INBOUND, CONTENT, AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING HOW IT ALL HANGS TOGETHER

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1 INBOUND, CONTENT, AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING HOW IT ALL HANGS TOGETHER

2 INBOUND MARKETING WHAT IS IT AND WHO NEEDS IT? These days consumers are a lot more savvy. Not least because they have the Internet to research before they make any purchasing decision. They will check you out and find out what other people say about you first. Then they will cross compare prices and service offers. Your ad or piece of DM could just as easily spark someone off to make a purchase with someone else. Direct or outbound forms of promotion will get you noticed, but they won t necessarily seal the deal. You need to maximise the potential of inbound marketing first. In essence, this means getting other people talking and writing about you and driving them to your website where, if you do it right, you can really make a connection with them. THE OLD WAYS OF MARKETING AREN T DEAD ADVERTISING, DIRECT MAIL, TELEMARKETING AND SO ON STILL WORK. IT S JUST THAT THEY DON T WORK NOW AS WELL AS THEY DID. And that s where content marketing comes in

3 CONTENT MARKETING WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR PURCHASING DECISIONS? PRICE? CONVENIENCE? QUALITY? ALL IMPORTANT FACTORS AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE THAT. But increasingly it s all about making a connection with a provider or vendor. Because you trust them, resonate with their ethos, want to buy from or do business with them. We re all people. We like forming relationships. In lots of ways, the web is enabling us to go back to the village way of buying and selling through trust, recommendations and friendships. It s just on a totally different scale. Having the right sort of content on your website is the starting point to building up that trust and developing that relationship. It s based on telling people what they need to know to make an informed decision in the form of helpful information, guides, data, blogs, white papers. When they re doing their research on the web, the search engines pick up your material, they read it, realise you know what you re talking about and short list you to buy from. Information is free. So why not share it and build a bond? You get a nice warm lead converting that interest into a sale is then down to you. Of course, being able to have all this content on your site means having a well designed website

4 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION It s as much a science as an art, and does require some clever thinking. You don t need SEO if your website is there just to act as a shop window. But if you want to get your site to perform well in searches, plenty of relevant content with the right words and phrases will be required. Be aware also that people like Google keep changing the rules and algorithms. This is all about refreshing the way the Internet works and constantly refining the way we use it. But it does mean that regular housework is needed on hard working sites. And it s also worth remembering that not everyone arrives on your site via Google or Yahoo. If your inbound marketing campaign is working well, many visitors will be getting there via the social media networks... YOU NEED TO WORK WITH THE SEARCH ENGINES TO GET GOOD RESULTS, UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY FUNCTION - AND WE WORK HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CLIENTS WEBSITES PERFORM WHEN KEY WORDS ARE ENTERED INTO SEARCHES. YOU REALLY DON T WANT TO HACK THESE GUYS OFF.

5 SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS INCREASINGLY, WE MAKE PURCHASING DECISIONS THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS. The social media networks are where we connect and communicate with each other. And so this is where you need to be to reach audiences, form relationships and influence decisions. Doing this depends on two things: having someone to connect and communicate with; and having something to say. Building up your Twitter followers, Facebook friends and Linked In connections is a dark art form in itself. You need to understand the different etiquettes involved and who might be interested in you and why and feed that interest. Critical to building and retaining a following will be saying relevant, interesting things in a way that reflects your online personality and is consistent with your brand values and organisational ethos. These are very public places. Just see how many people have been caught out by saying the wrong thing in an inappropriate way But the networks allow you to amplify what s on your website to a larger audience, to put across what matters to you (and so promote your ethos and values) and even position you as a thought leader in your sector or field of work. Social media can make you and your organisation seem really interesting if you get it right.

6 WHAT DOES IT COST? How long is a piece of string? Precisely. No one will give you a definitive answer. However, we can give you a pretty good idea on what it would cost to dramatically improve your digital footprint. Basically, we tailor what we do to meet your marketing objectives and budget. Refreshing your website could be as little as 350 tidying up and retargeting the copy. For a brand new straightforward website, including design, build and search engine optimised copy, that could be as low as 750. Even if you want it to sing and dance more than that with lots of content rich pages and a series of different landing pages to win business around the country prices start at just 1,250. Moving on, what a well-run Social Media campaign is guaranteed to deliver is a massive bang for your buck. Pound for pound it is incredibly cost effective. Incendo Communications entrylevel packages begin at just 600 a month, and the package can grow and evolve with your business. Importantly, we can work with your personnel to make your budget stretch even further. THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH WE CAN DO FOR YOU, AND FOR HOW LITTLE, IS TO TALK... CALL CHRIS COOMBER ON CHRIS@INCENDO.CO.UK OR TONY WATTS ON

7 SO JUST WHO ARE INCENDO COMMUNICATIONS? Incendo is a communications specialist that focuses on driving growth and brand recognition for organisations from both private and public sectors - from SMEs and consultants through to government departments and LEPs. Well known for our work around exhibitions, conferences and events, our expertise ranges from inward investment and commercial property through to IT and automotive engineering and everything in between. We have helped organisations from across the UK to broadcast their messages to regional, national and worldwide audiences. Digital communications and social media are critical elements of our marketing tool box. If you are seriously considering developing your social media strategy, we honestly don t think there is anyone better equipped to assist you than Incendo. We understand the medium. We know what works. We can make it pay for you. WE RE FOUR PEOPLE, ALL OF WHOM HAVE HELD DOWN RESPECTABLE JOBS IN RELATED SPHERES ALL OF OUR WORKING LIVES, BUT HAVE SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS HONING OUR SKILLS IN ALL THINGS WEBBY BECAUSE THAT S WHERE VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING IS NOW HAPPENING.

8 CHRIS COOMBER TONY WATTS MARTYN DAVIES MATT BROADGATE A highly experienced events organiser and marketer in the interconnected arenas of inward investment, economic development and international trade. He has delivered highly successful events and conferences for many of the biggest and best-known public and private sector players in this field, from government agencies and local authorities through to trade bodies, international developers and property agents. Running our social media operations is a freelance writer and journalist who spent 12 years writing for Property Week and another five for UKTI, as well as a host of inward investment agencies. He has also owned and edited a business magazine and even ghostwritten for Government business minsters. He now focuses on digital comms: a perfect combination of background knowledge and current skills. A long background in B2B marketing and advertising has now evolved into designing and developing digital marketing comm tools for a wide range of clients not least of which is designing and refining websites to make them highly visible to search engines. Martyn s recent and current portfolio includes major projects for a host of UK and international inward investment agencies including UKTI. Before joining Incendo, Matt operated as a PR consultant in London, Glasgow and Bristol, working on campaigns for household brands as well as government-funded organisations such as Beacon South West, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and Business West. Now focused on client support at international events such as MIPIM as well as providing strategic advice on PR, SM and online content.