Inbound Marketing Trends & Best

Practices

Hamutal Schieber | January, 2015

Introduction

• Inbound Marketing aims to provide value to the consumer, in order to create leads and drive sales. The point is to encourage Content “Pull” by customers, rather than Content “Push” to the customers.

• Unlike traditional marketing methods, inbound is controlled by the customer, not by the brand: the brand can initiate and offer the content, but the customer will interact with it only when he/she finds the content relevant or interesting.

• The main tactic for Inbound Marketing, is content marketing.

• After establishing the identity of the consumer, marketers must answer the following questions, in order to execute content marketing effectively:

– What content – type, quality, subjects?

– When should it be distributed? How often?

– How should it be distributed?

– Where should it be distributed?

• This presentation aims to answer those questions, by examining trends and best practices in Inbound Marketing.

What Constitutes “Inbound Marketing”

• HubSpot mentions the following types of content, as the main ingredients of Inbound Marketing:

• Within these 5 categories, many content types are included: in fact, content constitutes of anything

the organization creates and publishes, including guides, webinars, case studies, whitepapers,

videos, infographics, blogs etc.

Source: “What is Inbound Marketing?”, HubSpot

Market Map

What: Types of Content

• White papers, presentations, case studies

• Blogs, social media content, mobile content, videos, photos

• Content Hub, Entertainment, Curation

How: Content Formats

• Webinars, Infographics, eMails, Podcasts

• Mobile apps

Where: Main Platforms

• Social: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Slideshare…

• Search engines, ads, dedicated platforms, email

When: Timing Considerations

• Stage in the path to purchase (researching / in store or online / service / aftersale…)

• Stage in the customer life cycle (acquisition / retention / conversion)

The Benefits of Inbound Marketing

Why should marketers use inbound marketing?

• Part of the rise in inbound marketing spend, stems from changes

in consumer preferences. In today’s market, consumers have

access to information all the time, and their rate of response to

outbound marketing tactics is falling consistently. So in order to

reach consumers effectively, marketers should consider other

tactics.

• HubSpot claims that inobound leads cost $135 in average,

compared to $346 per lead in outbound marketing. It is also

said to be more effective, generating 54% more leads

compared to outbound marketing. (Source: “What is Inbound

Marketing?”, HubSpot)

• Top KPIs for content management, include website traffic, social

media sharing, sales leads, SEO ranking, customer feedback,

and sales. According to Content Marketing Institute (2014), UK,

North American, and Australian marketers all cite Web traffic as

the metric they use most often to measure content marketing

success.Graphics: "The CMO Guide to Inbound Marketing”, Marketo Inc

Consumer Trends

• According to Forrester Research,

consumers no longer trust brand advertising

or “push” marketing. They prefer self-

selected brand content or “pull” marketing.

• Edelman's Consumer Marketing Study

demonstrates that nearly 90% of global

online consumers, would like brands to

share content online.

Consumer Trends

• A Nielsen / Impowered research (2014) shows that social media and user reviews are the

most used sources in the consumer decision process.

Consumer Life Cycle Relevancy

• Marketo, Inc suggests that there

are two key rules when it comes to

inbound marketing:

1. Helpful content – ask yourself

“will it help”, rather than “will it

sell”

2. Relevant content – map content

according to the personas and

stage of the buying cycle

A report published in AdMap (October 2013) suggests

the following content for the various stages of the

shopper and consumer life cycle:

Consumer Life Cycle Relevancy

• The Nielsen/InPowered study

shows the impact of user

review, branded content or

expert content, across the

purchase process.

Content Marketing Tactic Trends• In the UK, in 2014, social media content had become the leading content marketing tactic, followed by

blogs, articles, e-newsletters, case studies and videos.

• Videos made a significant leap, with 76% of companies reporting to have used this tactic in 2014, compared

with 69% in 2013. Infographics use had also increased, from 45% of companies in 2013, to 57% in 2014.

source: “Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 / 2014 Trends”, Content Marketing Institute

Content Marketing Tactic Trends

• ROI by tactic - Captora, 2014

The Airbnb website utilizes a prominent content

strategy. The site serves as a “marketing consultant”

for people wishing to attract more guests.

Other Contents include city guides, guided tours,

promotional videos, stories, etc.

Tactics | Co-Creation | Best Practice

• Marriott Hotels created a co-creation

platform, under the name “Travel

Brilliantly”, in collaboration with

content platforms such as Fast

Company, Mashable and Wired.

• The company invested in high-quality

content by professional writers,

without emphasizing the brand.

• http://travel-brilliantly.marriott.com/

Tactics | Magazines | Best Practice

• GE has established a

newsroom approach, based on

a Tumblr-powered magazine

under the name Txchnologist -

http://txchnologist.com/

• The magazine is based on an

entire system, fit to serve any

publisher – editorial resources,

meetings, briefs and schedules,

and mixes original and licensed

content. The magazine contains

content that is valuable and

relevant to the brand’s

audience, reflecting the brand’s

values, such as: renewable

energy, science, transportation,

etc..

Txchnologist stories, while hosted uniquely on the Tumblr platform, are

widely disseminated throughout the media ecosystem, getting picked

up in places like Scientific American, Gizmodo, i09 and Business

Insider.

Customization & Personalization

• Marketers should distinguish between B2B content,

and B2C content.

• According to Content Marketing Institute, B2B

content marketing in North America, UK and

Australia, includes more case studies, white papers,

webinars/webcasts, and research reports, than B2C

content marketing; while tactics such as mobile

apps, mobile content and print magazines /

newsletters, are more often used in B2C marketing.

• Companies in different markets rate tactic

effectiveness differently: UK marketers say that

case studies are most effective, while North

American and Australian marketers indicate that in-

person events are the most effective tactic.

“Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends”, Content Marketing

Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK

Customization & Personalization

• Customer needs change

across industries, and

marketers need to

customize contents

accordingly. For instance,

in the hospitality industry,

photos of the hotel/ resort

facilities and of the area,

are more desirable to

American travelers than

reviews.

“Content marketing for travel brands” MMGY GLOBAL

Customization & Personalization

• Some marketers are building their content

platforms to suit different types of customer

groups. In such cases, they can provide an easy

navigation landing page for the visitor.

• Many marketers ask the visitor to participate in

surveys, in order to tailor the featured

information to better suit customers’ need.

Customization & Personalization

• A December 2012 survey by IMN found that 75% of financial services marketers had separate content

strategies in place for each marketing channel, the highest percentage of all industries polled. The key

is to deliver true value to an engaged audience.

• BlackRock, an asset management firm, invests in content

marketing including the following strategic components:

– Target market – sophisticated investors

– Positioning: fun – with humoristic notes.

– Platforms: Linkedin is perceived as the most relevant

platform for the target market for posting and interacting

with consumers.

• According to the company’s Global Director of Social Media,

the company’s social media efforts had delivered $17-18

million worth of earned advertising.

Customization & Personalization | Best Practice

• B2B company Autodesk, launched a digital publication called Line//Shape//Space, to empower their

customers and provide a go-to resource.

• Visitors are prompted to register in order to receive a newsletter.

Customization & Personalization | Best Practice• Google Think - www.thinkwithgoogle.com is an online

platform aimed at the company’s important business

segment. The site is a chockfull of helpful information

and case studies, which are usually related to the tools

and services that Google offers to businesses.

Branded Content

• State of Content Marketing, Contently, 2014Absolut Vodka creates online content based on

physical experiences, which it co-creates with

artists and musicians.

The brand suggests vodka-based drinks, to enjoy

during such experiences.

http://www.absolut.com/en/Nights/Hub/

Branded Content

• Beer brand Dos Equis, has based its output around its current above-the-line ad campaign: "The Most

Interesting Man in the World".

• The brand developed a range of content around the theme, including sponsored events featured on a

micro-site, blogger contests etc.

• the brands keeps playing with platforms, turning now to the hot Oculus Rift, to offer a virtual reality

experience.

Branded Content

• LoveThisCity by MasterCard is a collection of the

experiences cities around the world have to offer. You

can later share with friends through social media

Distributing Content

• Content distribution on Social Media: CMI and MarketingProfs found that

social network usage saw a jump across the board over 2012, and that

marketers were spreading their efforts across a number of different

channels, with respondents using an average of six social media platforms.

• Facebook was the most popular platform in 2014 in North America.

• A rising tactic is Native Advertising – making the branded story a part of an

editorial, newsfeed, etc. in an organic form.

Apart from using the website, e-mail and

social media to push content, distribution

is also dependent on sharing. Therefore,

marketers turn to influencers for content

distribution (57% of respondents),

according to an eMarketer report.

Distributing Content

• According to eMarketer (2013), Inbound marketing tactics,

including content marketing, search engine optimization and

use of social media marketing, are all critical for businesses

looking to generate leads. Marketing automation is one

technique to make inbound marketing tactics more strategic

and complementary, as well as reduce much of the

guesswork of inbound marketing, but eMarketer found that

few were actually employing marketing automation. Just

16% of B2Cs and 14% of B2Bs reported using marketing

automation extensively to manage their inbound marketing.

• The eMarketer study found that 45% of successful inbound

marketers used marketing automation, vs. only 9% of

unsuccessful inbound marketers.

Platforms | Social Media

• Redshift Research polling for Bite in February 2014 found that 71% of UK marketing

decision-makers were creating content marketing materials for social media, well above

second-place white papers, mentioned by 38% of respondents.

The main distribution tactic is viral sharing. In order to

make content share-worthy, it has to offer real value for

the consumer, with “makes you laugh” being the top

reason for sharing content in the UK.

Platforms | Social Media

• While search engines are the number one destination for searching information, 55% of

buyers turn to social media for information (source: Adriel Sanchez of SAP, 2014)

• GE utilizes each social media platform, for the type of

content, characteristics, and target, most suitable for

the platform. For example, it uses 6-second platform

Vine, to create the #6SecondScience fair, and uses

Pinterest to create light science-related posts.

Platforms | Social Media | Twitter

• Adobe’s CMO.com platform provides tips

for marketers on digital marketing and

content monetization, which are related to

the company’s products.

• Twitter is the most important distribution

platform for the company, with 46,800

followers as of December, 2014.

Platforms | Social Media | Linkedin

• Citibank offers women the

Women & Co. platform, as a

financial and educational

resource.

• After 12 years of independent

operations, the platform was

connected to Linkedin in order to

boost engagement.

• Citibank partnered with the B2B

network on the Connect

Professional Women's Network,

an interactive discussion board,

which currently includes over

383,000 members.

Platforms | Social Media | Youtube

• Ensurance, an auto

insurance company,

successfully manages a

Youtube page -

www.youtube.com/user/Es

urancem

• The content is based on

videos, aiming to entertain,

with some of the videos

becoming viral.

• This demonstrates how

videos and humor can

create excitements, in

“dull” categories.

Platforms | Mobile | Best Practice

• Volkswagen publishes a popular magazine called “Das Auto” which contains brand-related and brand-

adjacent stories.

• The magazine features responsive content – compatible with computer, mobile, and tablet screens,

including apps.

Content as Entertainment

• Many brands are targeting younger consumers through long-term entertainment strategy.

Another interesting tactic is gaming as content, as

executed by Toyota Yaris in collaboration with Microsoft.

Red Bull is one of the best-known entertaining brands, combining

online & physical activity. Red Bull’s media house’s goal was to

become independently profitable — with content so good they

could sell it — which made them create content that people

loved. That content helped the mother brand build an unbeatable

reputation and dominate the crowded energy drink market

Content Monetization

• In order to monetize content, marketers use a variety of techniques, including: in-content links to

purchase, cross-promotions, etc.

UK retailer Marks & Spencer includes

“shoppable video” on its sites. Synchronized in-

player calls-to-action let viewers view more

information about featured products as they

appear, then click through to the corresponding

e-commerce page. Shared on Facebook, the

video retains all of this functionality.

According to Brightcove (“The New Content

Marketer”), within the first six months, the

company broadcast more than one million

minutes of video with click-through rates as high

as 30 percent. This boosted sales on some

products by as much as 90 percent.http://www.marksandspencer.com/s/mands-tv

Key Take-Away

• Inbound marketing is all about offering high-quality, helpful content, to a specific customer

segment

– Provide actionable, informative content

– Or – be funny

– Provide tools which are relevant to the subject, such as data and calculators, communities, reviews

and personal stories

• Distribute content through the most suitable platform – and tailor content so it fits the platform

you wish to distribute it through

• Offer visitors to sign up to a newsletter

• Give the audience a reason to share the information with friends – and provide an easy way

to do so

Thank You

The research was conducted by:

Hamutal Schieber

Schieber Research | Market Research & Competitive Intelligence

www.researchci.com | hamutal@researchci.com

Executive Summary. For the full research - please contact

Carmelon Digital Marketing

http://www.carmelon-digital.com