theeyeworks inbound marketing whitepaper

4300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 325 • Dallas, Texas 75206

Tel: 214.988.5493 • Fax: 214.853.9164 • www.theeyeworks.com



Turn Your Website into an Inbound Marketing Machine There is no denying it. The Digital Age and specifically the Internet has changed not only the way we live but certainly the way we do business – doesn’t matter whether its B2B or B2C. For example commerce has evolved into e-commerce, snail mail is being replaced by email (and at a rapid pace), and in some regards traditional marketing is being complemented if not challenged by Web Inbound-Marketing. This report will provide your business with Inbound Marketing practical steps and tactics you can implement now to turn your Website into a sales machine. Introduction Not long ago, companies reached their prospects through direct mail, trade shows, print advertising and other traditional marketing methods – this is also known as Outbound Marketing. Today there are numerous online marketing tools that in essence accomplish several objectives:

• You can reach your customers Faster!

• You can get a response from your customers Faster! - often times in real time via Social Media.

• Used effectively they certainly have the potential of shortening the sales cycle

overall.



So what is Inbound Marketing? Inbound Marketing has a number of definitions – it all depends on who you ask. Generally Inbound Marketing (1) is an online marketing strategy that (2) focuses on getting your company found by your customers by (3) providing them the specific content and information that they are looking for and (4) directly engaging with them via Social Media. It’s a relatively new and some would say the natural evolution of the Web. And it’s certainly a departure from the “old” marketing model of Outbound Marketing.

Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing

Cost Costs more Costs less

Results Less measureable; Results vary

More measureable; Analytics

Time and Effort Less time and effort More time and effort; Organic

Targeted Customers Very broad – cast a wide net Very targeted and narrow – customers come to you

Tactics Telemarketing, Print advertising, Direct mail; Trade shows, Inside sales

SEO, PPC, Blogging, Landing pages, Analytics, Social Media, RSS Feeds

Messages/Approaches Hit them over the head many times with a sledgehammer

Come to me because I’m a magnet – I have what you want



Here are some practical and real-steps you can take right now to prepare your Website for Inbound Marketing: Websites are for humans and search engines. Yes your site has to look good and represent your company well. It also needs to be found. This is where SEO comes in to save the day. Make your site friendly for search engines – Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. They have to understand what your site is about and what types of people should find your site. Great content is key. Give your site the right content and the right key search words for effective SEO. Websites do not exist in a vacuum. In other words, your site is on the Internet. It’s there for others to see and read. With this in mind, your site should recognize its neighbors. We are talking about links. Think of each link going into your site as a “vote” from its neighboring sites that are in essence saying, “Yes, your Website is COOL!” But make sure you get the right type of links onto your site. Most Websites are flat and static. Have you ever gone to a customer’s or competitor’s site and noticed that it never changes? There really is no reason to go back. Don’t let that happen to your site. Blogs are a perfect way to give your customers a reason to come back and find something new – think of it as repeat business. Blogs also are a great way for search engines to give your site a possible higher-ranking because of the fresh content. If your Website doesn’t evolve and keep up with your business, then it really isn’t of much use. Websites perform with busy traffic. Is your site like a busy office or can you hear a pin drop? The more visitors you have on your site the higher the chances your site will do what you want it to do for your company. With fresh articles, an e-newsletter, Blog, news and announcements, you are giving visitors a reason to stay a while and learn new things about your company and products. Give your Website constant evaluations. In today’s competitive environment, your Website is vitally important to your success (or at least it should be important). Savvy customers and prospects will judge you by how your site looks and performs. Your Website may end up being the deciding factor as to whether you make that sale or win that account. So constantly track your site’s performance. Your site should be able to match up against your hot shot salesperson. If your site isn’t pulling in the numbers, then something is wrong.



Ready, Set, SELL! Now that you have an understanding of Inbound Marketing, it’s time to put your site to work. Follow these online tips to make your site a sales powerhouse! Fresh content served hot. Write copy that sells! Write content that is a call to action for your customers. Tell them about your story. Also, delete any duplicated content and make it fresh and meaningful. When was the last time you bought from a site that couldn’t write a coherent sentence. Everyone has seen those sites that throw up all kinds of words on their site in the hopes of getting a higher ranking among search engines. Don’t do it. Also make sure your titles, headings, keywords and descriptions match what’s on each page. Don’t give your customers an unnecessary surprise. So start writing or hire a PR firm or writer to start cranking out meaningful copy that not only tells your company’s story but also gets you noticed by search engines. The Social Media train is leaving, you better jump on. Your customers are doing it and your competitors for sure have bought their ticket to board that train. It’s already been proven that Social Media has influence and reach. It is a new and changing Web phenomenon. But consider this – billions upon billions worldwide are using this new Web tool and using it to reach out to more people, customers and interested followers than ever before. Social Media will allow your brand to reach more people. Not sure how to leverage or maximize your Social Media efforts? Work with a trusted partner that can guide your company through the Social Media maze. Create a landing area for your customers to gently glide in. Landing pages are a great way for your customers to find quick, direct and specific information, offers, videos and enhanced Web services as a service from you. Think of landing pages as a “By Invitation Only” Web feature. Visitors or customers who go to a landing page get something a little more special than the casual visitor. You may have gone to a landing page and weren’t aware of it. Done correctly landing pages can be customized, seamless, strategic and a great online experience for your customers.

Action: Write and post influential and informative content for humans and search engines.

Action: Use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube and other new media channels in a cohesive Social Media strategy.

Action: Create landing pages with a purpose to give your customers or prospects an enhanced Web experience.



Hands across the Internet. Inbound links are like saying “Hello Neighbor!” to friendly and strategically linked sites. These links serve to drive more traffic to your site and are like a homing device for search engines to find you. Make sure the inbound links are a good fit for your company and are complimentary. Also make sure to constantly monitor the sites that are linking to yours. You will build greater SEO success and authority by linking and monitoring these links regularly. Blog like you mean it. Now you’ll wish you paid attention in English class. Blogs are a great way to share all kinds of information on your events, products, industry trends, articles, how-tos, etc. But they serve a higher purpose online. They are an excellent way to bulk up your content for SEO purposes and to engage your customers. If your Blog is interesting and actually has useful information, your customers will stay tuned and may even share your Blog with another potential customer. Thus there are many win-wins with a Blog. The hardest part may be taking the first step to actually do it.

Conclusion These are but some Web tactics you can implement immediately – there are of course many others - to turn your site into a sales animal. Most serious businesses today have some type of Web presence. The most competitive of these have a strategic and customer-friendly site that drives results. Remember that Websites are for humans AND search engines. You need to let search engines know what your business is all about, what type of visitors should find your site and what information is posted on your site. Inbound marketing may very well be the next evolution of the Internet. Search engine optimization, Social Media, Blogging, Landing Pages and Pay-Per-Click all combine to help you reach more customers and at a quicker pace. Take the steps we have outlined in this report to make your site ready and profitable. Inbound Marketing is an investment in time and effort, but very well worth it.

Contact Us: TheEyeWorks 4300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 325 Dallas, TX 75206 www.theeyeworks.com

Action: Bulk up your site with Inbound Links.

Action: Start a Blog with interesting and varied content and information. Make sure it’s on a schedule.

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @theeyeworks Facebook: facebook.com/theeyeworks

theeyeworks inbound marketing whitepaper

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