12
search engine rankings were most prevalent among
those who’ve been using social media for one year
or longer, with 54%+ reporting a rise. More than
six in 10 say they find it useful for building a loyal
fan base, and more than half who have been using
social media for two or more years have been
able to establish thought leadership.
5
Like other
content marketing strategies, be generous with
your knowledge in Facebook or LinkedIn posts, and
respond quickly to customer concerns or feedback
to start and keep the conversation going.
5. Be exclusive with email.
When all of your best
efforts start to pay off in visitors, fans, followers and
downloads, it may not equal a mass of ready buyers.
Integrate an outbound strategy, like email. It can
help you continue to deliver relevant content and
exclusive offers as new relationships with prospects
develop and convert to sales. In one survey, 95%
of business-to-business responders reported using
email, perhaps because messages to names on
house lists enjoyed open rates of 23-24%.
6
Need assistance in formulating or executing your
inbound marketing strategies? Let us know; we
can help.
1
Local Media Tracking Study, 2013, Local Search Association/Burke Inc.
2
Benefits and Barriers of Bringing a Small Business Online, 2013,
Verisign, Inc.
3
State of Inbound Marketing 2014, HubSpot
4
Major Purchase Shopper Study 2013, GE Capital Retail Bank
5
2015 Social
Media Marketing Industry Report, Social Media Examiner
6
DMA 2015 Response Rate Report, Direct Marketing Association
FINDERS…KEEPERS
5 tips to help prospects find you,
and keep ‘em coming back for more
I
n contrast to outbound marketing channels, like
advertising or direct mail that you use to buy a
person’s attention, inbound marketing focuses on
tactics that earn it.
How? Chiefly, by creating quality content to attract
a steady stream of qualified people that you can then
convert, close and delight over time.
Inbound marketing is rapidly gaining enthusiasts with
small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The number
of marketers who practice inbound rose from 60% in 2013
to 85% just one year later.
1
To start – or strengthen – your inbound marketing efforts,
consider the following:
1. Claim your local listings.
Invest the time
to register your business’s website with online
directories like Google+ Local or Yahoo! Local
®
. Pay
special attention to accuracy and consistency. When
customers search local listings, your address (67%),
phone (67%) and company name (57%) rank high
among the basic information they seek.
2
2. Make the most of your website.
More than
three-quarters of SMBs use a website as their
primary online presence.
3
Keep your company’s
site relevant by regularly refreshing it with new
and useful content. Multi-media content, like
videos, blogs, how-to guides, infographics,
case studies and success stories are attractive
to search engines and searchers alike. (See
page 5 for more on mobile optimization.)
3. Access your inner writer … and blog.
The
best blogs are those that contain interesting and
informational content that speaks to your targets
and answers their questions. For many SMBs, it’s a
worthwhile endeavor: Marketers who have prioritized
blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive
return on investment.
4
4. Engage with social media.
Patience is, indeed,
a virtue with social media marketing. Improved
