Inbound marketing is a way of marketing which focuses on drawing customers towards the company through knowledgeable important web content created by the organization in various forms of paid marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Let’s take content marketing as an example:

Content marketing concentrates on acquiring customers through search engines when potential customers search for a relevant topic and/or a solution to their problem and as a result of the content being distributed through relevant websites by the organization that created the inbound marketing strategy, it ranks higher in search engines because it’s published on a more authoritative source; results in the client reading the article where the organization may be cited or mentioned as an authoritative source.  Content marketing is just one form of inbound marketing, although, knowingly the most influential one.

When starting a small business, knowing some straightforward and effective ways of attracting the attention of customers by demonstrating value and establishing a sales funnel through an inbound marketing strategy is a vital role in any business as it determines not only the outcome of KPI’s such as orders, qualified prospects and ROI – but the likeliness of a potential customer choosing you over your competitor, which inbound marketing has influence over.

Let’s walk through the 8 Inbound Marketing Basics:

#1. Search Engine Optimization

We all know that a successful business needs the right clients.  Search engines make customers find and naturally reach you through their random searches. SEO is one of the most popular inbound strategies. It works through specific keywords related to content describing the business. The right content and keywords will eventually lead the customers to what they’re looking. It is important because it will be a total waste of time and money if we can’t find the right clients. And your key to it is through SEO.

#2. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or Cost Per Click (CPC)

Pay per click is a strategy similar to SEO in which the advertiser pays a publishing agency a small amount when you click the ad. It is an internet advertising strategy used to direct traffic to particular business websites. The publishing company will make sure that our website shows on top of search results.  When we start a small business, we can approach any agencies to do PPC for the company.

#3. Content Marketing

A clear and specific content related to the business should always be available and reachable by the right customers. As we concentrate on the inbound market strategy, we must ensure that the content reaches the consumer through their own choice. It must grab his or her attention so that they will stick to your content until the end.

The content can be in the form of any of the following:

#4. Blog

Blogging is an effective way of marketing. Writing good quality blogs will eventually attract new visitors. It provides the business information and the different services or products offered to the customers. It must delight the readers and create curiosity in them about the business or products. Eventually, it will lead to regular visits. An enhanced traffic will undoubtedly lead to more customers and more profits. Thus, make the industry grow bigger by reaching more potential customers.

#5. Downloadable Contents Like Brochures or E-Books

Downloadable materials attract people. It is known as a good strategy because people can directly download and read them as something authentically published by the owners. It convinces them of the product or business. It creates an impression that they have directly contacted the right person offering the business.

#6. Testimonials or Reviews by Other Customers

Reviews or testimonials always create a great impact on customers. Good feedback for every product or services is necessary. The feedbacks and reviews make the customers approach the business more freely as they know about the business from someone like themselves. It will be more convincing to gather information from real and regular customers rather than collecting information from web ads.

#7. Social Media Marketing

Social media is another good way of reaching the right clients. It is the best way to be found by people who are active in social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. People spend a significant amount of their time in social media nowadays, and it has become part of the lifestyle for most people.

#8. Email marketing

Email marketing is a well-known strategy used by any business these days. It is one of the effective ways to reach current customers and potential clients. It is the way of connecting with the customers through emails so that they come back for future business. It is also advisable to make customers sign up for emails through websites for further communication. Sending occasional emails to these potential customers will undoubtedly lead to more business.

Top 5 Inbound Marketing Agencies of 2018:

Creating all of the variables of an Inbound Marketing strategy can be difficult as a small business owner but choosing an Inbound Marketing Agency can be even more hounding as there is so many options available and picking a non-qualified agency could result in wasted time and most importantly, money a small business cannot afford to lose.

We have vetted the following agencies based on inbound marketing experience, their reputation, clients served, partnerships and specific industry expertise.

#1. The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion is an Inbound Marketing company based out of Virginia, providing content marketing services, keynotes and workshops as a Platinum HubSpot Partner.

#2. Why Unified

Why Unified is an award-winning multi-national (US & UK) SaaS & Digital Marketing agency rated as the 2018’s Fastest Growing Business by TGDaily.com with a fail-proof marketing program called Unified Marketing) which uses a proprietary marketing process, primarily intended for small and medium-sized businesses of any industry.

#3. Weidert Group

The Weidert Group is a B2B focused agency with the majority of its industry experience in manufacturing, finance/insurance, and distribution/supply chain verticals.

#4. Salted Stone

Salted Stone, a California based agency works in a diverse variety of industries such as SaaS/Tech, Healthcare, Sports/Entertainment, Retail, Real Estate, and Finance.

#5. Top Line Results

A Gold HubSpot Partner, Top Line Results is based in Florida serving B2B, industrial, and manufacturing companies through consulting, coaching, and implementing.