The Insider Scoop on Inbound Marketing

In 2011, Google had over 2 billion searches per day, making it the biggest powerhouse for search engines in the world. With numbers as glaring as that, marketers needed to find out how to harness the search engine giant. As the saying goes, “if you can’t beat them, join them”, innovative marketers began to see a trend in Google’s analytics; that activity on websites generated the biggest amount of top related search results.

The best way that you can gain Google’s recognition for your company is to create a daily blog, podcast, or webinars. While it is debated that this does not produce as much short-term, tangible results as traditional marketing (cold calls, advertising, trade shows, radio, spam, and direct paper mail) and is more of a long-term approach, a busy blog or podcast can have ample amounts of feedback and reblogs.

According to IMU, Inbound Marketing University, a training program provided by Hubspot.com to educate about inbound marketing, the best way to blog and promote your company is to indirectly talk about it. For example, Best Western uses an outsourced blogger who blogs about traveling.  Attached to the blog are links, packages deals, and different travel sites that promote Best Western as well as the entire travel industry.

Another way to build your credibility through Inbound Marketing is to utilize forums about your industry. Instead of posting ads in the comment boxes, answer questions or give advice to others. Even if the customer is asking about a different company or product, you can still give them helpful advice for the best way to solve the problem. Remember, building trust is the first step in any relationship.