​Is Your Business Inbound? Here’s a 10-Step Checklist

Like most ideas, the latest in effective marketing approaches begins with a buzzword: inbound.

So, when someone asks at a networking event if you’re on board with this new marketing approach, you might nod and smile then quickly move on to mingle with someone else.

The truth is, the concept of inbound makes tons of sense today as the customer has the power to seek and find solutions on their own. With inbound, it’s all about providing content that your audience desires so they will come to you—rather than mass broadcast (or outbound), which creates lots of noise that can completely miss the target audience and potentially waste your time and effort.

Inbound, defined by HubSpot and other marketing automation solution providers, is an approach focused on attracting customers through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful—not interruptive. With inbound marketing, potential customers find you through channels like blogs, search engines, and social media.

Whether your brand uses marketing automation tools such as HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, or a number of others (Constant Contact, MailChimp, Hootsuite etc.), it’s an approach you can leverage right away.

LMG, a HubSpot partner, has implemented a number of best practices that can turn interruptive to interesting—and naturally lead customers to your brand.

1. Identify your audience(s). Who do you want to reach? What do you know about them? Use this information to create personas for your inbound marketing strategy.
2. Set goals. What do you want to achieve? What can you measurably impact? The SMART goal methodology can be helpful in setting impactful goals.
3. Create your offers. What do your target audiences want in exchange for sharing a little information—a free trial, white paper, a video? Gating your content with a form can help you capture this valuable info.
4. Plan a campaign with ongoing nurturing communications. How can you use the information your audience shared to offer them more valuable content? What channels can you use to meet them where they are? Build a plan that includes content relevant to their interests.
5. Write a blog post, create a video, design an infographic, or publish an e-book.
6. Share it on social media. Do you know which social channels your targets are using to communicate? LinkedIn? Facebook? Others?
7. Incorporate long-tail keywords. Optimize SEO to help current and future prospects find your offer.
8. Consider paid search. Augment your work with remarketing through paid ads.
9. Track your URLs. Use unique URLS for your campaigns so you can track traffic.
10. Study your results. What did you learn? How can it change in the future?

So, the next time someone asks you about Inbound, you can launch confidently into how it works and why it’s changing the way we market.

Download a free guide to running an effective Inbound marketing campaign at http://info.lmgresults.com/inbound-10-steps.