Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing

Inbound marketing and outbound marketing are popular jargon terms that actually have very simple meanings.  Outbound marketing includes communication tools that are one-way and paid for. For instance, direct mail pieces, advertisements, and promotional products are considered outbound marketing.  Conversely, inbound marketing is about two-way communication or earning people’s attention via tools such as blogs, social media networks, and infographs.  As you can imagine, inbound marketing is commanding the attention of businesses worldwide. Earlier this year HubSpot released its 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report once again shining a spotlight on the growing popularity of inbound marketing. The report outlines a plethora of statistics proving inbound marketing strategies are both effective and budget-friendly.  Some of these statistics include:

• Inbound leads cost per lead 61% less than outbound leads
• 62% of companies report that social media has become MORE important as a source of leads
• 77% of B2C companies report that they have acquired a customer through Facebook
• 65% of B2B companies report that they have acquired a customer through LinkedIn
• 57% of companies with a blog have acquired a customer from their blog

With these numbers it’s clear that inbound marketing is here to stay. If you still don’t believe it, think about how cell phones were initially resisted by the general public. Today we wouldn’t think of leaving home with out our mobile phone. It’s a similar concept with social media. Customers are becoming more and more accustomed to interacting with companies online. They expect you to be there. The companies that earn relationships with their customers, will be the ones that knock out their competitors. How can use you make inbound marketing a part of your business? Miss Ink offers a variety of social media training workshops in Miami to address how you can earn leads through some of the most popular networks.