State of Inbound Marketing Strategy
Inbound marketing is a process to show your content to potential customers wherever they are looking. Inbound Marketing uses various ways of search engine optimization, social media, analytics, mobile and local marketing. There are lots of strategies to drive inbound marketing, and it is said to be complicated. Moreover, inbound marketing trends keep on changing- 500 times a year. Inbound marketing is essential to grow any business but what works today may not work tomorrow. In the competitive landscape, it is necessary for companies to stay ahead of the curve and keep track of upcoming trends of inbound marketing.
Let us discuss some upcoming trends and the state of Inbound marketing
1.Guest Blogging is a hidden treasure
Blogging drives organic inbound traffic, and you are, losing increase in ROI if you are not blogging consistently. Blogging takes time when there is no traffic, but guest blogging on industry expert website helps to bring relevant traffic back to your company’s website. In case of Guest Blogging, you need to search industry websites which have a considerable following and read their current blog posts to identify their target audience. If the audience is same as yours, you should post your best work for their approval. Guest Blogging can be used to get a lot of inquiries for new services and drive high-quality traffic. If you need a better outcome from Guest Blogging, you should keep a target of 5 to 6 top industry websites every month.
2.Content plays an important role
A robust content strategy can build awareness and outperform your competitors from social media ROI to SEO. In 2018, marketers need to focus on creating content which has maximum impact. In case of content, companies should focus on following trends
Long Content
As per Google, posts which are more than 2000 words rank high in search engine. Posts which are long drives inbound traffic. Long posts are created by step by step instructions and by repurposing your content.
Smart and Personalized Content
Smart content is one of the ways to incorporate contextual marketing in your websites. Personalized smart content is delivered to customers who have previously interacted with your site by using cookies and dynamic lists. If customers receive personalized content, they feel welcomed by the site which strengthens their relationship with the brand. With personalized and smart content, the marketer can track data for their customer and nurture accordingly based on the stage of buyer’s journey.
Interactive content:
Nowadays, marketers are using various elements of interactive content like videos, animation, calculators, quizzes, tools and surveys. Interactive content allows your readers to interact, engage and learn via different mediums. Interactive content is being used by companies to engage their customers.
3.Live Stream and Live Chats
Live stream gives the real-time action of something and provides the transparency that your customers love. There are various platforms like Facebook live and Instagram. Live Stream can help you to expand your reach and track your customer’s responses by looking at the feedback section. The best way to create sensation is to react to something big, give it unscripted feel and prize immediately. People are not interested in filling forms for free content. To solve this problem, Live Chat is the best option. Based on research by Drift, Live Chat increased the click-through rate by 63%. It is the best way to get one-on-one solution and information from your customers quickly.
4.Chatbots
n any business, the potential customer goes through sales funnel while making a buying decision. Chatbots are being implemented by marketers on their website to reach out and help their customer. Chatbots provides an active and personalized experience and also handles simple queries. Chatbots, help in developing new marketing content, lead generation and conversion rates. The entire marketing experience is predicted to change due to Chatbots.
5.Snapchat and Podcasts
Previously, Snapchat was only a photo messaging app, but now it has grown into an advertising platform. Snapchat has something to do with an urgency that produces content which goes away after 24 hours. This element of Snapchat plays a vital role since it cuts through the noise and instantly captures reader’s attention. Based on data from HubSpot Marketing statistics, 11% of marketers are planning to use Podcasts in their strategy. The podcast is a platform which is content convenient- people do not need to be stuck to their desktop, and they can listen to Podcasts when stuck in traffic. It is a fun way for your users to access content and it is cost effective.
In 2018, some exciting developments are happening in technology and inbound marketing that marketers should focus on to have the edge over the competition. Join us, as we plan to explore these trends and broaden our marketing approach.