subject: Inbound Internet Marketing Vs. Outbound Traditional Advertising [print this page] Just a few years ago, most people used to spend hours watching television and minutes browsing the Internet. The easy availability of high-speed Internet has changed this. Billions of people use Internet on a daily basis. They use it for entertainment purposes, and they use it for making purchasing decisions. Internet plays an important role in helping people decide what they want to buy, and it also enables them to buy products online. As a consequence of the growing popularity of the Internet, Internet marketing and SEO services have become vastly significant.
Outbound and Inbound: A Fundamental Difference of Approach
Traditional advertisement through TV, radio and newspapers doesn't bring in a high ROI anymore. On the other hand, inbound Internet marketing is emerging as a radical alternative to the conventional form of advertising.
The outbound marketer aims to dazzle the consumer with messages regarding his products or services. He hopes that the user will remember his brand and buy his products as a result of the continual stream of messages. The inbound marketer provides information and ideas to the needy users and hopes that they would make the user interested in his products. Let's take a look at how this relatively new form of advertisement differs from the tried and tested form of advertisements.
1. Communication
Outbound marketers use TV, radio, print, advertising, and cold calls to communicate with potential customers. The approach of such type of marketing is based on the idea of selling a particular product, service or idea to the customer. An inbound marketer follows a lot simpler and non-intrusive method. Instead of directly contacting or appealing to the customers, he provides information to the users and hopes that it will get them interested in his sales pitch.
2. Value Addition
While direct marketing is based on the premise of bombarding the users with content that sings praises of the marketed item, inbound Internet marketing does things differently. Most direct advertisements do not add any value to the life of the users, nor do they provide any useful information. Inbound marketing is based on the premise of earning the interest of the potential customers by providing them with information that adds value to their lives.
3. Social Media Power
Online marketing and SEO services make use of social media for promoting brands and selling products. Social media optimization allows marketers to communicate directly with their customers. This makes it possible for marketers to know what the customers really think about a particular product or service. Social media can also function as a quick and efficient tool for understanding customer preferences. Needless to say, outbound marketing cannot harness the power of social media to such an extent.
4. Found Vs. Finding
Today's Internet-savvy customers do not like to be sold to. This is one of the main reasons why outbound marketing techniques do not translate that well on the Internet. Most online marketing tools and techniques provide better returns than the in-your-face banner advertisement. Inbound online marketing allows the users to discover a brand. They react better to such marketing than to advertisements that push services and products onto them.
