7 Rules of Successful Inbound Marketing

Inbound Marketing Rules for Success

Inbound is the methodology that fuels creative content marketing. And when it comes to Inbound Marketing, there are a few rules that marketers must follow in order to be successful. The underlying thread of inbound marketing, that one thing that ties every activity you do, is the concept of delighting your audience. Whether you are providing valuable information to a new prospect, giving your qualified leads reasons to buy from you, or surprising your current customers with outstanding products and services… the same principles hold true: give value, delight and continue to make your audiences’ journey with your company, your products and your services the most seamless, happy and rewarding experience possible. 

But, let’s take a quick step back first. What is Inbound Marketing? According to HubSpot, “Inbound marketing is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. While outbound marketing interrupts your audience with content they don’t want, inbound marketing forms connections they’re looking for and solves problems they already have.”

So now let’s tackle some simple rules for how to think about Inbound Marketing! We’ve created a set of rules for inbound marketing that are fairly simple to remember… and we’ve made it even easier by creating this handy acronym to remind you (and because content is the underlying foundational element of a solid inbound strategy!): C-O-N-T-E-N-T 

 

C = Customer Focused Content

Customer-Focused… this must be your mantra…always. This is the number one rule of inbound marketing! Everything you do should revolve around your customers (and potential customers). When you put your customer first, you embrace the inbound mindset. It’s not about you, your company or your products and services… it’s about the experiences you provide to your audience (from prospects to leads to customers to advocates).

When you have a customer centric approach, you think like the customer. And when you think like the customer, you have a better sense of the problems they face, the issues they need resolved and the things that will make them happy. Thus, as a business, when you have a customer-focused marketing strategy, you think about each stage of the buyers journey and the experiences throughout that will surprise and delight your audience each step of the way.

O = Omni-Channel Content

Omni-Channel presence is critical. You need to be where your customers are and where they expect you to be… not just where it is convenient for you. It’s important to customize your content for each channel as well. A one-size fits all approach won’t cut it. From context to tone, you need to ensure that you have the right strategic approach across all of your marketing channels as well as for different stages of the buyers journey. This takes a lot of work… but if your goal is to delight and retain your customers, then a full-blown omni-channel approach is critical to ensure success for you and your customers. 

 

N = Novel Content

Novel Content is an absolute must! Constantly looking for ways to surprise and delight your audience with new, exciting and fresh content they need (and content they didn’t know they needed!) is more important than ever before. The key is to produce novel content that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It’s unique and it’s hard to come by. That’s what makes it so special. In today’s digital world, everyone is producing content. In fact, everyday there is more content produced than our capacity to consume it all (Content Shock!).

Ensuring that your content is new and fresh will help you stand out. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always be creating content from scratch though. Updating your existing content to ensure it is optimized and up-to-date is also critical. It’s important to look not only at your content, but also at the new and exciting ways you are delivering that content. Are you taking advantage of live video or chat functionality to engage with your audience? By constantly updating what you deliver and how you deliver it, you give your business a fighting chance to be noticed and appreciated. 

 

T = Timely, Relevant & Valuable Content

Timely, relevant and valuable content is essential. Creating content with your customers needs and interests in mind, as mentioned above is key. Ensuring that your content provides value is where the delight part comes into play. Providing value with content can come in many different forms… from a timely response on social media to an in-depth white paper that addresses your target customers’ biggest issues. Knowing where your audience is within the buyers journey is an important piece of the value-driven content strategy.

The type of content you provide to someone experiencing your brand for the first time will also vary greatly from the type of content you provide to long-standing customers. Using a CRM (customer relationship management) system will help you track your audience from their first interaction with you and throughout their journey to becoming a loyal customer. Delivering the right content, to the right audience, at the right time and on the right platform will become easier once you establish what that buyers journey is and how you as an organization plan to inspire and delight your audience with great content.

 

E = Evergreen Content

Evergreen content, the counterpart to trending content, is a critical component of your content marketing strategy. Evergreen content, or content that can stand the test of time, should resonate with your brand strategy and the voice of your organization. It’s the type of content that can be repurposed over and over again, while it’s value doesn’t diminish over time.

Repurposing your best content is not only a smart way to save time and money, but also by creating new forms and formats to reach different audience segments. Think about all the different ways to repurpose your content… from breaking it down into smaller components, building it out into something larger or reformatting to different media types. When you produce high quality evergreen content (as opposed to high quantity, low-value content), you will get the most bang for your buck in the long run. 

 

N = Need-Based Content

Need-based content that your customers want or need to be successful. By making your prospects, leads and customers successful, you are in turn creating an environment of success within your own business. Your company is only as successful as the customers you retain. It’s cyclical – you provide content, products and services that are so valuable to your customers that it aides in making them successful… so they continue to do business with you, becoming loyal customers, brand advocates and influencers of others.

How do you determine what your customers need though? The best way is to create buyer personas. Buyer personas detail not only the demographic and psychographic elements of your target market, but also their behaviors, their wants and needs… and specifically the types of issues and problems they face. Put yourself in your customers shoes. Empathize with your customers to truly understand what they are going through and what they need to be successful. When you do that, you put yourself in the best position to serve them the content, products and services that they need most.  

 

T = Trending Content

Trending content, information and tools that your audience needs to stay on top of their game. When you tie your offerings with trending, time-sensitive, in the “here-and-now” not only do you show your audience that you are current but also that you aren’t just reactionary. You proactively seek out what is trending, and understand the impact of that on your customers’ business… offering advice and solutions along the way.

Whether its the introduction of a new tool, breaking news or seasonal trends – make an impact by jumping in and taking advantage of tying it to your business. The key is that this doesn’t appear to be forced. It has to be a natural fit for your business and the businesses of your audience. Otherwise, it makes no sense and you will lose credibility. 

 

 

Key Takeaways

Inbound Marketing takes effort. It’s not just about producing content for your audience. It’s about delivering value through smart, well-thought out content. It’s about empathizing with your audience by putting yourself in their shoes to truly understand their wants and needs, identify their obstacles and issues and determine how best to delight them throughout their journey with your organization.

Content can be a powerful tool in building relationships with your potential customers all the way through to your loyal customers. When you utilize inbound marketing, you are effectively generating a process to deliver continuous value to your audience at the right time, in the right place and with the right context.