How to reach potential customers in a sea of digital platforms? In traditional advertising, you grab the attention of people by directly asking them to purchase your product or service. However, inbound marketing in B2B takes a different approach. Each piece of valuable content that you create helps to build your audience’s trust and attention.
B2B inbound marketing is about building meaningful relationships with customers and nurturing them through every phase of the buyer’s journey. Nobody likes getting bombarded with sales messages and calls. You need to understand your buyer’s pain points and address them in a way that suits your audience’s needs.
Let’s explore the role of inbound marketing in B2B and understand its core structure.
What is Inbound Marketing? – A Brief Glance
Gone are the days when marketing relied on using non-targeted content. You need to attract happy prospects and qualified leads to ensure a profitable ROI. Inbound marketing in B2B is all about providing relevant and engaging content to attract potential buyers to your brand. ( Note the word “potential”)
In simple words, it’s about them coming to you Vs. you going to them. By focusing on the inbound marketing methodology of Attract, Convert, Close, and Engage, you are turning visitors into loyal customers to achieve your business goals. Examples of inbound marketing in B2B include:
- Webinars
- Video Marketing
- Content marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization(SEO)
Now, let us help you create an inbound marketing strategy to boost your business in 2024.
Top 6 Inbound Marketing in B2B Strategies
1. Write Down Your Goals
The first thing is to identify the objective of the campaign. Once you know where to reach, you and your team can implement concrete actionable steps. Here are key things to consider to plan your desired objective.
- Figure out the marketing channels your target audience is utilizing.
- Analyze the KPIs to understand the performance improvement you need to hit your business goals.
- Write your goals down and do a feasibility test to understand it’s long-term efficacy.
2. Extensive Research and Competitor Mapping
Is your existing strategy not working? It’s time to analyze the competition to build a solid foundation for your marketing campaign. Pick 5-7 top competitors from a business model perspective and companies running successful social media campaigns to understand the pulse of the market.
Use competitive analysis tools like SEMrush, Spyfu, and ScreamingFrog to find what’s successful, what you can learn from their mistakes, and understand the critical gaps of inbound marketing in B2B.
When you build your campaign on the foundation of accurate data, you have devised a plan to benchmark your performance from the beginning.
3. Content Plan
Content is the backbone of inbound marketing in B2B. Often, the tone and delivery matter more than the internal crux of the message. The right content will solve your buyer’s pain points and move them closer to their goals. There is a system for creating content that will surely help you achieve your goals.
- Information is key – Focus on providing information to solve your audience’s needs. Optimize the content according to the platform of the channel. Users won’t convert into customers if you serve content that is not relevant to their needs.
- Outline ahead – Create a detailed outline for the content you want to produce before actually working on it. This ensures that the finished content is laser-targeted to achieve the goals of your campaign.
- Publish, Optimize, Repurpose – Publish and optimize the content as per the platform. Use proper brand hashtags, and analyze its key metrics. Repurpose and promote to scale the reach and effectiveness of your content. Convert a post into an infographic or a slide deck and post to websites that curate these resources.
4. Industry-Specific and Buyer-Specific
This is the stage where the buyer is convinced of your solution but needs more information to complete the purchase. Rich information is great for inbound marketing in B2B but dividing it into different segments is even greater. When the customer knows that you have industry and buyer-specific solutions, he will most likely convert into a loyal audience base.
5. Understanding the Social Media Game
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit — There are plenty of social media platforms, and crafting a compelling story about your company’s reputation not only builds trust but will help you generate high-quality leads.
While educational blogs are valuable, social media content is valuable only when it strikes a personal connection with your audience. People are bombarded with ads 24/7 so make your socials a place where the audience can engage with your brand without feeling the pressure to buy from you. This will help you to establish yourself as a thought-leader in the industry.
The role of inbound marketing in B2B is to give a reason for people to follow and engage with your content. Stay updated with important social media statistics and metrics to deliver better content.
6. Video is here to stay
How to catch the attention of top-level executives who have limited time to engage with your content. Alongside the broader inbound-marketing in B2B techniques, post short videos about your expertise in the industry. There is no need to get fancy, maybe a short, high-value video of you sharing your thoughts or customer testimonials, product demos, and video blogs.
Similarly, podcasts are a great way to connect with your audience and share the latest insights and trends in the industry. The end goal is to educate the audience and share high-value information.
Why Inbound Marketing in B2B is a Big Thing
Mass marketing is a costly process whereas inbound-marketing in B2B focuses on a leaner advertising spend so businesses can save money and experience higher ROI over time.
When customers find you organically, you come across as more credible than firms trying to sell their products aggressively. Consistent efforts build trust and visibility
and potential prospects reward trust by becoming long-term customers.
Moreover, understanding the buyers’ questions and listening to their conversations helps firms to improve their products and services.
Now, that you are clear about inbound-marketing in B2B, let’s address the commonly asked queries that will help you gain better conceptual clarity.
FAQs – Inbound Marketing in B2B
What are the 4 stages of inbound marketing methodology?
The 4 Stages of Inbound-Marketing in B2B are attract, convert, nurture, and delight.
- Attract the right set of audience
- Convert the visitors into qualified leads
- Nurture the leads into customers
- Delight them
What is an example of inbound marketing in B2B?
Video marketing, content marketing, social media, and email marketing are the best examples of converting leads and driving traffic through inbound marketing.
What are examples of inbound marketing vs. outbound?
Outbound sales involve actively reaching out to people to sell your product or service. The most common examples include cold calling and running social media ads. On the other hand, inbound marketing encourages the customer to reach out to you organically through content creation.
How can marketing automation be beneficial for B2B inbound marketing?
Automation tools contribute to efficiency and allow B2B enterprises to deliver personalized content to their audience at scale. They streamline repetitive tasks, measure website traffic, and track customer interactions.
What metrics should B2B businesses track to measure the success of their inbound marketing efforts?
It’s essential to move beyond vanity metrics and dig deeper into the KPI measurement process. The key metrics include website traffic, sales funnel, lead generation, customer acquisition cost, and lifetime value.
Is Inbound Marketing a good strategy – Final Message
The goal of inbound-marketing in B2B is to create a valuable experience for potential customers. When you start posting high-quality content, you build a bridge of trust that converts your audience into customers and loyal brand advocates. Whether you are into B2C or B2B, inbound marketing will help you build long-lasting relationships with your customers.
At Midas Touch, we will help you crack the code of B2B content marketing which is a key inbound strategy for enhancing customer retention.