Like at a party or something? I start with something most people do know—how they go about making a large purchase or the purchase of something they don’t already know a lot about. They do a bunch of research, and most of it is online. They look for sources of information they like and can learn from. They look for voices and advice they can trust. This process helps them whittle down both which product they’d like to buy and who they’d like to buy it from. Inbound marketing, sometimes called content marketing, is designed to cater to the needs of those people doing that research, by providing the information (blogs, white papers, videos, and more) and being the trusted source they’re seeking.
If that person at the party wants to know even more, I explain how we use technology to help people find us and our information, and then to answer their questions and nurture their interest—all before an actual human being ever gets involved. At this point, all but the most intrepid take a step backward, say thanks, and go to get their glass refilled.
While working as the Associate Publisher of a national sports magazine over 10 years ago I recognized that advertisers were increasingly seeking opportunities to expand their reach onto the Internet and into social media. It was while working with these advertisers that my focus moved from simply helping them place ads to explaining how their ads could be more effective when integrated with digital media and landing pages. After leaving the magazine, I worked as a Digital Marketing Manager and developed inbound marketing campaigns for a local Infiniti dealership while doing freelance social media and web design for local companies. When I saw the opportunity to work as an Inbound Marketing and Sales Consultant at LeadG2, almost three years ago, I knew that my background in media, social media, and digital marketing would be put to good use—and it has!
The most challenging aspect of being an Inbound Marketing and Sales Consultant is keeping up with the constantly changing landscape of search, social media, and digital marketing. With changes to Google search algorithms on an almost monthly basis and with social media constantly evolving, it’s important to understand which changes will affect which target audiences and the impact will be on each of our clients’ inbound marketing strategy. Also, as a HubSpot Platinum Partner, we need to keep up to date with the constant improvements that HubSpot is making to their tools and resources, and then help our clients understand and apply these new developments. I keep up to date by subscribing to a number of blogs (including the HubSpot blog) as well as industry publications.
The Future of Sales and Marketing
It all starts with knowing who you are trying to reach, and you can never know too much. We help our clients research their various target audiences, understand each one at a profound level, and build each distinct target into what we call a target persona. These target persona descriptions help the target come alive for the inbound marketing staff, and the result is always superior content. Creating content that matches the essence of your company’s brand is extremely important, but it’s at least equally important to focus it on the needs and interests of the target persona.
Getting Started with Inbound Marketing
There are so many things I enjoy about this role at LeadG2! The one best part? Probably the opportunity to help clients from diverse industries—healthcare, insurance, and staffing are just three examples—achieve results. Learning how different industries and companies work and how to create successful inbound strategies for each of them gives me a lot of diversity on a daily basis, keeps me on my toes, and makes me smarter.
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