In Part I of our Intro to Inbound Marketing, we talked about the different components. Now it’s time to learn what actually happens when you begin your inbound marketing campaign.

What Happens During Each Step

We’ve talked before about mapping your content to the buyer’s journey. The information you share during each step of the process is extremely important. However, content isn’t everything. There are other things that must be addressed during the each phase.

Attraction

First, there’s your SEO. Search engine optimization helps your buyers find you when they search for companies like yours through Google and other search engines. Part of our job is to help you identify the words and phrases these buyers will use and then help you craft content on your website that includes the search terms.

Content comes in the form of copy for your website first, but then you’ll also want to add a business blog. Google loves fresh content, and a regular blog is the best way to give Google something to search. Your blog also adds a new page to your website with each entry. And guess what? Google also likes websites with a lot of indexed pages. The more you have, the faster you turn up in searches.

Finally, there’s your social media promotion and publishing. It’s not always enough to optimize your website for searches. Instead of waiting around for people to come find you, you can let them all know where you are with social media marketing. Informative, entertaining, and shareable posts will gain attention for your company and start helping to drive traffic your way.

Conversion

You need special content to convert visitors to leads. That content may be in the form of an ebook or white paper that shares more information and answers lots of questions about your business. You might also do shorter pieces like tips and checklists. The goal is to give some knowledge your buyers may not already have.

Once the content is ready, you have some more steps to take. How can you distribute that content while also getting information from your visitors that you can use later? Start with a call-to-action. The CTA should let buyers know what they’ll get if they download your content and, more importantly, how that information will help.

When they click on the CTA, they’ll go to a landing page. The landing page should give even more information about the content they’re going to download. More than that, it should give visitors a better sense of your company as a whole. Promises are made here and kept within your ebook or white paper.

On the landing page is a form. This should be short, easy to fill out, and highly visible. All you need at this point is a name and email address. Once they fill out the form, they’ll gain access to the downloadable content. And you gain access to their contact information.

The contact information should be stored safely. You will use these email addresses again, so don’t lose them. Definitely don’t give them away or sell them. You’re in the business of building trust so you can develop a meaningful relationship with your new leads.

Closing

After the sale, you may be tempted to simply close the file and move on. You got their money, right? Well, if you want to keep doing what you’re doing—and by that, we mean selling—you have to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Part of closing the deal is checking your metrics to learn how you find the customers, what reaches them with your content, and how quickly they move through the buying cycle.

This is also where you use your contact list. With each thing you learn about your customers, you can further segment your contact list so that you reach each person at the exact right time.

With some idea of the buying cycle, all of your contacts’ email addresses, and an understanding of what works best with your particular client base, you can set up automated marketing. In the past, this has been called a drip campaign, but automated marketing is so much more. It’s perfectly planned social media posts, blogs and ebooks emailed exactly when customers need them, and statistics to let you know when and what to change for better results.

Delight

If you stopped after making the sale every time, eventually you’d have no one else to sell to. Keeping customers happy is what keeps them coming back for more. You can check in on customers to make sure they’re thrilled with their experience in several different ways.

First, keep an eye on social media to see if anyone’s mentioning you. If they say you’re awesome, thank them for it! Show others what they’re saying. That recognition and gratitude goes a long way.

Provide new information in the form of emails, ebooks, blogs, and case studies. Keep those customers informed about what your company is doing and what new services or products they may enjoy. By keeping track of the things they’ve already purchased, you can make sure you don’t insult them by starting back at the beginning.

Finally, simply ask. A well-timed survey gives buyers the chance to let their voices be heard. If you receive answers that hint at any unhappiness, do whatever you need to do to make things right. People remember the very last interaction they had with you, which means your efforts to right a wrong will be remembered instead of the mistakes.

To explore how an inbound marketing strategy would work for your company, just give us a call. We can help you tailor each of these steps to your exact business. And if you have more questions and don’t want to wait for Part Three, feel free to reach out any time.

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