Marketers the world over know how important inbound marketing has become over the last few years.
What do you need for a decent marketing plan? Three things: a budget, resources, and reporting measures. What else? If you’re serious about marketing, which I hope you are, you’ll also need to hire a loyal marketing professional.
Build a Marketing Foundation
- Create a keyword list. Use tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner to gain additional insight into which keywords and phrases related to your business.
- Figure out EXACTLY who your buyers are. Knowing who your buyers and potential customers are is the first step toward marketing to them. You need to know what makes them tick. Try creating a buyer persona, i.e., a fictional character that represents your ideal customer.
- Identify your marketing goals. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they set up an inbound marketing strategy is that they forget to set goals. It’s about figuring out where you’re at and consistently making sure you’re moving forward.
- Narrow down a content strategy. Don’t just give this step lip service. Do your research, and decide which types of content will best serve what you and your business have to offer.
- Develop a company blog. Here’s where all the parts start to come together. Use your keyword list, keep your target market in mind, along with your goals and content strategy and start writing.
Great blogs help your website rank higher in search engine results. Blog articles give you something real, that you own, to share on social media.
