1. Create Remarkable Content. The most important element of inbound marketing is remarkable content. There is so much information on the internet today that most people have trouble wadding through their email! You have to make your content really stand out from the competition in order to be seen by others. One way to create remarkable content for an e-commerce store is by promoting a special special sale or contest that makes people say, "Wow, that's a great deal!" or "That's a really cool idea" or "All I have to do is signup and they give me ______? Great, where do I signup?" If you are not running online promotions and specials on at least a monthly basis, you are not operating your e-business properly. You need to hire an e-commerce inbound marketer as soon as possible to get your marketing campaign off the ground the right away. Visit Harry Joiner at Ecommercejobs.com for the ultimate talent in the marketplace today. Harry is the leader in e-commerce talent and is very connected to the best of the best in the e-commerce sphere. If you are looking to hire, Contact Harry first.
2. Get Others To Find Your Remarkable Content – Engage In The Conversation! One of the most accessible ways to get others to find your content is to engage in the conversation of your customers. Brian Solis of FutureWorks, and owner of the blog bub.blicio.us and PR2.0, perfectly explains the importance and fantastic opportunity we have of being able to actively engage in online communities. Read what he has to say on the subject in the book Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan (the CEO and Founder of Hubspot -- yes, Mr. Halligan is an expert and someone you should start following if you have even the slightest interest in marketing!):
"In the social web, we are presented with a privilege to establish meaningful dialogue and collaborative relationships with the people who define our markets. This is an incredible opportunity to establish relevance and discoverability. Remember, consumers have choices. We're not part of those decisions where we're not present. Inbound marketing serves as the bridge between those seeking information, direction and insight and those willing to provide guidance and support."
- excerpt from Brian Solis in the book Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan
Mr. Solis illustrates one of the often forgotten, yet vital points of the online shopping experience, "Consumers have choices. We're not part of those decisions where we're not present." Take a look at the company Home Depot's Twitter Page. Home Depot is a brilliant company, and operates like one. Just yesterday, April 11th 2010, the first message I read on Home Depot's Main Twitter Feed is a direct message to a customer davidwherry. They noticed that David posted a tweet saying, "Wow, this Home Depot is full of inefficiency. They have a 'price book' that have pics of products, but no SKU or price. #fail" Home Depot took the initiative and contacted David within 24 hours to see if he had resolved his problem. Although this message may or may not have solved David's problem, it shows David, and every one of Home Depot's 21,000+ twitter followers, that they care about their customers and will respond to you if you have a problem.
Home Depot is displaying a brilliant example of inbound marketing in action by engaging in the conversation and acting as “the bridge between those seeking information, direction and insight.” Don’t think that online presence, and thus online sales, is important to one of the most popular brick and mortar stores in the country? Why don’t you read about their new website redesign and product philosophy sphere-headed by Online President Hal Lawton in the article written by Rachel Tobin Ramos in the AJC this past Saturday April 10th, 2010. READ IT HERE
3. Obtain New Customers From Social Media. Another way to create remarkable content AND to obtain new customers is to encourage your community to engage YOU through the social media sphere. This is a tough practice and will not happen overnight. But you can start today by engaging your customers and inviting them to participate in conversations, sales, promotions and contests. The most popular and easiest way to do this today is via twitter and/or facebook. One shining example of a company that is utilizing twitter for promotions is Chic-Fil-A. Looking at their twitter feed, I immediately see a great promotion. The promotion tells people to take a picture of themselves drinking a peach milkshake. The first 10 people to send in this picture get a free milkshake. Great idea! This promotion not only offers value to their customers, it gets their customers to purchase a product AND actively engage with the Chic-Fil-A Brand. Chic-Fil-A understands the essence of social networking and inbound marketing. Are you following suit?
The way of marketing is changing from interruption marketing (outbound marketing) and is being replaced with viral social marketing (inbound marketing). With every passing day, more and more people are relying on their friends and even strangers’ opinions and comments to make their decision to purchase a product.
This trend is going to continue and you need to make sure you can take advantage of it. Get started today... It’s as Easy As 1, 2, 3!
