Inbound Marketing, a Step-by-Step Case Study

A 30-Minute Peek Behind the Curtain

I often train other Digital Marketing consultants across the globe, so I find it most effective to break things down into simple step-by-step procedures. Whenever possible I show real life examples. When WSI (a global network of Digital Marketing Consultants) asked me to present a webinar on Inbound Marketing I made the decision to show one of my own Inbound Marketing campaigns.

I don’t typically give the general public a peek behind the curtain to this degree, but I didn’t want to be concerned with the privacy issues associated with demonstrating one of our client’s campaigns.

So there you have it, on Tuesday August 25th I shared our step-by-step procedure on an actual Inbound Marketing campaign that we are actively running right now. You can watch the 30-minute Video Replay right now↓

The formula is simple:

1. Create premium content that is truly useful and will resonate with your target market.
2. Create a landing page that truthfully explains the value of your offer.
3. Collect contact information in exchange for the premium offer
4. Create a “Thank You” page with more valuable free content.
5. Automate your “Thank You” email to reflect your Thank You page.
6. Automate your follow-up emails with even more value.
7. Promote your offer through Search & Social.

Create Premium Content:

It could be an eBook or a checklist or a step-by-step guide tailored for your market. The key is that it must be worthy of someone trading their valuable contact information in exchange for something truly useful. Mediocre content just won’t cut it. Poor or gratuitous content will reflect poorly on your company and stop any relationship you were hoping to nurture right in its tracks.

Create a Landing Page:

Your Landing Page is the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT) where the consumer makes the decision whether to pull the trigger on your offer or not. The best landing pages are simple and uncluttered and focus on what they will get and what they will learn or how they will benefit. An engaging headline, bullet points and images that represent the content are a must.

Collect Contact Information:

Whether you employ a single landing page or a sequence of landing pages, it should culminate in an input form where the consumer can opt into your database in exchange for your offer. Don’t ask for any more information than you actually need. The more form fields you have, the less response you will get. There’s plenty of time to collect additional information as you build your relationship with the consumer.  Think of it as a first date. You wouldn’t interrogate someone the first time you meet them would you?

Your “Thank You” Page is an Opportunity:

Most marketers just check the box with something innocuous like “Thanks for Downloading our eBook”. When someone just said “Yes” to something you offered, why not offer them even more to nurture the relationship right out of the gate? Do you have additional premium content they can also download, or a special discount or something else of value?

Automate Your Emails:

Once they leave your Thank You page with all your additional value, they are pretty much gone. Industry best practice is to simultaneously send them an email with your additional offers so they have it at their disposal to respond to at their leisure. You might want to pre-program follow-up emails at reasonable intervals to continue to offer value and nurture the relationship.

Promote Your Offer:

Social Media provides mega opportunities to promote you valuable offer. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and a host of other social platforms each have their strengths and unique audiences. Social media is a “Top of the Funnel” process that captures your audience during the awareness stage of their buyer’s journey. Search on the other hand is a “Middle of the Funnel” process that is farther down the funnel where the consumer already knows what they are looking for because they are the ones searching for something specific that you happen to be offering. Both methods have organic and paid opportunities.

On the surface the methodology is simple. But remember, this is a sequential chain of events and every link in the chain has to be as strong as the previous link or process comes to a grinding halt.

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