outbound vs inbound marketing strategy…
Are you employing an Inbound Marketing Strategy as part of your content marketing mix?
Here I will explore the concept of outbound vs inbound marketing strategy and consider whether you are missing opportunities in creating content to work for you as a digital employee.
Does getting organic attention for your posts on social media feel like you are swimming against a tide?
What if I told you building personal brand awareness does not have to feel like that?
For many, social media may feel like an uphill battle when trying to get your content shares seen or get noticed.
Your business or personal brand has you across multiple platforms with each needing your attention, much like a hungry child needing to be fed.
So, you devote resources and energy feeding the social media beast, knowing in 12-24 hours your content will most likely disappear from your network’s news feeds.
We refer to this approach of posting content to get attention as outbound marketing.
Outbound marketing is where you put posts up in the hope someone will see or discover it and if they are kind and interested enough to engage or share it with others.
What we post to social platforms is similar to putting something on a pin board for FREE in the hope someone will see it.
Growing a following in this way can take time and requires a lot of patience.
With the right approaches it is possible to duplicate success, but content needs to be highly strategic and well thought out to achieve consistent results.
Of course, you could also pay to boost the post which would speed up reach.
Both approaches are still outbound strategies and can be somewhat hit and miss.
Whether it is paid or organic, both require spending the resource of either time or money.
Many do not boost posts (i.e. pay to promote) they rely on the quality of their content and the algorithm to do the work.
The trick for great organic social reach is to create highly shareable (i.e. viral) content, but that is still not necessarily easy to do consistently.
Creating viral content is a topic to be shared in another Modern Media School article.
inbound marketing is playing the long game
But for those who play the long game having an inbound marketing strategy may be an easier approach.
Inbound marketing is where people are actively looking and discover you. Usually via search.
These approaches also take time, but they rely on targeted content on specific topics to draw people in.
Your own website, YouTube, Podcasts, Pinterest and LinkedIn are great examples of an inbound approach.
These platforms make it easier for people to find you and the content you create through their search features.
What is more, they are digital assets, often evergreen, which can work for you 24 hours a day.
Having a YouTube channel, podcast and your own website lend themselves to providing inbound content marketing opportunities to bring people to you.
And not just people, people who are interested in what you have to share.
These people then become ‘true fans’ and can follow you on other social media.
The real gains can come when viral content meets your evergreen content strategy and people discover your back catalogue of content.
This could be where your brand explodes on to the stage.
You know the saying… “10 years to overnight success”.
This is what going viral may well mean for some.
Ultimately to build brand the old Advertising 101 saying is still true…
“Not marketing is like winking in the dark, you know what you’re doing, but no one else does”.
The trick is to have the right manageable marketing mix for your business, with the prospect that both will allow others to connect with your brand in both the short and long term.
shifting focus
It pays to ask, what does your social media offer you?
Pivoting to focus on those platforms that pay you to create content is a good consideration too.
Websites, TikTok, YouTube, Podcasting, Drop In Social Audio etc may be a good strategy for you to not only build awareness but also to monetize.
If you receive a notification from a social platform suggesting you pay to “boost” a post, that is a good signal that that algorithm and platform may not actually be working for you.
An SEO strategy that brings unpaid inbound traffic not only serves creators better, but makes sense when they are offering an opportunity for you to generate a little income from your content creation.
Websites also offer the opportunity to monetize through affiliate marketing programs.
Lastly, you must not ignore email, which is a combination of inbound and outbound marketing (or rather communication).
Email and text messaging are still among the best ways to connect with loyal fans, followers or customers and those interested in you or what you offer.
With outbound marketing you are constantly required to feed the child, with inbound marketing you are teaching the children to feed itself.
need help with your content marketing?
Thanks for reading my article. If you are looking for a content marketing coach and consultant to help you improve your content marketing strategy, feel free to contact me via email enquiries@applaudablemedia.com and I will get back to you to negotiate a meeting time and advise of my consulting fees.
With over 3 decades career capital in graphic design, IT and digital content creation. I can help you, “Give VOICE to your brand”.
