Inbound marketing takes buy-in from your entire team and a well-organized plan to show real results. It is also important to remember that inbound marketing is a long-term strategy. It can take months to start seeing a return on investment, but once you do, inbound strategies can feed your pipeline consistently for years. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Inbound Marketing Assessment

Running an in-depth assessment of your current inbound activities will give you insights into where you need to focus your resources. Including a competitive analysis will allow you to see how you stack up with the competition and what other successful companies in your space are doing. These assessments should include looking into your website, social media pages, content, and SEO.

Inbound Marketing Plan

As with any business aspect, it's a good idea to start with a solid plan. While you may need to make tweaks throughout your plan's life, a well-thought-out inbound plan will lay the foundation for successful campaigns. Everything found in this blog and more should be a part of your plan.

Buyer Persona Development

In order for your or inbound marketing strategy to work, you need to know how to reach your audience and what content will resonate with them. Buyer personas provide you with the tools you need to create compelling content that speaks directly to your target audience.

Keyword Research

Although search engines are now more focused on topic clusters than individual or long-tailed keywords, they still play a significant role in building the SEO of your website. Keyword research allows you to create topic clusters and content that will resonate with your audience and improve your rankings.

Website Optimization

Website optimization is all about creating a user-friendly experience and generating leads. Calls to action that link to landing pages with premium offers should be placed on every static page as well as every blog post. Each offer should be relevant to the page it is placed on. Menus should be clear and functional. Sufficient whitespace should be left to make your content easily digestible. Links to your social pages should be included to encourage shares and followers. High-quality images and consistent branding will make your site easily identifiable and help to leave a good impression on your visitors.

Premium Content Creation

Premium offers will allow you to turn your website into a lead generation tool. It is important to have various offers that range from eBooks, white papers, and case studies to videos and surveys to keep your offers fresh and help you determine your prospect's pain points and stage in the buyer's journey.

Blogging Strategy

Blogging is one of the most critical aspects of inbound marketing. Consistent blogging will help improve SEO, give you a ton of social media content that directs visitors to your website, and allows you to promote the premium offers that will help convert visitors to leads. Using a blogging calendar will help your team stay organized and on time with content development. Despite the opinions of critics, both volume and quality are equally important.

Search Engine Optimization

The technical aspects of SEO, such as title, URL, and description, should be taken care of early in your process. Creating high-quality content that is optimized for search engines will be the most important thing you do for SEO. Developing topic clusters and having a plan for obtaining backlinks will also play an integral role.

Social Media Strategy

Social media plays a key role in the success of your inbound marketing strategy. Blog distribution on your social pages and in industry-relevant discussion groups is essential. Your social pages should provide educational and entertainment value. Make sure you include Videos, infographics, and memes, as these are some of the most shared content online. Your profiles should be optimized with proper descriptions and contact information. Not only is social media an avenue to generate leads, but it is irreplaceable when it comes to building your brand.

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