What Is The Difference Between Inbound And Outbound Marketing?

There are a lot of similarities between inbound and outbound marketing, but there are also some key differences. This blog post will look at these differences more closely. We'll also discuss the pros and cons of both. So, if you're curious about the difference between inbound and outboard marketing, read on!

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

Inbound marketing attracts customers to your products or services through content marketing, search engine optimization, or social media.

In contrast, outbound marketing is more traditional and relies on advertising, cold-calling, or email blasts to reach potential customers.

So, Which One Is Better?

Well, it depends on your business and your goals. Inbound marketing can be a great way to build awareness and generate interest if you're selling a new product or niche.

However, outbound marketing may be more effective at generating leads if you're selling a more established product or service.

Ultimately, the best approach will likely be a combination of inbound and outbound marketing.

Examples Of Inbound Marketing Techniques

Generally, inbound marketing refers to any marketing strategy that draws customers in rather than going out to them. This can take many different forms, but here are common examples:

YouTube Videos

YouTube videos are a great form of inbound marketing because they allow you to share your message with a large audience at a low cost. Additionally, videos are a great way to engage with your customers and build trust.

SEO

With SEO, you create blog posts and relevant articles for your target audience. You optimize your website for search engines and include keywords and phrases pertinent to your business. By doing this, you'll attract more traffic to your website and also be able to rank higher on search engine results pages.

Social Media

Social media is an especially helpful way to do inbound marketing because it connects to potential customers directly. For example, companies could post updates about their products or services on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. They could also share blog posts or articles about their industry or topics related to their business. Questions from customers can be answered in real-time, and these interactions build trust with their follower base too!

Examples Of Outbound Marketing Techniques

Outbound marketing is any type where businesses find their target audience rather than relying on them to find the company. Here are some popular examples:

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most popular outbound marketing techniques, although technically email marketing can be inbound and outbound. It involves sending (outbound) commercial messages to a group of people via email, but this group consists of people who opted-in (inbound) to hear your messages. These messages can be in ads, newsletters, or promotional content. It's a great way to reach many people quickly and efficiently, and your leads can self-segment by level of interest.

Online Advertising

Online advertising is when businesses pay for ads to appear on websites or in search engine results, and it takes many forms. Some of these ads are in the form of SEM (search engine marketing) or banner ads, video preroll, etc. They usually link to a landing page where potential customers can learn more about the product or service being advertised.

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an outbound marketing technique that uses physical mail for marketing a product or service. While it may seem old-school, it isn’t too shabby when it comes to targeting, and remains a great way to saturate an area with a brand or message.

Inbound Vs. Outbound Marketing: In Closing

So, what is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing? We hope this article provides some answers for you.

They're two very different techniques, but both can be successful in the right circumstances.

The one that will work best for your business depends on various factors, including your products or services, your target audience, and your overall marketing strategy. A curated mix of inbound and outbound can give your company the ROI boost you are looking for.

If you’re looking for a marketing plan in Pittsburgh, Twothirty Media is here to help - we can craft a marketing strategy that is tailored to your business’s needs. Get in touch with us today!

What Makes Advertising Effective?

What Makes Advertising Effective?

People are inundated with advertisements all day long. They hear ads on the radio, they see ads on TV, in print media, while streaming, and online. Companies need to filter out the noise in a world where advertisements are everywhere to understand what makes advertising effective. After all, companies use advertising to stand out from the crowd. 

Your Product or Service Must Stand Out From Your Competitors

Before jumping into an ad campaign, you must be confident that you're starting with a rock-solid product or service - one that is better than the competition, something no one else can offer. Each company, business, or entrepreneur must have a "Unique Selling Proposition," commonly referred to as a USP.

So What is a USP?

A USP tells the reader, listener, viewer, or niche audience to buy a product for a specific benefit. The product or service should be something they cannot get from anyone else, which means uniqueness. Finally, the proposition in the advertisement should ‘move the masses’. This means it should motivate previous customers to buy your product while attracting new customers. 

Here are some USPs that have been effective throughout the years:

Of course, your USP doesn't have to be a slogan, and your slogan doesn't have to be a USP. Maybe it's a specific product or offering that is unique to you. If you have trouble finding your USP, consider niching down to a particular audience you can specialize in.

The Audience

Imagine you are at a party, and your goal is to find someone you can connect to on some level. How would you go about doing this? For starters, you might look for someone with similar interests; maybe a sports jersey grabs your attention. If you don't see any dead giveaways, you'd need to start a conversation and ask about a person to try to make any real connection. Sure, you could talk about the weather or the color of the paint on the walls, but that's not bound to get you far. You need to know a little about someone to connect with them.

An advertiser is more like a DJ at a party. They can engage and make a connection with everyone at the party at once. But the same risks apply; without understanding their audience before they begin, they run the risk of alienating everyone at once.  

If you are an advertiser with a unique product, skill set, experience, or service, you need to make sure you reach a unique audience. Even national burger chains market to regional audiences in different ways, when they know what makes advertising effective.  

How do you know that your ads are reaching your audience? Well, that's a bit more complicated. At some point, you will need to place your ads, and that's where targeting comes in. Facebook and Google have a lot of advanced features for helping target your audience and can get good results from a small spend if you are willing to learn the ropes and keep up with the curveballs they'll inevitably throw your way. Whether you are a small advertiser looking to master Facebook and Google Ads, or you have a large budget and are looking for something more advanced, like programmatic display or over-the-top streaming ads, we can help you out. 

The Headline

Now that you have a USP and know your audience let's figure out how to combine the two into a headline. The headline is one of the essential parts of any advertising. Think about your time on social media or while going through a news feed. There are tons of stories and posts that are clamoring for your attention. How do you choose which one to read? The headline, of course!

The headline should grab their attention, but it also has to deliver. If the headline is clickbait, you will have many potential customers exiting the advertisement in frustration, which could ultimately cost you. 

The Benefits

Every potential customer wants you to answer one question: what's in it for them? This should be the core idea you build your advertisements around. What are the features of your product or service, and how do these features benefit the client?

For instance; if you are a bakery trying to get new clients with a new muffin you just released, it is not enough to say, "come on in and try our new banana pumpkin muffin." You need more. Why do I, the customer, need a banana pumpkin muffin? Does it taste good? Is it healthy? Low on calories? Is it cheap? Is there a discount? This time you need to be more than better than the muffins down the street - you need to justify your existence. 

Great Graphics / Copy

The copy must be excellent - whether your ad is in print, video, or voice. The graphics must be clear, crisp, and attractive whether your ad will appear in print, on screens, or video. Photos should both show the product and what the product has to offer. What will eating your new banana pumpkin muffin do for me? – show me a picture. Will I be happy? Refreshed? Has this helped me have a more productive morning?

The Call to Action

The Call to Action, or CTA, is one of the most critical parts of the ad. Sure, a muffin is nice. It looks attractive, the baker seems happy, and the shop is well maintained. If you have established why they need this muffin, now you need to show them how to get it right now. Tell the customer what to do:

What Should You Do Now?

Now that you know what makes advertising effective and how vital good advertisements are to a business, you should learn more about our advertising agency in Pittsburgh! Visit us to learn more about what we can do for you and your business.