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Inbound Marketing: Truth And Lies

Inbound marketing is the new marketing. Brands: embrace the change. Agencies: learn to become effective and passionate about content.

The state of marketing has changed, thankfully for the better. But there are still a few pervasive misconceptions when it comes to getting the attention of customers, making your company discoverable, and creating content to drive customers to your website.

Here’s a look at a few of them:

 

Truth: Inbound Marketing Moves the Needle

For most brands, a marketing budget is just that: a budget. Inbound marketing on the other hand strategically places your brand in front of its most important customers at the right time in the buying cycle.

This is imperative in today’s marketplace since brands (of all sizes) are fighting for customer dollars. No longer are advertisers just throwing money at out-of-home or TV ads, hoping for a return. They are smarter with their media spend. They know that building a mutually-beneficial relationship brings new customers through the door.

 

Lie: Anyone Can Succeed if They ‘Buy’ Into Inbound Marketing

Nothing replaces a carefully conceived business plan with a quality and innovative product or service. A well-crafted brand will truly understand the market, audience and its position within the market. Often, marketing initiatives fail because the brand isn’t aligned.

This begins with  a company’s brand strategy. Are core beliefs aligned with day-to-day practices? Do you know who your customers are and what they want? How to message to them?

Sure, inbound marketing can be successful if you don’t have a brand strategy, but that’s as good as driving a car with a broken gas gauge and foggy side mirror. It isn’t recommended.

 

Lie: All Inbound Traffic Is Good Inbound Traffic

Having an inbound marketing program is great, but there are many nuances. From the right brand strategy to understanding your personas and audience, ultimate success doesn’t depend on content (although great content helps). Rather, it’s your ability to make course corrections and change the strategy to ensure maximum effectiveness.

While there is no such thing as bad PR, you could lose brand equity should if your strategy isn’t right for your customers and doesn’t align with ultimate goals. Consider short iterations instead of traditional longer cycles. Brands don’t have time to waste on poor inbound tactics, so ensure your brand goals are clearly defined and articulated.

 

Truth: Get On Board ASAP

Inbound marketing is the new marketing. Brands: embrace the change. Agencies: learn to become effective and passionate about content.

 

This article has been edited and condensed.

Steven Picanza is the founder of Latin & Code. He is an entrepreneur and Brand Strategist with a core purpose centered around connecting people, products and organizations with their core audience. With 10+ years experience, it is his “glass is always full” type of attitude coupled with his sheer candor and entrepreneurial spirit that drives him to bring authenticity back into the industry, serve as a catalyst for progress and inspire the next generation to do the same. A version of this post originally published on Advertising Week.

 

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