We hear a lot about inbound marketing but very little about outbound. So what do you need to know and remember about these two great pillars of marketing? I’ll explain everything to you!
Everything you need to know about outbound marketing
Outbound marketing literally translates as “outbound marketing” in good French.
The purpose of outbound marketing is to arouse the interest of an audience (often not targeted) for your brand or your product through a strategy of “exposure”. This marketing technique is often used to establish brand awareness.
An example that everyone knows is displaying ads on busy streets or cities with heavy traffic. The goal is to be seen by as many people as possible. The audience is not targeted, but reaches a large audience. This is called intrusive advertising.
This marketing approach is the most famous and most used since the beginning of time.
Another very common example of outbound marketing is television advertising.
On the Internet, we can find this form of marketing for example through placing poster ads on high traffic websites. It’s the same principle, but unlike advertising posters in the city, we target our audience more precisely, thanks to re-targeting for example. Here, as opposed to billboard displays, we’re on suggestive advertising.
For example, the principle of retargeting is to “retarget” people who have already visited our website.
You can also find outbound marketing through advertisements on social networks. It is quite possible to launch an ad on Facebook with the aim of converting the conversation around the likes of a post or page. On this strategy, we are still on outbound marketing, but with a target audience.
In my case, I did an outbound marketing campaign. I made a 4×3 meter billboard with a marketing punchline “Do you know where is the best place to hide a corpse? This is the second page of Google.
Growing interest in inbound
Inbound marketing is the opposite of outbound marketing. This is called “inbound marketing”. It’s all about attracting your audience to your content.
To do this, you need to create unique, engaging and high value-added content. You can go through blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts etc. We then speak of the natural context.
Instead of getting the most exposure and introducing yourself to them, you ask your audience to come to you on their own (of their own free will).
In my case, I regularly (and consistently) create content (like through this blog post) to attract new visitors to my website and convert them into customers. I highly recommend that you do the same, because it really works. Thanks to this technology, I managed to get one of my biggest customers.
Inbound marketing is commonly found on the Internet. But lately I’ve been working with a professional who sells kitchens and offers cooking classes with chefs. Thus, potential customers flock to his showroom and take advantage of his kitchen and chef’s courses. I do not know if this strategy is profitable or not, but it is a very good idea in any case.
Conclusion: What should you choose for your strategy?
To conclude, outbound marketing is actually different from inbound marketing, but can very well complement it. These marketing techniques have different purposes.
Outbound marketing allows you to be omnipresent and establish your notoriety, while inbound marketing allows you to attract prospects with quality content.
Similarly, for those who are just starting out, it is more economical to use inbound marketing than outbound marketing because you do not need to spend money on advertising to gain visibility. You just need to take a little time to create unique content that looks like you and bring something to your community.