The recent trend with marketing is the use of ebooks, blog posts, email campaigns to cover potential customers of a business. These would replace traditional advertising, and it is a bold fact that there is a massive surge towards content marketing for all types of brands. As the surge towards content marketing is on the cards, many brands follow a tactical approach to transform their email subscribers, repeat readers and social followers into customers. The simple reason behind why content marketing is beneficial than traditional advertising is that, ‘ it works well’.
Traditional advertising VS Inbound marketing:
Traditional advertising techniques are found everywhere, these include listing in business directories, trade shows and expos, brand awareness campaigns, newspaper advertising, advertising through radio and television, poster ads and ads in movie theaters, advertising through monitors in shopping malls, airports, etc. Idea behind traditional advertising is to create maximum visibility for a business so as to convert its visitors into potential customers. But the traditional advertising market is fierce and at times, places the business ads of a company with that of its competitors. These ads need to be consistent and repetitive to create a strong effect on consumers and the possibilities are that, bigger companies dominate the industry compared to smaller ones.
Inbound marketing:
Inbound marketing makes use of the internet as a potential marketing tool and allows its customers search and research brands online before making the purchase decision. It offers a stable approach towards advertising and its focus is on winning the attention of the consumer through engaging and up to date contents in the form of blogs, forums, videos and podcasts. Engaging contents connect with the customer positively, helping them connect with the business at the end as it takes control of the customer, It offers more information to the customer than he is actually looking for and provokes the interest of the buyer through engaging content. Nowadays, there are several inbound marketing agencies in Virginia, Washington, DC and all over the US.
Six definite reasons why inbound marketing is better than traditional advertising:
1. It harnesses the complete potential of the internet and social media:
There are more than 25 billion internet users across the world, social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter allows users to like, share and recommend a product at just a click. By tapping the complete potential of internet marketing, online contents are capable of getting viral within seconds as it is being shared by millions of online users.
2. Customers go behind business owners:
Business owners face a welcome change with content marketing, customers go behind them as internet empowers them to look for online business information. Since customers are the ones going behind business owners, the likelihood of them making the final purchase is quite high.
3. Target audience promptly:
Inbound marketing targets content towards specific customers, who would be interested in the offer. No longer business owners have to shoot in the dark and wait for customers to call them back about the offer.
4. Customers are not interrupted:
Customers are not disturbed by calls from tele-marketers or by salespersons at the door. No spam emails, pamphlets or brochures on products they are not interested in disturbs them. They simply search the WWW for what they are interested in and hence the buying decision is completely at their perusal.
5. Incurs less cost compared with print media:
Traditional advertising methods are pretty costly and to set up a campaign for creating brand awareness is a hectic task. Inbound marketing (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbound_marketing) costs much less compared to traditional ways and its potential to gain great results is high.
6. Marketing on the go:
The entire world has gone mobile, with such wireless technologies and mobile development, access to the internet for an average person is available everywhere and anywhere. They are able to search business online and make purchases on the go.
Verdict:
Customers today get educated on the products, before spending their money on them, they visit a number of places online and offline before purchasing the product they want. No doubt marketers work hard to improve their inbound marketing skills to enhance their sales ratio.
