A No-Brainer Guide to Inbound Marketing for Small Business

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Marketing gurus love themselves some buzzword jargon, and nowhere is that more clear than the phrase “inbound marketing for small business.”

But what exactly does small business inbound marketing mean? How can it help you address some of the biggest small business marketing problems out there? And which inbound marketing methods should you put at the top of your small business to-do list?

Here are five strategies to help you generate leads and boost sales more efficiently, more effectively, and (of course!) more affordably with inbound marketing for small business.

How Inbound Marketing for Small Business Can Help You Achieve Sales Awesomeness

No.1: Know Why You’re Inbounding

It can be tempting to lump all your small business marketing solutions in ONE BUCKET. But really there are two distinct methodologies: inbound marketing and outbound marketing.

Outbound marketing is interruption messaging, in which you send a piece of marketing out into the world (usually not asked for) in the hopes that it finds a receptive audience. Usual suspects here are things like: direct mail, TV ads, banner ads, telemarketing, email blasts to total strangers.

Inbound marketing moves in the opposite direction. This is where potential leads reach out to you, via channels such as organic SEO results, blogs, and social media.

The Least You Need to Know: Outbound marketing uses ads to get people to join your funnel. Inbound marketing uses “content to get people to join your funnel.

Both work and are viable strategies.

But, for the most part, inbound marketing tends to be cheaper, more effective and lead to higher long-term customer value.

Great…so how do we get started?

No.2: Create Content Buckets

One of the biggest inbound marketing mistakes that businesses make is to try to create content that appeals to EVERYBODY. Thing is, people who check out your stuff are at varying steps of the buyer journey. Some people don’t know you from that guy who sells used cars down the street, so need to get to know you a little more before they commit. Whereas somebody who has read 300 pages of your book on Tropical Fish is further down the road of the buyer journey.

Hubspot breaks inbound marketing into THREE categories: Attract, Engage, and Delight. And while I dig the overall concept they’re going for, I think these sound super-generic and slightly obscene.

So, I’ll go with a slightly modified framework. You’ll need content for:

Strangers – People who have no earthly idea who you are (blogs, social media, organic traffic, ads work best here)
Acquantices – People who have opted into your list or qualified as a prospect but haven’t bought anything (email sequences, CRMs, FAQs about your products work really well here)
Sig Others – People who are customers and who you want to develop into brand evangelists (affiliate programs, emails, CRMs, reward programs work here)

For example, if you have no idea who I am then reading a blog how about wonderful my company will have ZERO effect. But a post about how to use inbound marketing — see what I did there? — might be just what you’re looking for. (You know, like right now.)

And if you’ve opted into my email list, but are kind of on the fence about my new software, then a piece about the FAQ related to my “Inbound Marketinator Mach 7” might fit the bill.

And for existing customers, instead of a super-generic piece of content like “Why Marketing is Like…You Know…Good” then I might want to do something like send an email explaining how to take advantage of my Frequent Customer Reward Program…or…how other customers are absolutely killing it with my product. (“Jim made $1200 in seven seconds with the ‘Inbound Marketinator Mach 7’…and so can you.”)

No.3: Brainstorm What You’ll Fit Into Your Buckets

Here’s a very-general example that I like to use when creating content for my three buckets:

Strangers are tire-kickers. They don’t even know if they want to buy a car yet, let alone buy that 2042 Honda Civic With the Jet Rockets you’ve got on back-order. They know they need SOMETHING, they just don’t know what SOMETHING is. Educate them about the world of their problem. Give them all the things they need to know and avoid. How to know what kind of car to buy. How to get a great deal. How to sell or trade-in your existing car and not get ripped off. Just don’t sell. (They ain’t ready!)
Acquaintances are ready but wary. These folks have their financing all set up. They’ve got a printout of all the features they want and can already see themselves driving the car of their dreams. They just ain’t sure they want to buy it from you. This is where you talk about your commitment to the customer. Share testimonials from past customers. Explain how your dealership is different. (“We give away a Miniature Schnauzer with every minivan!”) Take away buying obstacles. Ramp up urgency. (“You’ll need a car for the zombie apocalypse.”)
Sig Others are in the cult. You just need to make sure they are card-carrying, Kool-Aid drinking super-fans. This is where you give them lots of cool stuff as a thank you for being a customer. (“Free calendar, complimentary oil change, an “LA Chargers Suck” bumper sticker.) And you develop that relationship to the point where they buy all future cars from you AND send their friends to buy from you as well.

No.4: Choose One Channel for Each Bucket

It’s hard to be really good at everything. Except for Kristin Bell; she can do everything.

For the rest of us mortals, it’s good to master one element of inbound marketing per bucket before moving on to the next one. For example, it can be tempting to say “I’ve got to create 4 blog posts, 2 videos, 3 SlideShares, and 12 inspirational Facebook posts” each month to market my business.”

But let’s be honest. Is that really going to happen? And if it does, are they gonna be any good.

Start with one you like. (And wouldn’t mind doing if you didn’t get paid for it.) I like to write, so churning out these blog posts is no big deal. But you’d have to sedate me with horse tranquilizer to create an infographic. Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.

If I had to choose one channel for each bucket it would be:

Blog Posts or YouTube Videos (Strangers) – Both good. Depends on your audience and what your message is.
Email follow-ups (Acquaintances) – This works for everybody. And it’s the most reliable form of inbound marketing development. Skip this at your peril.
Email and/or Personal Services – If somebody buys from you, they already like what you’re about. Now they just want more of ya. So, try to give it to them and you’ll likely create a fan (and a an irrational cult member) for life.

Because that’s what inbound marketing for small business is all about. Creating cult members.