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Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: Which one is the best for your business?
One of the most important pillars for your business is how to implement marketing strategies that best suit it and thanks to the fact that we live in an increasingly globalised world, learning about this subject is simpler, as you have at your fingertips different tools: e-books, blogs, and even master degrees in business, all without leaving your home. Even so, if you have doubts about some of the concepts of marketing strategies, read on! They will be clarified here.
Understanding Inbound and Outbound
In the vast world of marketing, there are a variety of terms that at first may seem strange, however, you can always start with the necessary references.
There are two basic concepts to start with: inbound and outbound marketing, being the most common but at the same time, the most strategic to connect with the target you are looking for.
To better understand the difference between these two methods imagine you are walking down the street when suddenly a person comes along and hands you a flyer advertising a café that has just opened, you take a look at the details and decide to go; you arrive at the place, order a latte to go and sit down to wait while it is ready, you get a bit bored you decided to surf the internet and you remembered that you need to buy some things and, by chance, you find the air fryer you always wanted on discount, you don't miss the opportunity so you add it to your cart and buy it just in time for when the coffee is ready, you take it and leave the place. Can you spot the differences?
While outbound is received by the receiver directly and concisely (the action of having received a flyer) "forcing" them to consume the advertising, inbound is focused on creating and distributing content tailored to your target audience, attracting them to your websites.
Now, although outbound was explained as a method of reaching people in a more traditional way (and it is), this has been adapting over time as the internet era breaks down barriers, expanding the possibility of reaching different audiences, outbound marketing is also the paid advertising that you find on the internet, in other words, it is not the same to pay for a story on Instagram, to be among the first searches on Google.
Inbound Marketing
It was already seen a general contextualisation of the differences between inbound and outbound, nevertheless, we will cover in-depth the meaning of these methods.
This is focused on attracting customers by various means, satisfying their needs, and/or transforming their problems into solutions, being implemented in various ways: Whether it be social media posts, blogs that include keywords, videos, etc.
Let’s say that you hire an influencer to promote online universities, to make it more natural she/he should be doing a casual action (studying/working on the computer) in the post your business should be tagged, arousing people’s curiosity and interest, this, not only supplying/creating a need, but also making them visit your websites and improving the positioning SEO.
Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing is based on flooding the audience with advertising, hoping to capture their attention. Contrary to its counterpart, to use it you must be clear about its niche.
This may have happened to you: you see a commercial for a car and although the product is not so interesting to you, it stays in your mind; a few weeks later you come across an advertisement for the same car in a video, arousing your interest, but you forget about it after a while. Sometime later, you are walking along when you come across the dealership and you see the same car, you have just been paid and a debt that a friend had with you has been paid off, so you decide to buy it.
Which one is best for your business?
Perhaps this topic may be a little clearer for you, however, if you are new to digital marketing and are just starting your business, you should consider the following:
· The inbound methodology requires content to be continually refreshed, i.e., develop diverse content that will attract potential customers.
· The outbound methodology requires monetary investment, in addition, there is more guarantee of purchasing if our audience is a regular customer.
In short, you should consider which of the two best applies to your needs and interests, you can apply both if you wish, but you must be sure that they fit what suits you best.