It is most productive to think of inbound marketing as a strategy that connects your brand with potential customers by providing materials and experiences they find useful.

 Using different mediums such as blogs, social networks, eBooks, white papers, videos and podcasts marketers can both entertain and inform their potential customers by providing content they are already searching for. It is no longer good enough to simply provide generic content. Now it is important to address broader topics and create content cluster articles that provide in-depth information related to subjects associated with that broader topic.

Inbound marketing is generally broken up into four sections:

• Attract
• Convert
• Close
• Delight

Attract

The first step in an inbound marketing strategy is to "Attract" your target customers. In order to attract customers you need to offer your potential customers information they need, when they need it. You only have about 30 seconds to initially grab their attention and convince them that you have the information they are looking for. A big part of knowing how to attract your customers and grab their attention, is knowing who they are. Once you know who you want to reach you can use the following tools to attract your target prospect:

• Blogging
• Social Media Marketing
• Free E-Books
• Free Downloads
• Other Free Offers
• SEO
• Videos
• Virtual Assistants to enhance the customer experience

Convert

Once you've attracted the right customers to your website, the next step is to get their information and convert them. At the very least, you'll want an email address - after all, a person's contact information is the most valuable currency there is to a business.

Examples of important tools in converting visitors to leads are:

• Testimonials
• Shares and Likes
• Educational blogs
• Company Culture information
• Forms
• Landing Pages
• Databases
• Calls to action

Close

You've attracted the right visitors and converted the right leads. It is time to close your new customer. There are tools available to help you make sure you're closing the right leads at the right time. Marketing automation and a good customer relationship management system will help you close the deal.

• Personal contact by phone and in person
• Emails
• CRMs
• Marketing Automation

Delight

According to the Inbound Methodology, every company should continue to delight their customers even after they've become a customer. Keep providing exceptional and delightful service so that your current customers become your company promoters. Remember that personalization extends to customer service. Know your customers, use their names, make it seem as if you are there specifically for them.

• 24-hour customer service
• Follow up calls
• Follow up emails
• Virtual assistants
• Social Monitoring through Social Media
• Surveys

According to marketing strategist David Meerman Scott inbound marketing makes it possible for marketers to "earn their way" into a customer’s awareness. When creating and sharing the most appropriate content at the most appropriate time, your marketing becomes relevant and useful to your customers. Relevancy and usefulness is what real marketing is all about. You draw customers to your brand naturally by engaging in different facets of content marketing, social media, and SEO.