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Inbound Marketing Strategies That Will No Longer Work in 2020

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The marketing landscape has changed drastically over the years due to a shift in the way consumers make their purchases. They now have more access to customise where, when and how they want to shop. That is why more businesses are using inbound marketing methodology to attract, convert and delight their customers.

However, as with any sales and marketing strategies, inbound must keep evolving to accommodate the way consumers buy. Retailers need to know and understand the way their customers make their shopping experience and ensure that their brand is present in all of the touch-points where buyers make their purchase. When business owners are able to manage their physical and digital presence well, they will have the versatility to cater to their customers’ needs. Hence, an omni-channel strategy is essential for businesses to be present in multiple sales to create seamless.

Companies who only utilise one sales channel may not be able to maximise their revenue benefits. In fact, there are consumers who are hesitant to shop online. Shipping costs, not being able to try the product, delivery waiting time, and privacy concerns are amongst the top reasons for this hesitation. In the same manner, retailers who have an online store should understand how convenience matters so much for the customers. According to one Ecommerce statistic, 43% of online shoppers shop in bed, 20% make their purchases from their car, and 23% from their offices.

Moreover, even if entrepreneurs use multiple channels (website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to promote and sell their products and services, this does not mean that they provide customers with a great experience. Building an omni-channel experience strategy is integral to aligning messaging and branding across platforms to give users a seamless experience through each digital channel engagement. Effective cross-channel selling will not only increase the capacity of a business to reach a wider audience but attract, engage, and delight each user.

5 Inbound Marketing Strategies That Will No Longer Work

Inbound marketing is here to stay, that’s for sure. But, to ensure that a business’ marketing tactics remain relevant, marketers need to improve their inbound strategies. For example, HubSpot moved from their funnel analogy to the flywheel as a marketing framework. If your inbound efforts are no longer producing optimal results, then it’s time to update your marketing plan in 2020.

Here are 5 strategies that will NO longer work in 2020:

Gated content behind landing pages

Businesses use landing pages to gather a prospect’s data. However, more consumers are becoming wary of filling out forms due to privacy concerns or being spammed with emails. Although landing pages are integral to a marketing strategy, they should be used sparingly or else they could turn away potential customers.

Since inbound is focused on providing relevant and helpful content to your visitors, it is best to give away some tips and knowledge to your audience. Reserve the most valuable content for landing pages. That way, you can establish trust with your site visitors and, eventually, they will wind up in your database.

Innovative brands are experimenting with bringing content from behind the “gate” and publishing it openly, with the option to download a PDF version after filling out a form. This builds more trust and can result in an increase in sign-up and conversion rates. It’s also great for SEO as the content can then be better seen and indexed by Google.

Content quantity over quality

Content is king in inbound. However, consumers are now experiencing content fatigue since they are always bombarded with information that may not be relevant to their needs. Moreover, a March 2019 Google algorithm update placed an emphasis on content quality to rank in the search results. Expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness are factors for Google to qualify content as quality answers to queries. With this, marketers need to shift their mindset and focus on content that is expertly written so that they can establish their brand as a thought leader in the industry.

Creating only keyword-focused content

Typically, content is written around keywords to rank up on search queries. To make the most out of it, business owners need to understand how users will search for specific keywords. Use root keywords that are relevant to your brand and products, but don’t stick to using the exact keyword. This will allow you to create meaningful content that answers your prospects’ questions and adds value to your brand.

In 2020, we will see more topic-focused articles than those focused on specific keywords. Google will pick up more long form, authority content designed to be “thought-leader” pieces as this will be the trend for readers.

Too dependent on organic social media

Social media is an important tool for engaging with your audience and promoting the brand. However, the shelf life of organic social posts is short which only gives marketers a small timeframe to make an impression.

With that, marketers must ensure that the message can reach as wide an audience as possible. To amplify your social media presence, paid social advertising or creating an online community can improve your posts’ visibility.

“Check the Box” Lead Nurturing

In inbound, qualified leads are the bread and butter of your strategy. However, if you nurture them using a set-and-forget workflow, it no longer creates a personalised experience for your leads. As it simply triggers certain actions or follow-up emails based on engagement, your contacts may find it troublesome to opt in to your database and they might eventually fall out of your funnel strategy.

To create a personalised experience for your leads, check their engagement with your website—content downloaded, pages visited, and other information. From that point, you will be able to gauge what you can offer that will add value to them. Then, you can use automated emails to deliver content and assign lifecycle stages. On the same note, you can also score your leads so you’ll be able to prioritise your sales and marketing efforts.

Work with a Certified Inbound Marketing Agency

As with all marketing and sales strategies, retailers and entrepreneurs need to optimise their inbound efforts to ensure that they are getting their expected results. Though the principles of inbound are here to stay, marketers should continue to update their marketing tactics to accommodate the ever-changing consumer behaviour.

If you want to optimise and improve your inbound marketing strategy for the upcoming year, work with an established inbound marketing agency to maximise your business’ revenue benefits.

Free eBook – Tips for a Successful Inbound Strategy

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