Marketing is a broad term that encompasses a variety of activities and processes that put your products and services in front of the public. Outbound and Inbound Marketing are two different strategy types to consider using when your business is ready to grow. Read on to learn the difference and which would be most beneficial for you and your business needs.
Traditional or ‘Outbound’ Marketing
With traditional or ‘outbound’ marketing strategies, companies use a variety of methods to reach out and attempt to deliver their message to potential new customers. Outbound marketing frequently involves attempting to catch a prospective customer’s attention so that the company’s message resonates with them enough to convince them to invest in their product or service. Traditional advertisements you may see on TV, the internet, or a physical billboard are examples of resources often used by companies in outbound marketing campaigns.
Typically with significant enough investment of time and money, outbound marketing strategies will increase the exposure a company receives from a general pool of consumers, but don’t allow companies to target the more specific groups of customers who will be more likely to develop an interest in their product or service. It typically costs a lot of money to create an effective outbound marketing strategy, and you could likely annoy hundreds or thousands of uninterested customers who don’t fit your target audience.
For an example of a typical outbound marketing approach, envision a billboard advertisement on a highway. Think about how many drivers see the billboard and what percentage of those drivers actually end up being converted into customers (likely a very small fraction).
Content or ‘Inbound’ Marketing
Content or ‘inbound’ marketing is an approach that, when planned correctly, will draw new customers onto your website organically. This method is far cheaper and less aggressive than the outbound marketing process, as it tends to deliver your messages to more specific audiences who may already be interested in engaging with your business.
Web search engines and social media applications use algorithms that tend to steer consumers toward pages, posts or any type of content that they will be likely to find interesting or engage with. Inbound marketing strategies are implemented to draw consumer attention to your business’ website organically while outbound strategies tend to be more forceful and rely on a high volume of outreach.
By identifying the most useful content on your site, optimizing it to appear on search pages, and promoting this content on multiple channels such as social media, a well-executed content marketing strategy will help your business identify the most suitable target audiences and increase the likelihood that they visit your site.
ZatroX Studio Digital Marketing Solutions
ZatroX Studio’s team can review your current marketing strategies, find areas of opportunity for improvement and help enhance your marketing strategy. Visit our digital marketing page for more information or reach out for a free demo and consultation.
