Inbound Marketing is composed of a set of techniques to capture a user at the beginning of their buying process, at the top of the sales funnel, and guide them through the entire process until they complete a conversion. It is a non-intrusive stream of Online Marketing based on the concept of allowing the user to find you, rather than the other way around. Through relevant, useful, and value-added content for the user, they are accompanied and guided in the purchasing process through lead nurturing.
Inbound Marketing Phases
Attract
In this phase, users are directed to a website with information that can be useful to satisfy a curiosity or need, even if they haven't yet evaluated our product or service and are unaware of it. The attraction strategy will be based on content creation and distribution through SEO, SEM, social media, or advertising on other channels such as television or radio.
Convert
In this phase, the goal is to convert website visits into registrations in the company's database. This way, we obtain data from the user voluntarily provided, and we can start establishing personalized communications. In exchange for some interesting data, such as their email, we can offer them downloadable free content such as ebooks or webinars. Once we obtain the contact data, the user becomes a lead.
Educate
Once we have obtained their email address, we can start educating the user and continue accompanying them through the sales funnel. This process is known as Lead Nurturing. One of the key factors in this phase is personalization. The more we know about the user, the more accurate our communications can be in achieving a conversion.
Delight
Once the conversion has taken place, Inbound Marketing aims to delight the customer with our service or product, encouraging them to become a repeat customer and even recommend it to other potential customers.
Inbound Marketing Tools
Inbound Marketing makes use of various Online Marketing tools to attract and guide users through the buying or subscription process. Some of the commonly used tools include:
SEO
SEM
Social Media
Social Ads
Blogging
Landing Pages
Marketing Automation CRM
Events and Public Relations