There's a lot of talk about different types of marketing...from inbound to content to outbound and more..We'll try to break it down a bit and focus on what attracts consumers to you.
At Purple Arrow Marketing we break up our marketing tactics into two groups: Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing.
Think of a megaphone and a magnet. You either go to market with a megaphone and shout about your product in the hopes people pay attention … or use a magnet and attract them to you.
In other words, you “push” your product on to people or you “pull” them with something that draws them to you.
We actually believe in the power of both...but here is the difference:
“Inbound Marketing” is often used interchangeably with “Content marketing” and in all honesty, that’s fine as you cannot have effective inbound marketing tactics without good content to begin with! The beauty of this style of marketing is that contrary to your traditional “hammer style” marketing we mentioned, you communicate relevant information with potential customers without selling them anything. The idea is to inspire business and loyalty from buyers by delivering consistent, ongoing valuable information. I am sure we can all agree that we don’t like to be “sold to” and this is why inbound marketing generates a lot more loyalty and following. People grow relationships with you because they see you as the trusted source for that particular content. This can then lead to sales.
What does content marketing look like?
Like this! It can look like a daily blog, a podcast, a quarterly magazine, a weekly newsletter or even a TV show. You have to be the producer of the content and create an asset.
Content marketing happens when businesses start to think like publishers and deliver compelling content to a defined readership. You should position yourself as the go-to resource in your industry.
Where to start with a content strategy?
You need to answer the following questions when creating content:
1. Who is your buyer?
2. What’s your objective with sharing the information?
3. What’s the outcome for the buyer? What is your potential buyer / existing client getting out of it?
As always, the main question is WHY.
The next step is to know what you can be the leading expert in. Why are you unique? This is your niche and what your material should center around.
Joe Pullizi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and author of the new book, Epic Content Marketing, states: "The number-one reason why content marketing programs fail is because they stop. The other is because businesses talk about themselves. IBM research states that 85% of corporate blogs have 5 or fewer posts. Content is a promise to your customers and you have to keep that promise.
Joe states that content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you build a loyal audience, magic can happen in any business
We couldn't agree more. What do you think? Let us know by emailing us at hello@purplearrowmarketing.com
