Market the Possibilities with Inbound and Outbound Marketing

Is it true that the days of outbound marketing are over and you should be all about inbound marketing? It can be hard for a marketer to know what to do to get the best results.

So should you choose between inbound and outbound marketing? How can you really know what's best for your brand?

Here are five top tips to help you find your way through the inbound versus outbound minefield.

Know Your Audience

As the article "Inbound, Outbound, Multichannel: What's a Marketer to do?" says, clearly defining your target audience is vital. The more you know about your audience, the easier it is to decide on the best marketing method to reach them.

For example, does your audience spend a lot of time on social media or blogs? Then inbound marketing is a good choice for them.

But what if your audience doesn't spend so much time online, or is more likely to go to a trade show for example? Then outbound might be your best choice.

Understand Each Channel

Inbound and outbound marketing have different strengths:

  • Inbound marketing works well if you have excellent content and plenty of useful information to share. Remember though, that for it to work your customers need to find you. This links back to point #1 - you need to know who your customers are and what they're looking for;
  • Outbound marketing is particularly effective for new products (remember, if it's new your customers won't know to search for it), or for when you want to get quick returns or give your profile a big boost.

Understanding the strengths of each channel will help you choose the best one for you at any point in your marketing campaign.

Define Your Aims

To help you decide which marketing channel to choose, take the time to get really clear on your aims.

Are you trying to:

  • Raise brand awareness;
  • Promote a new product;
  • Share information;
  • Boost customer loyalty;
  • Share a contest or special offer;
  • Get seen by a large audience;
  • Increase sales.

Knowing your eventual aim will make it much easier to choose the best marketing channel to help you achieve that.

Look at Your Budget

Your budget will be a serious consideration when deciding which marketing channel to use.

Inbound marketing is usually considerably more budget friendly than outbound. Creating  a social media campaign or a series of white papers will typically cost a lot less than sending out direct mail or putting together a TV spot.

The amount you spend on outbound marketing can reap dividends in terms of a quick profile raise, but make sure you target it to the right people so not a dollar gets wasted. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, can create a lot of connections and attention for a comparatively small outlay.

Track What Works

Whether you go inbound or outbound, always track your marketing efforts.

Before you start, define what a successful campaign would look like for you. Then figure out how you can track and measure your campaign to find out if it ticked the right boxes.

For an inbound campaign, you might track social media shares, or click-throughs to your online shop. For an outbound campaign, you might track any spike in sales following a specific campaign.

When it comes to the inbound versus outbound debate, the trick is to remember that marketing isn't an either/or choice.

Instead, build up a good understand of each channel, of your audience, and of your campaign aims.

That way, you can choose the best options for your business, whether that's inbound, outbound, or using both together to embrace the best of both worlds.