There’s a modern form of marketing and those ready to take their businesses to the next level are investing in creating strategies centered on this thing called inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is producing quality content that targets and pulls people into your business. No longer are businesses able to just push their products on people. Successful businesses pull their leads and customers in. Have you ever seen a person online always promoting their products? You see 20 posts in a row asking you to buy their products or services. That’s one of the quickest ways to get unfollowed.

So how exactly do you pull, instead of push customers?

Attract Who Is Looking

There is a perfect person…your ideal client you have in mind when you think about who you want to sell your products or services to. What you offer is the answer to their questions, problems, or needs. Remember that people don’t buy services, they buy solutions. If you position yourself as the solution you begin to attract your ideal clients.

Here are two examples of inbound marketing strategies you can implement:

Blogging

– Turn your website into an information empire to help your ideal customer. Choose niche keywords your ideal customers are searching for and optimize your website to make sure they find you when they search online.

Organic Social Media

– Share value-based content to get your ideal client engaged and direct them back to your website and landing pages.

Convert Them Into Leads and Buying Customers

Once you have attracted a stranger into your online world, don’t let them get away. Competition is fierce and if you grabbed their attention for five minutes don’t lose it. Generally, customers are not ready to buy during their first interaction with your business. For some, it could take 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 contacts with them. So to capture your lead, your website needs a call to action.

Call-to-actions are buttons on your website that motivate visitors to take an action. You’ve seen them, “Download My Free Report” or “Get 15% Off Your Next Purchase” by entering your name and email address. Contact information is the most valuable information that you can obtain to grow your business. If they are not ready to buy now, you have their contact information to nurture that relationship with the customer, to pull them in, and hopefully one day they become a paying customer.

Upsell and Get Referrals

The sweet spot in your business is when others begin promoting for you. As your business continues to grow and you have happy satisfied customers, they will be more than excited to share your content that can result in referrals and new leads. Not to mention, you can make upsells or introduce them to your new products or services you’ve launched.

We have to stop trying to use old tactics in a new economy. Based on a study done by HubSpot, inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound leads (banners, trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail, PPC, or any other desperate attempts to get customers). Just think how much cheaper it is to publish good content with a better return on your investment versus investing in a lot of traditional marketing. Think of yourself as a publisher and you’ll be able to use your website as the most powerful tool in your business. Your website supports you. You are the brand and the voice.