Inbound Marketing

Please….Listen to the chorus of this anthem again: You oughta know -  Social media tools are most effective because they can result in  inbound marketing.  That’s right – people will actually contact you. What a concept!

While the video gets right to the point in painting Cold Calling and other forms of one-way-conversation marketing as less than effective, the sad truth is that these methods are still being used every day. What a waste.  Businesses today use e-mail filters and anti-spam software to remove unwanted messages, and even if a message does make it to their inbox, there’s no guarantee it will be opened. An e-mail newsletter open-rate of 10 to 20% is considered successful.  Imagine thinking an 80% ignore-rate is a measure of success!

Telephone cold calling is thankfully not being used as much as it was, but there’s a reason why that industry’s training material used to include an exercise called “the road to a thousand no’s”. Not very good ROI there.

Instead, why not use Social Media Marketing tools to attract clients to you? Start a conversation ..invite people to respond… your blog has a comments section, ask questions, let the world know what sets you apart. What’s your online brand? Your online presence, website, blog, social networking entries should reflect YOU. As Shane Gibson said at an IIMA meeting in April 2010, “you can’t outsource your personality”.  Figure out who you are, and be authentic.  It’s a bit like being at a cocktail party; you don’t need to talk with everyone – just the ones who want to talk with you.

Using inbound marketing techniques allow you to be found by your customers. Next time you’re about to post to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn ask yourself, ” What will this entry do to attract customers? Am I being true to my brand?” If you’re about to broadcast to the world “buy my stuff” it’s not inbound marketing – it’s spam.