When
you publish a consistent stream of content via your blog, you are activating an
electromagnet for your business. The information flowing from your blog into
the Internet becomes available to people with an interest in what you are
selling. These individuals can, at their option, read your articles and follow
the links that you include in them. For example, in the Taxodiary example, the
Albuquerque, N.M., small business reaches potential customers worldwide. In
addition, the content is indexed by Web search systems, such as Google’s
http://blogsearch.google.com, specialized services like Collecta.com at www.collecta.com,
and social media sites like Facebook.com if you put the articles on a
Facebook.com business page.
Let’s
recap. This inbound method leverages existing content. In fact, you can
continue with your traditional marketing and public relations methods and just
add the outbound technique to turbo-charge your current activities. The
principal cost for the inbound technique described is the time required to set
up the blog, repurpose the content, and send out the news release and e-mail
announcement to your existing prospects and customers.
The
downside of the approach is that this particular technique is a change in
direction. Electronic methods that reach a potential community of tens of
millions of faceless professionals are different. The inbound method relies
upon software and social networks to expose your magnet’s force to those with a
problem your company might be able to solve. And the inbound method is fuzzy,
intangible and magical, just like magnetism.
The
upside is that you can supplement or replace traditional marketing. You can
reduce costs, particularly for direct mail, some telemarketing, and possibly
certain direct sales activities such as trade show participation. You can pick
and choose when to use traditional rifle shot marketing. For other types of
business messaging, you can rely on the inbound method.
Keep in
mind that the blog is just one inbound marketing technique. There are others.
You can create digital radio programs called podcasts. You can do short videos
and post them on YouTube.com. You can sponsor small business meetings, called
meet ups. You can assemble your own business broadcasting service that
disseminates information about your products and services each day of the week,
worldwide, without delay, intermediaries or the punishing costs for printing,
postage and trade show fees.
Like
any great recipe, seasoning makes a huge difference. So, if you are using
traditional snail mail to market your firm. You can add zest to your present
outbound marketing with these new, lower friction inbound marketing spices.
Sell the digital sizzle without the costs for traditional marketing beefcake.
Stephen
E. Arnold is a consultant. His website
is www.arnoldit.com. His blog “Beyond Search” is at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
