Article written by Wild Iris Marketing team member Mindy Hanson.
Your time is valuable. When you sit down to write a blog, newsletter or social media, you want the content to reach as many people as possible. Have you considered that the topic you choose to write about can serve multiple purposes and be used for both Inbound and Outbound marketing?
For example, if you wrote a piece about a new regulation facing your industry it would make a great newsletter to communicate with current clients and people familiar with you or your business. By sharing this type of information you are showing you know what is happening in the industry, providing valuable content to your readers and also reinforcing your brand awareness. So, what can you do with that information you have just written?
- Send it to your email newsletter list. These people are already aware of you so you may want to write an intro and conclusion that is appropriate for your list but then, educate them! (Outbound Marketing)
- Post it as a blog on your website. This is likely to be found by search engines and people Googling the new regulation may find you and become aware of your offerings. (Inbound Marketing)
- Post a teaser of your blog to your social media and then link to your blog! This is a good way to get your social media followers to visit your website and maybe discover a new way they want to work with you. (Outbound Marketing)
- Post the social media teaser and link to community and industry forums. You never know who might see your message there! (Outbound Marketing)
- Submit the article to your local Chamber of Commerce or Industry newsletter. You may need to make slight adjustments to the article in this case to remove any “sales pitch” based on the publication but you can use the same general content. (Outbound Marketing)
If you think about it, what started out as writing a simple newsletter or blog just turned into an opportunity to Reach a much larger audience!
Outbound Marketing is when your message is sent out to people to introduce your company, products or services before the message recipient actively comes to you. Examples are social media ads, industry newsletters, community forum postings, display (not search) ads and before digital marketing was the norm, cold calls and direct mail pieces.
Inbound Marketing is the messaging you do when people come looking for you. Pay-per-click search ads, websites, social media channels, email newsletters and blogs are examples of these.