Inbound Marketing is Cheaper and More Effective

"Audiences everywhere are tough. They don't have time to be bored or brow beaten by orthodox, old fashioned advertising. We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in."

These are the words of Craig Davis, Chief Creative Officer for J. Walter Thompson (one of the worlds largest ad agencies). The internet has forever changed how people act or react in any given situation. Whether someone is researching, shopping, discovering, sharing, finding, or connecting, a large part of that is now happening online.

75% of North American adults are online, with a third of those spending over 3 hours a day connected. 86% of people skip TV ads, trade show spending has declined by 46%, and 44% of people who receive direct mail do not open it. Smart marketers are switching away from interruption advertising to inbound marketing and earned media (favorable publicity gained through non-advertising promotional efforts).

Some of the most effective inbound marketing & earned media tactics today include search engine optimization, virtual events/webinars, and social media. These allow the consumer to connect with your business when they want to, not when you want them to, a very important change from old advertising methods.

Although inbound marketing may be unfamiliar terrain for you and your business, it is good for the bottom line. Inbound marketing costs 62% less than traditional outband marketing (according to Hubspot in 2011). The bottom line is: if you are not using inbound marketing, you need to be.