Content Marketing vs Inbound Marketing

What is content marketing? What is inbound marketing? When should you use one over the other?

Actually, the answer might not be what it seems: content marketing is a type of inbound marketing. They’re not different strategies: one can be an important part of the other.

Inbound marketing refers to a methodology that attracts customers, luring them in with valuable content and experiences tailored specifically to their needs and likes. Inbound marketing is the opposite of outbound marketing – which is the nice name given to un-targeted ads which blast audience with content they don’t always want. Instead of trying to appeal to anyone and everyone, inbound marketing is highly personalized, and aims to forge and strengthen connections with new and existing customers.

Content marketing can be a part of an outbound marketing strategy, but it functions much better as part of an inbound marketing strategy. By creating and sharing content you know your customers will love, you’ll build authority, grow engagement, and lock in their loyalty.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing makes it easier for customers to find you through social media, search engines, and from word of mouth because your content is naturally providing answers that they’re looking for.

Think of it this way: whenever you think of a question, or how to solve a problem, you Google it if there are no experts nearby. If you’re dealing with a complex problem, or one that happens again and again, you’ll likely make more searches. The more often you get answers that come from one specific person or company, the more you’ll trust them in the future to help you.

In essence, inbound marketing is the practice of promoting yourself by providing value to new, existing and potential customers. There are many types of inbound marketing, including, but not limited to:

• Blogs
• Newsletters
• Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)
• Ebooks
• Online courses
• SEO website text
• Webinars
• Videos (tutorials, how-to’s)

It might help to think of inbound marketing as fishing. You cast a net in a good spot in the lake, and wait for fish to take the bait – in other words, a passive activity. Outbound marketing, on the other hand, is like hunting. You go out and search for a target and, when acquired, try for a good shot. It’s an active way of marketing.

Inbound > outbound

You might think that an active hunting strategy would be better – and it’s true that outbound marketing such as Google Ads, emails and television spots still have a place. But the truth is, not many people enjoy being sold to.

(Ad-blockers are a thing for a reason.)

After all, have you ever been annoyed by an ad? Probably. And that was most likely because it was outbound – in other words, pushing at you rather than pulling you in.

Inbound marketing relies on the principle of giving first, and taking later. People often feel obligated to say thank you to people who have helped them, even if it’s just with a like or comment.

How content marketing fits in

Used with care, content marketing can be a powerful part of any inbound marketing strategy. But what do we mean by “content”?

Content is, arguably, anything educational or entertaining you create and share that doesn’t contain an overt sales message. It can contain a call to action at the end, but it’s primary goal is not to sell, sell, sell: it’s to share a message.

The most common types of content marketing are:

• Infographics
• Blog content
• Podcasts
• Videos
• Social media posts

As you can probably guess, there’s a lot of overlap here. Infographics can be shared to blogs and social media, and podcasts can be syndicated as videos, and vice versa. That’s why it’s important to have a wide-ranging, yet targeted, content marketing strategy so you’re making the most out of everything you post.

Blogging as marketing

It’s 2021, and blogs still account for the vast majority of content marketing out there (86% according to the State of Content Marketing Report 2019: Global Report) – and for good reason. Gone are the heady days of Blogspot sites with animated banners and custom cursors (sadly) – now, blogging is high tech, slick, and done extremely well by corporations.

The fact is, businesses that use blogs receive 97% more links to their websites and, in turn, have 434 percent more indexed pages for the SERPs. Who’d have thought that regularly publishing on topical issues would get you to the top of Google faster?

That’s why blogging is a no-brainer – and it’s why blogging is also extremely cost-effective for small businesses on a tight budget. Blogging levels the playing field. If the blog of a cleaning product giant doesn’t contain more useful tidying and scrubbing tips than the single mom from down the road, she’s going to get more views.

Content marketing can include ebooks, reports and whitepapers.

A word on ethics

Content marketing is most effective when used strictly for good. Rather than blogging about how your newest product will change lives, you should be writing about topics related to your products or services. You should be writing to solve problems, help others, and share good messages. After more than a hundred years of being marketed to as we know it, audiences have fine-tuned their shill-o-meter to detect even the most well-intentioned of sales pitches – and if they don’t like it, will turn off.

Sharing great content is the single best way to get you seen as an expert. Once you’re seen to have authority, your trust will increase and so will your audience’s faith in you.

Add genuine impact by adding something new and valuable, above and beyond what your competitors offer. After all, your readers want to know how you can help solve their problem, not what everyone else has already said.

What do you think about content marketing? Do you use it in your own strategy? How has it worked for you? Let us know in the comments!