Do you (or your boss) still need some convincing that modern inbound marketing is more overall effective and successful than advertising and the other outbound marketing techniques your business has relied on since the Stone Age? Well, we've found a nice little list for you that explains how.
The top article on InboundMarketing.com this week offers a concise list of 10 ways online marketing dominates traditional advertising (that's right - just like a ferocious lion dominates its prey)...
Author: Kim Kolb of Filter the Noise
Kim's article summarizes the many reasons why businesses must shift their focus from outbound to inbound marketing, describing how the Internet facilitates marketing in a way that will ensure maximum exposure for products/services.
Among the main advantages of online marketing mentioned are speed of campaigns, the opportunity for customer support, lower costs (of media and per customer), elimination of geographical restrictions and a shorter sales process.
Lesson: Inbound marketing works (better).
Author: Vadim Lavrusik of Mashable
Last June, HubSpot reported that of the 4.5 million Twitter profiles we analyzed, over 9% of Twitter users are inactive. In the study referenced in this Mashable article, Weber Shandwick specifically analyzes the use of Twitter by Fortune 100 companies to reveal that the majority of them aren't using Twitter effectively to engage their followers. In addition, they aren't tweeting often, and they aren't displaying any personality in their tweets.
Lavrusik also highlights the missed Twitter business opportunities associated with low Twitter engagement, including use as a newsfeed, developing brand awareness, a tool for customer service and to increase sales. His main prescription for improvement? Realizing that the element missing is conversation and learning how to incorporate it into their strategy.
Lesson: There are a variety of ways Twitter can be effectively used for business benefits.
Author: Sonia Simone of Copyblogger
Sonia's article shows us a little bit of tough love when it comes to social media marketing. Instead of glorifying it and explaining all the shiny parts, she focuses on some of its harsh realities and more challenging aspects. Among them: it has the potential to eat your life, you have to give some of your best stuff away, and you don't get to opt out.
Of course, Sonia tells us all this with good intentions. Social media marketing may not be easy, but when done right, it does have some pretty awesome rewards.
Lesson: Social media is simple, but it's not easy.
Author: Phil Morettini of SDNN.com
Phil's article explores the topic of behavioral targeting, defining it as the technique of targeting consumers based on their behavior online, rather than by simply the contents of pages they visit, or demographic attributes of the prospect. And while the concept isn't exactly a new one, its application to Web technology enables a more efficient and accurate application of marketing segmentation.
He also explores the question of whether this new development is a positive one. He agrees that the answer is largely subjective, and he can see arguments for both its benefit and its abuse.
Lesson: Behavioral targeting offers an opportunity to segment specific messages to different audiences.
Author: Todd Defren of PR-Squared
To further the discussion of a more behaviorally targeted Web, Todd's article focuses on his predictions for the future of Web marketing. Expanding on his point that social networks aren't just destinations but also integral parts of the whole Web experience, Todd's main prediction is that "in the future, the Web you know will be based on the Web that knows you."
So how will this change the approach for future marketers? Todd anticipates that behavioral targeting will become automated, and that we'll become much more sophisticated to identify influencers. And of course, he offers a bunch of solid examples.
Lesson: Future marketers will need to leverage the implications of a Web that knows.
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