Trying to attract more traffic to your website? You’re not the only one. 61% of marketers say growing their search engine optimization (SEO) or organic presence is a high inbound marketing priority.

However, many companies are still attached to their outbound marketing tactics. 

Unsure about the difference between inbound and outbound marketing? You’re in luck! Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the difference between inbound and outbound marketing. 

By learning the difference, you can create a well-rounded marketing plan for the new year!

Strengthen your marketing with this guide on inbound and outbound marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing uses well-crafted tactics to attract buyers to your products or services. These tactics involve related content and incentives that inspire people to learn more. Inbound marketing tactics also encourage people to identify their needs and request more information before making a purchase. 

As a result, you’re attracting customers to you, rather than forcing your product or service on them.

Most inbound marketing tactics are aligned with content marketing. These programs allow you to attract unknown people to interact with your business. 

One difference between inbound and outbound marketing is the focus on personalization.

Inbound marketing tactics allow companies to craft personalized messages in order to reach prospective buyers. Companies can also split their audiences into buyer personas in order to develop different messages.

By using personalization, you’re more likely to create brand loyalty and trust. As a result, prospects are more likely to become long-term customers. Then, you can build your business through repeat purchases. 

With digital inbound marketing tactics, you’ll have the data you need to optimize your marketing campaigns. Then, you can make informed decisions regarding how you can improve your campaigns and attract more customers.

Types of Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing tactics allow companies to attract prospects to inquire about your products or services.

For example, SEO allows you to rank your website higher on search engines like Google. People search Google to find answers to their questions about products, services, or common problems. By writing SEO-optimized content, you can encourage people to visit your website and learn more about your business.

You can also use content marketing in combination with SEO to attract prospective buyers.

Content marketing includes creating infographics, social media posts, and videos. 52% of marketers said video is the content medium with the highest return on investment.

Social media, on the other hand, allows you to connect with prospects and customers.

One difference between inbound and outbound marketing is it creates a two-way conversation. You can use social media to create a dialogue and learn more about your customers.

You can also use inbound marketing to connect your campaigns. Creating a cohesive user experience will help you lead potential customers through the sales funnel. As people learn about your business, they’ll learn to trust you as well.

What is Outbound Marketing?

Even before the term “marketing” existed, companies focused on finding ways to convince consumers to buy their products. However, many of the traditional outbound marketing tactics were and are intrusive. 

These marketing tactics demand that people pay attention. With outbound marketing, marketers are focused on getting the word out about their products. However, they’re less focused on creating a positive experience for their consumers. 

Instead of attracting customers toward your business, outbound marketing focuses on pushing the business on consumers.

Outbound marketing starts with some basic understanding of your target audience. Then, it builds a program to educate those prospects about your products and services. 

One difference between inbound and outbound marketing is the later is a one-way conversation. Outbound marketing focuses on the product and why prospects should purchase it. However, outbound marketing is focused on reaching a larger, broader audience.

As a result, this causes marketers to create a broad message in order to reach the largest number of people. However, this leads you unable to focus on attracting and retaining long-term customers.

Pushing a broad message on your audience isn’t effective. Today, people know how to avoid these marketing tactics. If you’re solely using outbound marketing, you need to consider how to reach your prospects and what will turn them into customers.

Types of Outbound Marketing

There are various types of outbound marketing tactics you can choose from. Regardless of which you choose, these outbound marketing tactics help companies get the word out about their products or services. However, it’s important to remember these marketing tactics are designed to reach a broad audience.

For example, many companies using print and direct mail marketing. 

This outbound marketing tactic allows advertisers to market their products and services in print magazines and newspapers. 

The first magazine was printed in the mid-18th century. Since then, companies have used print ads to announce their products and services. 

Direct mail, on the other hand, involves catalogs, flyers, and “junk mail” you might find in your mailbox. 

One difference between inbound and outbound marketing is outbound is easy to avoid. We’re used to finding and disposing of junk mail as soon as we receive it. As a result, many companies find direct mail marketing a waste of money. 

Another popular form of outbound marketing is TV and radio ads. Back in the 1920s, advertisers began sponsoring shows in order to play their ads. Now, companies use TV and radio ads to craft creative, innovative ads to entertain and attract new customers. 

Billboards are also a common form of outbound marketing. However, it’s easy for customers to drive right by these ads. 

These marketing tactics also lack personalization. Meanwhile, you’ll lack the data you need to make adjustments for improving your ads. As a result, you might fail to strengthen your ads for a better ROI.

Understanding The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing

Knowing the difference between inbound and outbound marketing can help you craft stronger campaigns. By combining the two, you can reach more customers and ensure your company continues to grow.

Ready to get started? Contact me today to start using inbound and outbound marketing to grow your business.

92% of individuals trust word-of-mouth recommendations. It only shows the power of peer to peer marketing. 

Peer to peer marketing is very powerful because it relies on who you listen to the most. Your wife, your closest friends or co-workers could be the reason why you make a decision. 

More importantly, your peers reflect your choices. That’s why peer to peer marketing is on the rise and a pivotal part of our lives if it’s looking at what our peers say on Yelp or Google to what they say to us in person. 

Peer to peer marketing is becoming more important than ever, especially with Generation Z influencers on social media. 

This kind of marketing is incredibly important to your business and how to get people to talk to other people about your business. 

Here’s what you need to know about peer to peer marketing and how it’s changing the future of advertising and business. 

Pick a Niche for Peer to Peer Marketing

As with any kind of advertising, you have to pick a niche in order to for peer to peer marketing to succeed. 

You have to solve a problem for a specific audience. This will help you uncover what kind of marketing you want to do for a specific audience and help you develop your product. 

More importantly, figuring out your niche will help you discover what kind of problems your customer has and who is your current competition that is also serving your customer. 

Figuring out your niche, specifically who your core audience is, can help you figure out how to best reach your audience.

You’ll find that influencer or peer to peer marketing is something that Millenials and Gen Z heavily rely on when they make their decisions.

They are looking for authenticity over just a brand name. 

You can find more about digital marketing trends in 2020 on our website that help supplement your marketing approach, specifically how to stay on top of market trends in your industry.  

The Do’s and Don’ts

You don’t want to pick 5 different niches as an attempt to sale to everyone. The broader you get, the less valuable people see you because you are trying to serve everybody. 

You do want to pick a niche, focus on the customer, and show what authentic your product is and what it can do for them. 

Influencer Marketing Strategies

After you’ve picked a niche and figured out who your target market is, you’ll need to create an effective message. More importantly, you need to figure out how to send this message.

Influencer marketing is on the rise because it takes into account the authenticity of the message over the salesmanship. 

People want a genuine message about a product that relates to them. They want to hear from people who have had the same experiences and struggles that they have had. It’s why people buy from influencers because they have the answer. 

This is why businesses are hiring influencers to speak about their products. 

An influencer who has millions of fans gives a shout out to your business will often do wonders for your business as opposed to doing something yourself.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t try to market your product yourself with your influence if you don’t have any followers. 

What you should do is reach out to influencers who take your product to the next level. Influencers can show the authenticity of it. They can make it more relatable to your ideal customer. 

Offer Incentives to Your Customers

A coupon or points can act as an incentive to your customers. 

Peer to peer marketing is about appearing authentic in how you tell people about your product, which can then lead to other people telling their friends and family about your product. 

This is called word-of-mouth. 

Word-of-mouth or someone who refers to your business is also a form of peer to peer marketing that doesn’t necessarily involve influencers. It just involves other people telling other people. 

One way to increase the likelihood of this happening is by offering customers an incentive every time they refer somebody to your business. You can send out an email that offers a discount for when they fill out a review of your business. 

Or you can have a referral program that offers promotions and discounts to your customers every time they refer somebody to your business.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t tell your customers to refer to other businesses without an incentive. 

What you should do is offer an incentive that gives people a reason to talk about your business. It also gives them a reason to come back to your business.  You are creating a lifelong customer. 

In addition to peer to peer marketing strategies, you should also figure out how to build a brand name to attract influencers. You can read more about how to build a social media campaign on our blog. 

How Does Peer to Peer Marketing Affect Your Business? 

Peer to peer marketing is about creating authenticity. And authenticity is built on trust and peer to peer marketing. 

Newer generations want to be able to trust the product, and who better to trust than someone who is exactly like them, like an influencer. 

Influencer marketing is becoming more prevalent because it’s less about the history of the brand name and more about the personalized message. Marketing is more personal than ever because it focuses on the individual and their needs. 

As a business owner, you have to decide how to get your message to your audience with peer to peer marketing. Who is spreading the news of your product? 

It can be influencers on social media. It can be offering discounts to past clients as a way to incentivize them to spread the word about your product. 

You can find more information on how we help businesses with peer to peer marketing by contacting us. 

Are you looking to take your business to the next level? Times have changed. 

The internet is now the leading way to recruit new customers and solidify relationships with past clients. If you aren’t sure about your online appearance, chances are you’ve already fallen behind.

Digital media consultants are on the front lines of this new frontier. These marketing experts help to ensure that budding companies have all they need to capture consumer attention. 

If you’ve never worked with a digital marketing consultant before, read on. We’re here to cover a few of the many topics that they can help you improve. 

What’s Up With Your Website?

One of the first mistakes your business may have made? A poorly designed website. Think of your website as your online store.

Are the shelves messy? Is your location poorly stocked? Is it visually stimulating?

While having a website with limited functionality can be permissible, it’s only true for a handful of businesses that aren’t selling products online. If your business is a talent agency, for example, you may choose not to include a client list online.

In this case, some simple features like an “About Us” section and a contact form may be all you need. For e-commerce websites, however, you’ll want to include more.

Potential customers are savvier than ever and often do their research before making a purchase. Does your website include product and return information? Do you have reviews listed?

If you primarily sell on large e-commerce platforms like Amazon, you may choose not to offer your product for sale on your website. Instead, you should be sure to include active hyperlinks to where the product can be found. 

Is Your Website Optimized for Mobile Devices?

Another common mistake is having a website that isn’t optimized for mobile use. Because so many potential customers will use their mobile devices to do product research, you’ll want to make sure that your website looks good on a smartphone or tablet.

Try opening your website on your mobile device to preview the site. Does it have limited functionality? Does the formatting look strange? You could be losing customers because of it.

Social Media Matters

Social media isn’t just about scrolling pictures of your ex. Social media is a cash cow for the businesses smart enough to use it to their advantage.

Businesses smart enough to get in early have used social media and influencer branding to take their online presence to new heights. Here’s a case study of a brand making money moves: Can you name the brand that turned a handful of small shopping mall locations into one of the most recognizable brands online?

Here’s a hint. Through a strong social media strategy, this brand partnered with a wide array of influencers to bring their social media following to an audience of over 16 million. 

Today, this brand dresses top female talent like Cardi B and Kylie Jenner. Proof in point that influence matters. 

Getting Started with Social Media

Your online presence should say something about your company. Creating an online presence means creating an image that falls in line with your brand. It should express the mood of your company and your company values.

If you’re selling high-end furniture, you won’t want to include poorly shot photos on your Instagram feed. In this case, you’ll want well lit, professionally shot photos that cater to your clientele. In this case, you may want to focus on spending your social media budget on a professional photographer. 

Working with influencers can present additional challenges if your product is too large to send through the mail. In this case, you may want to search for influencers who regularly post from locations near you.

Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that the influencers you work with have an authentic following. Before agreeing to any paid partnership, you should ask to see the analytics for the account you’ll like to partner with. 

This information will give you additional insight into the influencer’s audience. This information should include top cities, gender, and age group statistics.

Don’t Throw Away Money

High-value items can often garner in-kind partnerships. So before you make an offer, consider the value of the item you’d be offering. While macro-influences will most likely require money and product in exchange for a post, micro-influencers may be willing to work with you for in exchange for the product.

Don’t just throw money at influencers or advertisements. Digital consultants can help you determine which campaigns will work for you before you throw down your hard-won ad dollars. By recruiting a marketing specialist, you can save yourself money in the long run by ensuring that your ads pull their weight.

Bottom line? These experts will help to ensure that the audience viewing your advertisements is the demographic you want to reach. If you’re selling car-seats for infants, it won’t matter if a million people see your advertisement if they don’t have children or live outside of your shipping range.

Why Hire Digital Media Consultants for Your Business?

In the internet age, there is more white noise than ever. Oversaturation can place your business at risk of becoming just another online brand. 

By working with skilled digital media consultants, you can assess the shortcomings you may not have otherwise detected and help your business rise to the top.

Working with a digital marketing consultant may not come cheap, but chances are your best competition already has media consultants working on their side. If you believe in your business, you owe it to your future to carve out your slice of online traffic.

Want to learn more? Contact us today. We can offer helpful information to make your business stand out in the digital age.

Technology and its advancements continue to take marketing to new frontiers. With 2019 already in its second half, you may wonder what is in store for digital marketing next year.

One of the best ways to keep in step with the changing times is following the latest trends. Businesses who follow the trends to determine if they are on the right track. They improve the way they engage with their target market.

What are the upcoming trends to watch out for? What are the things that will shape the future of digital marketing in 2020 and beyond?

Continue reading below as we tackle some of them.

A Glimpse at the Future of Digital Marketing

With the dynamic world of digital marketing, innovations arise more often than ever. To stay in pace with changes, you need to know what is happening. You should know what companies are anticipating over the next few months.

Here are 10 digital marketing trends that you should incorporate in your strategies.

1. Emotion Analysis

Artificial intelligence continues to change the world of digital marketing. By next year, expect to see more companies using analysis of emotions. This pertains to the analysis of keywords that people use when expressing sentiments.

Companies only need one keyword to perform an analysis. If you comment the word “excellent,” artificial intelligence (AI) will study your comment. It will determine if your post is positive or negative.

From there, they can make the necessary adjustments in their products and customer services.

2. Voice Search

Another trend that uses AI is voice search. More companies will likely incorporate voice input. This means that customers will send in their requests by voice search.

You will likely see a similar approach in online maps. More establishments and online stores will use online maps. This will help customers locate them faster.

3. Chatbots

Chatbots is another trend to watch out for in 2020. Chatbots provide instant responses to customers via chat. They can answer all of the customers’ queries 24/7.

Companies also use chatbots to introduce new products and services. Today, about 70% of websites use chatbots. But the quality is not yet at its optimum.

Furthermore, surveys reveal that 63% of consumers prefer connecting with a brand by messaging a chatbot online. By 2022, experts project that chatbots will help save businesses $8 billion per year.

4. Intense Personalization

Despite the internet playing a crucial role in the way people transact, consumers prefer more personalization when it comes to content. Marketers will produce more personal messages to their customers.

They will also deliver these messages on time. Studies reveal that 63% of consumers do not appreciate generic advertising. Moreover, 80% say they prefer dealing with brands that give them personalized experiences.

Some companies already upped the ante in terms of personalization. Cadbury launched a video campaign wherein they matched their Dairy Milk flavor with certain customers.

They used the customers’ data like their age, location, interests, and details from their Facebook profiles.

5. Shoppable Posts

Expect to see more companies using shoppable posts. These are posts that allow consumers to purchase the product directly from the picture or video they are viewing.

By simply hovering their cursor over the image or video, they can click on a “Buy Now” option. Once they click the link, the image will redirect them to the product page. This feature significantly reduces the buying time the customers.

Today, Pinterest and Instagram are shopping destinations for millions of online users. These social media platforms integrate the images with links directing consumers.

6. More Interactive Content

People will look for more interactive content in 2020. They will ask for more online quizzes and polls. They will also crave for more 360-degree videos.

Interactive content will give consumers a reason to go back to the company’s website. It will also give them the power to share the content with their network. It creates opportunities for brand awareness.

7. Social Messaging

The year 2020 will also showcase more people using social messaging apps. Facebook Messenger alone is home to over 10 billion monthly message exchanges.

But beyond the personal exchanges, people will use these platforms to connect with companies and vice-versa. More businesses will use social messaging to strengthen relationships with existing clients.

They will also use them to educate their target market about new products. They will also extend their customer support through social messaging apps.

8. Mobile Optimization

Marketers will put more focus on mobile OS optimization. This is because Google is now prioritizing mobile-first indexing.

Moreover, marketers may need to look into new mobile ads network. This is for possible use in their in-app ads.

Additionally, more people will realize the benefits of mobile transactions. They will prefer to buy online than visit physical stores.

9. Focus on Psychological Variables

Companies will put a premium on psychological variables. They will take this route to focus more on the individual instead of a broader audience. Through this, they will gain more access to behavioral attitudes and demographics.

They will also use tools like heat maps. This will enable companies to understand their customers and the reasons they visit their websites.

10. AR/VR Marketing

Last but not least, AR and VR marketing will continue to shape the future of digital marketing. More companies will launch AR and VR marketing initiatives. These immersive technologies easily excite consumers.

They give people something new to look forward to.

AR and VR marketing enhances the overall customer experience. It entices them to try products and buy them eventually.

Between the two, however, AR will likely outpace VR. This is because AR is much easier to implement when it comes to marketing.

Be a Step Ahead in Digital Marketing

Getting a glimpse of the future of digital marketing should excite you for next year. But excitement alone is not enough if you wish to stand out from the rest. You need to build a solid digital marketing strategy using the right knowledge.

I invite you to experience our consulting practice. I help companies improve their digital marketing capabilities.

I provide workshops to teach you the essentials. I formulate marketing projects to help you implement your strategies.

Send me a message and let me know what you need. Let’s take you a step ahead through topnotch digital marketing.