Cathy RothTL;DR: Your audience is online more than any other media channel, so you should be too. Content that entertains, educates, and informs is a fantastic introduction to prospects and a valuable resource to keep your current audience engaged.
You are a dedicated marketing professional, and you have invested time, energy, and money into building a reliable marketing department for your company.
But as much as you have encouraged your boss to use more innovative methods than old-fashioned mailers or annoying pop-up ads, you really haven’t made much progress.
👇 If you're saying to yourself, "Yes, I know. Take me to the stats!" Click here.
You know that you would be able to attract new customers with inbound content marketing, but the boss just doesn’t get the importance of this modern marketing strategy.
We want your business to succeed, and we know that is what you want, too!
So, we put together information and strategies to help your case.
If your decisions makers need something a bit more formal than a link in Slack, we created a slide deck just in case. You're welcome.
Understanding Inbound Marketing Strategy
(Feel free to copy/paste this section in your email).
The inbound marketing methodology relies on building relationships with customers and solving the problems they already have.
By creating valuable content and experiences, you meet potential customers where they are in their purchasing process with information and resources designed intentionally to convert potential customers into delighted customers.
Three powerful words are at the heart of inbound marketing — attract, engage, and delight.
Each of these actions relies on valuable content and customer experiences.
The inbound concept isn’t new, but it still can be a confusing topic, especially for traditional executives. Educating your boss about what inbound marketing is and isn’t will be essential to transitioning to an inbound methodology.
Why is inbound marketing so important?
At its core, inbound marketing is about building relationships and developing trust. Content delivery that speaks to the problems your potential customers need to be solved, in a way that resonates with them as human beings, proves you have their best interests at heart.
As Simon Sinek says, “With trust comes a sense of value - real value.” The more valuable you are, the more potential customers will turn to you for solutions, purchases, repeat business, and referrals.
Tweet This
Now that you understand why inbound marketing is important, it is time to take a look at those statistics that really make inbound marketing shine.
10 Inbound Marketing Statistics Your Boss Needs to Know
1. There are over 5 billion global internet users.
More potential customers are online each day than ever before, and those 5+ billion people are spending more time online each and every day. According to internet usage statistics, the “typical” global internet user now spends almost 7 hours per day using the internet across all devices.
Those are 7 potential hours your company could provide content for!
2. There are 2 trillion Google searches each year.
Search engine activity is at a nearly unbelievable volume. The current number of people in the world is nearly 8 billion, with 64% between the ages of 15 and 64.
3. More than 50% of shoppers use Google to find new brands.
Potential customers most commonly discover new brands through search engines (31.7%), with more than 50% of shoppers using Google to find new brands. When examining all sources of brand discovery, 11 of the 16 sources were all internet-based activities.
4. Over 80% of retail customers conduct research online.
Potential customers use the internet for brand discovery but, more importantly, use it to research purchase decisions. This research is not only for online purchases, but also to plan in-store purchases.
5. Nearly 60% of global internet users make weekly purchases.
Of course, the internet is used for research. But well over half of global internet users purchase at least one thing online every week!
6. More than half of business buyers use online research to learn about products or services.
Nearly 60% of business buyers cite web research as the first source of information about a product or service.
7. 65% of business buyers want easily accessible content.
Ease of access is the most important criterion businesses look for when visiting vendor websites, with 65% citing “ease of access to relevant content that speaks directly to my company.”
8. 80% of business buyers say content is king.
A large majority (80%) of business buyers report that the content on a vendor’s website had a significant impact on their purchase decisions.
9. More than 80% of marketers use content marketing.
Strategic decisions probably shouldn’t be based just on the fact that someone else is doing it. But when the vast majority of marketers (82% according to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report) are actively pursuing content marketing strategies, it is clearly an effective strategy.
10. More than half of those marketers intend to increase their content marketing budgets.
When people already using a strategy are prepared to increase their investment in it, it is time to look at it. According to HubSpot, 66% of marketers already using a content marketing plan to increase their marketing budgets. So, if you haven’t already started — now is the time.
Develop Your Inbound Marketing Strategy Now
Once you use marketing statistics to convince your boss to transition from outbound marketing to inbound marketing, it is time to get started.
There are two routes you can take to develop your strategy:
Do-It-Yourself Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing isn’t overly difficult to learn, but the DIY method will take time and energy. HubSpot provides free certification courses that will help you learn inbound theory and methodology. Here are courses to consider.
- Inbound Marketing Certification
- Inbound Methodology Certification
- Inbound Marketing Optimization Certification
Inbound Marketing Professional Services
If you’re not up to learning and deploying inbound content marketing on your own, then rely on an inbound marketing agency that can help carry the load for you.
Your Next Steps
While you are deciding which of the two routes you want to take on your marketing transformation journey, download this Lead Gen and Conversion ebook today. You will learn 10 quick-win methods (including action items) to generate and close higher-quality leads. Full chapters include inbound marketing topics such as SEO, topic clusters, call-to-action paths, and more!
And here's that slide deck we promised.
