Social Selling: Inbound Marketing and the importance of Content

https://youtu.be/yWYeLUZ4gQU

The natural evolution of Permission Marketing was born in 2006 and it is the concept of Inbound Marketing. The basic idea of ​​Inbound Marketing is to find out when people are looking for information relating to a product or service that we want to sell, and address them exclusively.

The main phases of this marketing strategy are 4:

ATTRACTING USERS with content consistent with their search for information;

TURN USERS INTO CONTACTS. The user must be encouraged to leave us their data thanks to quality content that can be useful to respond to a specific need;

TRANSFORMING CONTACTS INTO CUSTOMERS. Once we have obtained user data, we must ensure that they perceive the value of our product/service based on their needs;

ENGAGE CUSTOMERS LOYALTY. Once we have acquired customers, we must ensure that they remain linked to our brand and even become ambassadors for it.

The importance of content To involve new potential customers and our existing customers we therefore return to a fundamental concept that is the basis of every marketing strategy, especially on the web: CONTENT IS KING (phrase pronounced by Bill Gates in 1996).

The content we create and publish must be designed to respond exactly to the user's search intentions and this is only possible if we have a clear idea of ​​who our target audience is and what they are looking for. Our video, article, post, ebook, application must help users achieve their goals.

Content therefore becomes the key to establishing relationships with customers and reaching our sales goal.

The contents must be:

The aim is to make my target audience understand my professionalism, preparation and authority in my target market.

In fact, if the contents are of quality, they have the power to increase the reputation and give authority to the brand.

In November 2018 Forbes published an interesting article in which it highlighted 6 trends related to the sphere of Content Marketing for this 2019:

LARGE CONTENT – Longer posts and articles are rewarded by search engines, but let's remember that we shouldn't waste readers' time, but always provide useful information;

VIDEO – A report published by Animoto in 2017 states that 64% of users purchase a product after viewing a video of it on social media. This figure is destined to increase and will reach over 80% in 2020.

VOICE SEARCHES – Smart speakers are becoming part of our everyday life and this could lead to the creation of new platforms for the use of content through voice searches

CHATBOT – In recent years, more and more companies are turning to the use of chatbots to increase customer engagement, and improvements in these technologies are making chatbot features more adaptable and user-friendly. Let us always remember, however, that a chatbot (for now) cannot replace people...

SOCIAL MEDIA – Regardless of the target we want to reach, it is almost certain that they will use some form of social media, so a good content marketing plan should make the most of these means.

AUTHENTICITY – Every time a brand "speaks", both online and offline, it should ALWAYS convey its authenticity, so as to be unique and unequivocal, clear on what it offers and how it distinguishes itself from competitors.

Only after having managed to create contact with my target audience through the use of quality content, can I think about my sales objective keeping in mind that I must:

DIFFERENTIATE MYSELF FROM THE COMPETITION

MAKE MY PROFESSIONALISM PERCEIVED

Let's return to the first of these 3 articles dedicated to Social Selling to make a brief summary:

Social Selling helps us get to know our target audience faster and better with the aim of creating a relationship of trust with our customers that lasts over time. Sales, in this mode, are always considered asynchronous: first interact, then sell.

And you, how do you manage the relationship with your current customers? Have you ever used these techniques to approach new potential customers? If you want to share your Social Selling and Permission Marketing experiences with us you can do so in the comments.

I invite you, as always, to subscribe to our blog and our YouTube channel and to activate the bell to be notified when we publish new content.

Thanks and see you in the next vlog.