Sep 17, 2013
Never miss an episode of Endless Customers!
Subscribe now and get the latest podcast releases delivered straight to your inbox.
5 Inbound Marketing Best Practices to Boost ROI
Sep 17, 2013
If you're reading this, you've probably wondered how inbound marketing can benefit your company. Or maybe you already use inbound marketing...if so, then you go, Glen Coco! (Mean Girls reference. Always relevant.)
But for those of you who continue to utilize outbound marketing techniques, perhaps you've been thinking that inbound can be a great investment for your company.
Obviously the best results will come from a complete inbound marketing strategy. But there are a few key inbound marketing best practices which will help your company achieve a positive ROI.
5 Best Practices to Boost ROI
1. Create Original Content
Original content is the most important aspect of an inbound marketing campaign. Original content like blog posts and a social media presence humanize your brand and engage customers. You can increase your online visibility through SEO of your content and generate more traffic for your brand.
Not to mention, original content is amazingly low cost to produce. Social media websites are generally free to use. Blogging costs may include a professional hosting website and writers, but a blog can also be created freely if your writers are in-house and you choose a free hosting platform.
2. Cut the Clutter and Cut Costs
One major way to cut costs is to analyze and dispose of inefficient and outdated marketing practices. Direct mail and cold-calling, for example, are two marketing strategies that can be nixed right away. The cost of production, media and labor for these methods are very high for a minimal return. In today's technology-driven world, marketing efforts may be focused entirely online.
Using inbound practices to create content will have the same amount of visibility as traditional marketing ploys. Lose the messy offline techniques and start saving money.
3. CTAs and Landing Pages
Having an active webpage should be a major priority for your brand. Your web page is where your traffic turns into leads. You must have plenty of calls-to-action among your content and on your website. This way consumers who land on your website will have opportunities to provide their information as a lead.
CTAs should be scattered throughout your website alongside amazing content. Providing valuable CTA offers will increase click-through rates, ensuring positive lead generation.
4. Lead-Nurturing Funnel Campaigns
Content will bring consumers to your website where CTAs can transform them into leads. So once you have the leads, are you going to treat them all the same way? Nope...you need to nurture those leads. Have a funneling process established so once you acquire a lead you can nurture them to closure.
This way, your marketing efforts are more targeted. You're not creating "noise" that consumers will ignore. You're focusing your attention on the consumer's personal location in the sales process.
5. Tracking and Analysis
It is nearly impossible to find an exact value for the ROI from inbound practices. Fund allocations are so different with each business that it’s hard to find a standard value. With that said, the best way to determine inbound ROI is to carefully observe, track and then analyze your inbound marketing efforts.
With inbound software like HubSpot, you have the ability to break down your ROI for specific marketing campaigns as well as individual consumer behavior. Once you analyze the success of your efforts, you can use those figures to note your profit and costs. Helping you plan for the future.
Hiring an Inbound Marketing Agency
If you don’t think you have enough time for inbound marketing or if you’re unsure of how to initiate a new marketing campaign then hiring an inbound marketing agency could be a good investment for your company.
If you're concerned about costs, don't be. The cost of hiring an inbound agency should be comparable to your current marketing expenditure. Plus, an inbound agency will be experienced in streamlining efforts to achieve the results you want. Inbound marketers know best practices inside and out and will make your company's success a priority.
If you’re looking for a more detailed description of how inbound marketing can increase your company’s return on investment, check our latest eBook, Proving the ROI From Inbound Marketing.
Free Assessment: