What is inbound marketing: The ultimate guide for beginners

Building a community around your brand is a great way to keep your business thriving. In order to build a solid community, businesses must make their brands discoverable to the right audience. Inbound marketing is a great way to get new eyes on your brand.

In this post, we’re going to discuss everything beginners need to know about inbound marketing. We’ll discuss what it is, how it works, and how you can create an inbound marketing strategy for your wholesale business.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a general marketing tactic that is geared towards making your brand discoverable in order to build awareness of your brand. The purpose of inbound marketing is to connect with any potential buyers, not just those who are ready to purchase immediately.

Inbound marketing aligns more closely with content marketing. Many inbound marketing methods involve creating and publishing content that is valuable to your audience. This includes video content, social media content, and SEO blog content.

This is different from outbound marketing which targets people who are ready to buy. Some popular outbound marketing methods include paid advertising, cold calling, cold emailing, and other practices that involve more direct selling techniques. Inbound marketing could be part of a digital marketing strategy, but it isn’t restricted to the “digital” aspect.

While outbound marketing can be effective, inbound marketing is a great approach for businesses that benefit from long-term relationships and ongoing contracts.

Wholesalers are the perfect candidate for wholesalers since their business model thrives with returning customers as opposed to always onboarding new ones.

Why inbound marketing works

Inbound marketing is so popular because it works. Let’s take a quick look at some stats and facts that demonstrate why a business would benefit from inbound marketing:

• Inbound marketing makes the buyer’s journey more meaningful and engaging
• Since organic inbound marketing is cheaper than running paid ads, there is greater potential for a large return on investment (ROI)
• Inbound marketing is 54% more effective for lead generation than outbound marketing¹
• More than a third of buyers find a presence on LinkedIn important for sales²
• Nurtured leads are likely to make larger purchases than leads that you don’t nurture³

Examples of inbound marketing

There are many approaches you can take when with inbound marketing. Different audiences respond to different tactics, so it is important to be familiar with the different avenues available.

Here are a few of the most popular methods of inbound marketing.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is very popular, especially since it gives brands direct access to people from just about any demographic. This involves creating social media content that resonates with your target audience.

The types of content that most social media platforms support include text, video, and photos. Video is particularly great for generating audience engagement.

Some of the most popular platforms for social media marketing include Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Some niche brands may also find success on platforms like Clubhouse, Twitter, and TikTok.

Blog content marketing

Blog content is a great way to provide value to your audience and build trust among prospects. You can answer questions and provide resources that would come in handy for your target audience.

One of the most popular distribution methods for blog content is SEO. SEO is short for “search engine optimization.” By applying SEO best practices to your blog posts, marketers can increase their odds of ranking high on search engine results.

The key to effective blog content marketing is providing useful information that your target audience would search for. This will get qualified traffic on your site.

You can incorporate calls to action, such as “Join Our Fan Club” with a link to subscribe to your email list or “Subscribe for More” with a link to your YouTube channel. This way, you can convert your site visitors to members of your community.

Video content marketing

Video content marketing is a very engaging form of inbound marketing that many companies use. It is much like blog content marketing in the sense that it is designed to build trust and credibility. The only actual difference is the format and the way the information is delivered.

Videos can be posted on popular sites like YouTube or Dailymotion, or they can be published on your website via an embedded player.

If you are already creating blog content, we recommend repurposing the same materials by creating a video on the topic.

Events

Events are a great way to get in front of your target audience. You could sponsor events, set up a booth at an event, or even host one of your own. Attending industry-specific events, like conferences and trade shows, is also a good idea to get in front of potential customers.

The value of using events for inbound marketing is that it gives you face-to-face contact with your audience, whereas the other methods we’ve mentioned are carried out over the internet.

How to create an inbound marketing strategy

There are a lot of different ways to build an inbound marketing strategy since there are so many approaches that you can take. However, there are a few basic steps that wholesalers can follow to create a great inbound marketing strategy of their own.

Let’s run through these steps.

1. Identify your audience

First and foremost, identify the audience you are trying to attract. Think about who you serve in terms of the type of business that will buy from you and the decision-makers that will ultimately place an order. Determine why they need your business, and what pain points you’re resolving for them.

Map out the details of your ideal customer regarding where they are located, how large the company is, and things like that. This will help you create buyer personas so you stay crystal clear on who you’re trying to reach.

2. Choose a method

As we covered above, there are quite a few marketing methods that wholesalers can use in their inbound marketing strategies. The methods that you choose will depend on your audience, your budget, and your business.

For example, businesses with access to more resources may host events that all for in-person interaction, whereas businesses that are just getting started may rely more on DIY social media marketing.

No matter which way you go, high-quality content is a must. Also, make sure your content offers real value.

3. Plan your campaign

Next, it is time to plan your campaign. If you are using some form of content marketing, you’re going to want to create a timeline of when different materials will be posted. Figure out what times of content to create and what the purpose of each piece of content will be.

If you plan to use blog content, for example, do some keyword research to see what people are searching for. Check Google search results to see if different keywords make sense in the context of your brand.

If you’re leaning more towards social media marketing, check out your competitors’ pages to see what sort of content they are posting and which posts are getting the most engagement.

4. Create your marketing materials

This step will look a little different for each strategy, depending on what methods you plan to use. No matter what content you create, focus on quality and value. Use high-quality images and videos. Be intentional with everything that you create.

You must get super clear on your messaging. The language that you use in your content, whether it be the video script or the caption of an image, should be crafted to speak directly to your target audience.

It’s also a good idea to incorporate questions and statements that will get your audience involved or thinking more about your content.

5. Launch your campaign and track results

With everything planned and prepped, it is time to launch your inbound marketing campaign.

Inbound marketing doesn’t end once you launch your campaign. It is a good idea to track your results and study analytics to make sure that everything is working properly and you’re reaching the intended audience.

Sell on Alibaba.com

Inbound marketing efforts are valuable for wholesalers. This marketing methodology helps to build more genuine connections that help to create a community atmosphere. It positions your brand as one that your target audience trusts.

Looking to take things to the next level with your wholesale business? Start selling on Alibaba.com. Access a suite of professional selling tools to connect with new buyers and continue to build your customer base.

Some of our top features for selling include demand forecasting tools, advertisements, industry analytics, auto-translation tools, client management, and more.

Create an Alibaba.com account today and choose “Seller” as your trade role. With smart listings and online storefront support, you can start connecting with new buyers in no time at all.