Inbound Marketing: The Engine of Social Business
I discuss inbound marketing in this short clip from my presentation on social business to the Reno-Tahoe American Marketing Association. If your business is using the new tools of social media as just another channel to broadcast sales messages, you are missing the boat. The new tools of social media are creating a paradigm shift in the way people communicate, but you are going to need new marketing methods to capitalize on the word-of-mouth potential that these new tools present.
Inbound marketing requires relational capacity. If you can’t convene a conversation around relevant content on your website, then you can’t build a community of people that trust you because first cared about problems and opportunities that matter to them. If your website has no relational capacity, then all you can do is broadcast and hope people find your message.
The tools of inbound marketing are the easy part. Install a blog as a hub for your factory of relevant content, and then make it easy for people to connect with you and share your helpful content via your spokes (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter).
The operating principles are the key to inbound marketing. The engine of inbound marketing is a new way of thinking about how you communicate with your increasingly connected communities of customers and employees. Change the way you think, and you’ll change your behavior. Change your behavior toward your customers and employees, and you’ll change their behavior toward you.
Earn their trust and you’ll earn their word-of-mouth marketing. When a customer or employee introduces you and your helpful content to their social networks via many-to-many public conversations, they will do for you what you can’t do for yourself.
Give people a reason and an opportunity to put their brand on yours. Make being good more important than being found, and become a factory of relevant social objects that your raving fans can share with their friends.
I hope you watch my short video! After you do so, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Related Posts:
Inbound Marketing: Picking The Right People To Help
Employee Empowerment Is Good Social Business
About the Author: Bret L. Simmons
Welcome to my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section of my posts. I publish all constructive, non-anonymous comments. 
Great post Bret! After reading your blog for a couple weeks I continue to be impressed by your insights.
In social media content is king. Oftentimes companies view social media as simply a free way to broadcast sales messages. Organizations who do understand it recognize the power of engaging people with relevant content and a forum to connect with likeminded individuals.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
You are so correct, Jacob. Too few are grasping the power of engagement in social media. They would rather just hire someone to broadcast for them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Bret
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