Over 70% of inquiries will be inbound by 2015 predicts SiriusDecisions. We will face savvy, knowledgeable prospects who have completed the lion’s share of their buying journey before even speaking to a sales person. Are you ready for this tectonic shift?
Sure enough you constantly churn out blogs, videos, webinars, slideshows and the like. But, what more can you do? Here are a few actionable tips.
1. Know Your Inbound Leads With Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is a natural fit for inbound marketing. How else would you identify and track the anonymous raw prospects who visit your website, move them along the funnel and convert them into paying customers. Yes marketing automation can help you do all that. Undoubtedly, inbound marketing can be greatly enriched with marketing automation.
Here are some of the main benefits:
- Identify anonymous inbound inquiries who visit your website
- Track and map their digital body language
- Prioritize them using lead scoring
- Nurture them with complex lead nurturing programs
- Provide lead intelligence to sales
2. Stay on Top of SEO
So you make great content, but how do you get found online? SEO is your answer. SEO and inbound is so vast a topic that whole books are written on it. SEO constantly undergoes change, making it very important to be up-to-date. Look at SEO as a long-term commitment that takes time to yield results.
Earlier SEO revolved around using keywords and building links. But all that has changed with Google’s algorithm changes. There are many new facets you need to look at now to stay on top of the game such as:
- Mobile optimization of your website
- Social sharing on Facebook and Twitter
- Step up your game on Google+
- An active “Help” section in your website for customer support (to drive organic traffic)
3. Make Room for User Generated Content
The tremendous success of Yelp has demonstrated the power of user generated content. People view everything you say about yourself with suspicion. So get your customers to speak for you. User generated content is easier to do for restaurants and stores as customers willingly post reviews and pictures. Getting B2B user generated content is a bit more of work. Here are some suggestions.
Start small:
- Encourage an active “Comments” section in your corporate blog.
- Participate in LinkedIn group discussions in your niche area.
- Seek customer feedback on your product. Publish it as a verbatim quote on your website.
- Blog, tweet and share customer’s quotes from your user group event.
Get bold:
- Do a case study of a customer who transformed his business thanks to your product.
- Shoot a customer testimonial video.
- Ask a customer to write a product review.
- Invite a customer/industry analyst/partner to write a guest blog.
- Create a virtual meeting place where your users can air their questions, problems and ideas like HP Vertica’s community.
4. Make More of the Popular Stuff
Do a detailed content audit so you understand what kind of content you need. If you don’t have the time for that, analyze your website traffic to see what content assets are the most popular.
Are your slideshows and videos really popular? It’s a reflection of people’s taste for all things visual. Increase your budget towards these mediums. Maybe this means you have to scale back on the number of whitepapers you produce. So be it. Make more of the popular stuff and cut back on formats that are not working for you. Keep track of industry trends to make sure you are not way off the mark.
Don’t shy away from popular new mediums like Twitter’s Vine, Pinterest and infographics. Check them out. See if it can work for you. There are plenty of examples of B2B firms who have had success with these. Constantly keep your eyes on the traffic numbers to know what is popular. People’s tastes are ephemeral and unpredictable.
5. Develop Calculators, Templates and Tools
Don’t just bombard your audience with content. Give them something they can use. Conceptualize a high-value tool that your prospects can use repeatedly. This will make them remember you for it.
Give these out through your nurture program so you make your interested prospects feel special.
Here are a few examples:
- An inbound marketing company could provide a calculator for lead requirement planning.
- A content marketing agency could offer free blogger page templates.
- An SEO company could offer free website audit report/a free consultation.
So go ahead and get started on your great giveaway.
