly it achieves better results than traditional advertising because customers do not feel that they are being sold to but rather are being offered information and an invitation to engage with the brand. When customers find brands in this way, and particularly if the content has been useful to them, they have a positive attitude towards them when the time comes for them to make a purchasing decision.
Ideally such campaigns reach customers who are sincerely interested in the product or service being marketed which leads to much better lead conversion rates and ongoing customer retention. It means that customers are primed to engage at any time without any additional prompting from the marketer and generates qualified leads for very little additional outlay. This type of campaign should ideally empower the buyer with all the information they need to make a purchasing decision, at any time and in any place. A good campaign will provide detailed specifications, pricing, useful information, product reviews among other information they may be seeking. This type of marketing is powerful because it can answer any questions a customer might have before making their purchase. It builds trust, authority and reputation and offers the customer something of value and they will, ideally, reciprocate with a purchase.
