6 Reasons to Embrace Inbound Marketing

by Phil Donaldson and Candyce Edelen | PropelGrowth

Phil Donaldson
Email: pdonaldson@propelgrowth.com
Twitter: @PhilDonaldsonNJ
Phone: 212.812.3998

In today’s digital age, consumers and business people are looking to the Internet to find information to guide nearly every important decision they make. At the same time, their degree of patience for and trust in traditional advertising is plummeting.

The statistics aren’t pretty. We found conflicting information about just how how bad it is, but suffice it to say, people generally don’t trust advertising. In his book “Marketing to the Social Web,” Larry Weber found that only 14% of people trust advertisements. The Alterian report “Your Brand: At Risk or Ready for Growth?,” found that only 5% surveyed trusted advertising and that a mere 8% trust what companies say about themselves. HubSpot recently published research findings that showed the ROI for traditional advertising has declined to all time lows.

As a result, companies are adding inbound marketing to their lead generation mix. Inbound marketing is essentially the practice of helping your target market find you when they need your services. You do this by publishing relevant online content that can be found by your prospective clients.

When individuals or companies make investing decisions, they need information to support the decision process. They also need trusted advisors who can guide them along their investment journey. They’re looking for this support online. An effective inbound marketing strategy takes a customer-centric approach by giving your target audience what they’re looking for.

Here are six reasons why you should seriously consider becoming an inbound marketer.

Customers Have Become Searchers

The internet has empowered today’s investor. They are using search engines and social media to access blogs, white papers, podcasts and video to help inform their decisions. According to a Gallup poll conducted in February 2011: 85% of US adults with $90k or more of income are using Google every week, and 55% have Facebook accounts.

This empowered investor tends to avoid content that is full of promotional hype in favor of educational material that addresses their burning issues. Having valuable content that shows up in search engine results gives your business a greater chance of reaching this group.

People Look to People for Answers

In April of 2009, the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey found that 90% of people trust the recommendations of those they know. In that same survey, 70% of people were found to trust recommendations from other consumers online. From blog posts to online social engagement, customers are consulting with their peers and experts to aid their buying process. These prospective investors are participating in discussion groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks, looking for ideas, sharing tips, and seeking education.

Your Investors Want to Interact with You Online

InvestmentNews.com published an article on June 16, 2011 about the importance of social media to the investor community. This story says it all. “According to a Fidelity Investments survey released today, 85% of millionaires use or are willing to use electronic media, such as e-mail, social-media sites and text messaging, compared with only 43% of financial advisers and brokers. Thirty-four percent of the millionaires surveyed said they use social media professionally — with 28% citing LinkedIn, while only 16% of advisers and brokers said they used the professional networking site. Two-thirds of millionaires surveyed said they would like to use electronic media with their advisers.”

Inbound Is Less Expensive than Outbound Marketing

According to results published by HubSpot in Q1 of 2011, the average cost per lead utilizing outbound channels (ads, telemarketing/cold calling, direct mail, etc.) is around $373.00. The average cost per lead with inbound channels (content marketing, blogs, social media) is about $143.00 With the right content and search engine optimization (SEO), you can increase your marketing return on investment by decreasing your overall spend per lead. Inbound marketing is about attracting customers to your firm by providing the content they’re looking for. Search engines sift through content that includes keywords used by searchers. By providing content that includes these relevant keywords, you increase your findability.

Blogging Reaps Rewards

A growing number of companies are including blogging in their marketing strategies. Blogging provides companies a brief, to the point means of communicating with customers. Blogs get attention. As of June 2010, 22.7% of all time spent online in the US was spent on social networks and blogs, increasing a full 43% over the results from 2009. No doubt this number is even higher today. According to a study by Universal McCann, 36% of people think more positively about a company that has a blog and 32% trust bloggers’ opinions on products and services.

Perhaps what is more impressive is that 72% of companies who blog weekly have acquired customers through their blog, according to the HubSpot “2011 State of Inbound Marketing” report. These companies are providing the content that customers are looking for and are reaping the rewards.

Content Drives Demand

Inbound marketing only works in conjunction with a solid content strategy. The best way to get started is to look at what kinds of questions your current clients ask and what kinds of research they do. Then begin to develop short educational pieces that help inform and guide your prospective investors. Most of your audience will be suspicious of anything looking like hype, and NFA discourages this as well. Instead of saying, “buy gold,” your audience will be more likely to trust you if you talk about the market conditions that lead you to that conclusion (remembering always to include the appropriate disclaimers).

With the proper content strategy that weaves in key search terms for search optimization, you can substantially increase your findability and attract customers who are looking for the services you provide. By adding a social media plan to your marketing strategy, you can build relationships and trust with your target market. Your customers are out there looking for you. It’s time to get found by implementing a solid inbound marketing strategy.

Remember to submit your content to the NFA for review prior to publication. Here are the NFA guidelines for promotional content:
http://www.nfa.futures.org/nfamanual/NFAManual.aspx?RuleID=9063&Section=9
http://www.nfa.futures.org/NFA-faqs/compliance-faqs/promotional-material/index.HTML