Judging by the number of articles currently being published, one might get the impression that inbound marketing is on the verge of eliminating outbound (sometimes referred to as “push marketing”) in the battle for eyeballs. We don’t think that’s an accurate assessment at all. If you look closely, you’ll see that many have started to adopt a hybrid approach.
They are taking the best pieces of each methodology and combining their power to improve the ROI of their marketing efforts even more than either approach could do alone.
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Marketing isn’t a zero-sum game. It doesn’t have to be “either/or.” It can be “yes, and.” Plus, this new hybrid or “integrated” approach has a lot going for it, as traditional inbound and outbound techniques work quite well together, as you’ll soon see.
Advantages of Inbound Marketing
The tactics are much less hasty and rely more on the user to take the initiative, generating trust, brand awareness and credibility.
Your inbound marketing strategy is all about content, attention, engagemen cambodia whatsapp number trust, and satisfaction. All of these elements have one goal: helping companies connect with their potential customers and establish a two-way communication channel to increase sales.
It puts you in touch with a lot more data than a standard newspaper ad. It tells you where your traffic is coming from, the specific content that attracted them, where they are in the buying cycle, and much more.
Inbound leads cost 61% less on average than outbound ones. Exceptional content is not only educational for your visitors, but it is also a critical factor in search engine optimization.
It’s about empowering potential customers and shifting to marketing tactics that make a real difference in how consumers react to a company. The goal of inbound marketing is to offer consumers the types of content that will be relevant and useful.
Advantages of Outbound Marketing
Reach your target audience faster . Outbound marketing campaigns allow businesses to reach a wider audience and expand their potential customer base through various channels such as advertising, cold email, and cold calling.
Raise brand awareness . Outbound marketing strategies aim to leave a mark on the minds of consumers by creating brand awareness.
Lead Generation – Smart outbound marketing can help you generate more qualified leads by reaching a wider audience and accessing new target market segments.
Effective for various types of businesses . Outbound marketing can serve various types of businesses, such as sole proprietors and small businesses, as it is easy to implement.
Variety of strategies and techniques . Outbound strategies include a variety of strategies and techniques, such as advertising, cold emailing, cold calling, trade shows, and content syndication, which can target many people.
There are four main areas where we are seeing this hybrid approach take hold: pay-per-click (PPC), email campaigns, content-based outbound campaigns, and trade shows and special events.
Hybrid marketing in PPC campaigns
Despite the rumors, pay-per-click advertising is far from dead. In fact, it is the best example of the synergy of these two marketing methods. The very nature of a paid ad is taken straight from the outbound marketing playbook, while the targeting behavior is 100% inbound.
Most modern advertising platforms (Google AdWords, Facebook Ads Manager) allow for advanced targeting. Starting with basic demographic information like age and location, they add income level, education level, interests, and more. Then they add the ability to filter by site activity (e.g. Facebook group membership). If we add more standard keyword filtering, we can see the power of inbound techniques to better target our traditional outbound ads.
To further this connection, you can link your PPC ad directly to a landing page for a related special offer or gated, downloadable content , increasing conversion rates by directing clicks directly to a data collection form.
Email campaigns: Outbound tactic supported by inbound methods
Email marketing walks a similar line between inbound and outbound. Most are done using standard outbound techniques, such as using a purchased contact list to send sales material directly to people who might be interested. However, these people didn't ask for that information, so it's either a success or a failure.
On the other hand, inbound email marketing uses potential customers who have voluntarily provided their contact information through a form, a sign-up sheet, or by registering to access gated content. These emails have a much higher success rate, as the audience has been self-selected and consists only of people you know are interested in your product.
New call to action
When you apply inbound best practices to your outbound campaigns, the combination of methodologies comes into play. Since the audience is not the same, a self-selected group of people, and you don't know how your email will impact them, it is key to use some inbound techniques to make them feel comfortable regarding your intentions:
Be human
Provide exceptional and useful information in your first email
Personalize your message; speak to the person
Talk directly about your weaknesses
By following these guidelines, you will help your new audience get a feel for you and your company by setting a friendly, non-pushy tone and making you eager to provide fantastic, informative content to support your sales efforts.
What's the best strategy for you? Learn more about Smart Marketing!