Are you aiming to increase your company's online visibility? You may already have set goals for how...
It might seem like a challenge to get started with inbound marketing, especially if you don’t have the budget to hire an agency right off the bat. But that does not mean it is impossible. Here are 10 things you can do, that only cost time and initiative.
We know that getting started with inbound marketing can seem like a huge mountain to climb without an agency by your side, but it is possible to at least get started. You might already be doing some of these things already.
If you are not following, please take a few steps back and read our introduction to the inbound methodology here.
Getting started with inbound marketing in 10 steps
1. Create personas
This is the foundation when working with inbound marketing: Who are you trying to reach? What does their day look like? What keeps them up at night? How do they make decisions? What content would answer their questions?
Make sure you find a photo that pictures what you imagines this person looks like. This will make it much easier to remember who you are writing for.
Find out more about personas here.
2. Optimise your website
There are a lot of things you can do to make your website more inbound friendly, as well as more visible in the search engines.
Now that you know who you are trying to reach you can consider what keywords they are using and structure the website based on this. Start with the homepage looking at the title, meta description, headings, alt text for images and the content itself. Are you using the keywords you want to rank for?
Download: Checklist for SEO in 2018.
3. Create landing pages for downloading content
Most companies have content offering a certain value beyond the text on their website, including reports, brochures, product sheets, whitepapers and e-books.
If you have the option in your CMS (content management system) to create landing pages with forms, it is a good idea to place the valuable content behind one of these. Ask people to leave their email address in the form, and maybe other relevant details.
This will allow you to quickly build a list of email addresses to people who are interested in what you are writing about.
4. Write a blog post
You might feel like blogging is overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Start by writing one blog post. It doesn’t have to be long. Quality over quantity, always.
Is it difficult to get going? Since you already have decided who you are going to focus on, think about what these people would like to read about:
- What kind of questions do they have for support?
- What kind of questions do they ask the salespeople throughout the sales process?
- Write about a client that has had challenges that your company solved.
- Write about how you stand out from the competition.
Download: Starting kit for content marketing (publishing calendar, checklist for SEO and presentation for content workshop).
5. Share your website in social media
If you can’t create a blog at the moment, there are still things you can do to reach out to potential customers in new channels. Don’t be one of these companies that are scared of Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
These are perfect channels to reach your personas in new ways. How? By showing some more personality. Share some of the pages from your website or other content you might have in these channels.
Do you have other information that might be useful to these people? Share a link and explain in short why they should click on your website.
6. Create a study about a satisfied customer
Have you ever seen a company brag about themselves? Probably. Do you always believe these companies? Probably not. And why should you?
It is much more believable when praise comes from someone outside the company. Ask one of your existing clients that you know well if they are happy to share a little something about their customer experience with you.
Most happy customers would love to support you. This is free marketing for them as a company as well. A win-win really.
7. Learn something new
You can take the inbound marketing certification free of charge. The course will teach you a lot about the inbound methodology, the fundamental things that need to be in place, and tips on how to get started.
8. Ensure Google Analytics is implemented and know what you are looking for
Depending on what system you are using to publish content, you will have different levels of access to statistics. Before you do anything, you should make sure that Google Analytics is implemented on the site. This will give you a lot of information if you know what you are looking for.
Start by looking at things such as:
- Time on site: How long do visitors stay on the different pages on your site? This will help you determine what content is interesting and what you should write more about – or less.
- Conversion tracking: This can be used to stay on top of who is clicking buttons or links on your site.
- Sources: How are people finding your site? Here you get an overview of where visitors came from (such as social media, organic sources, search engines, Google AdWords and others).
9. Attend a breakfast seminar
There are a lot of breakfast seminars to sign up to. Most are either free or cheaper than going back to school.
Find one that talks about the things you need to learn more about, and that has good coffee. You should never underestimate the power of a good cup of coffee.
Read more: Why you need to attend Avidly Norway's breakfast seminar.
10. Create a short video
All companies have to get going with video. This does not mean everyone needs to launch a full-fledged production with directors, expensive equipment and the lot.
Try filming some shorter clips with a camera or phone from the office, or even a place where your products are being used. Keep it short and sweet while you find your ground.
Video is good in many ways. It gives the prospects a look at how products or services really work, and make them even more ready to buy.
Not sure how to go about it? Remember it is always better to try and fail rather than wait until the competition has raced passed you.
