In today’s digital world businesses need effective marketing strategies to attract potential customers and drive growth. Two of the most popular digital marketing approaches are inbound marketing and content marketing. With some similarities but key differences, it’s important to understand when and how to leverage each strategy.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down exactly what inbound and content marketing are, how they differ, and why the distinction matters for your business.
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing refers to marketing activities that attract customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them Rather than interrupting target audiences with disruptive ads, inbound marketing earns attention by producing content tailored specifically for the ideal customer.
The goal of inbound marketing is to turn strangers into prospects and then customers by pulling them in with relevant, helpful content. Some key elements of an inbound strategy include:
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Blogging: Regular blogging provides fresh, engaging content that appeals to your target audience. From blog posts to ebooks, online content offers value and helps with SEO.
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Social media marketing: Active social media accounts give customers community and allow real-time interaction with the brand. Social media builds relationships with potential customers.
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Calls-to-action (CTAs): CTAs motivate visitors to take action, like downloading an ebook, subscribing to a newsletter, registering for a webinar, etc. CTAs convert web traffic into leads.
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Landing pages: Specific pages allow you to capture leads through CTAs. Landing pages focus visitors on converting through forms and follow-up.
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Lead nurturing: Lead nurturing moves prospects down the sales funnel through targeted email, content and communications based on their stage in the buyer’s journey.
The inbound methodology focuses on attracting customers by producing high-value content and experiences relevant to them, rather than traditional outbound advertising tactics.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. The goal is to drive profitable customer action by delivering compelling content to the right people at the right time.
Unlike more traditional promotional marketing, content marketing aims to attract customers with informative, useful content tailored to their interests and needs. Quality content demonstrates your company’s expertise and establishes your brand as a topical thought leader.
Examples of content marketing assets include:
- Blog posts
- eBooks, whitepapers, and guides
- Webinars and online courses
- Video tutorials
- Podcasts
- Visual graphics and infographics
- Interactive tools and calculators
With a buyer-focused, problem-solving approach, content marketing drives engagement and generates new customer relationships over time. Strategically distributing your content boosts awareness for your brand, products, and services.
The Differences Between Inbound and Content Marketing
While inbound marketing and content marketing are complementary strategies, there are some key differences between the two concepts:
Inbound Marketing
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Broad methodology to attract customers
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Uses various tactics to convert strangers into customers (content, SEO, social media, CTAs, etc.)
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Pulls people in
Content Marketing
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Focused on creating and distributing valuable content
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Content-centric approach to engage customers
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Push model to share content with target audiences
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Inbound marketing is a broad methodology using various strategies to attract customers
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Content marketing is a specific inbound tactic focused on creating and sharing high-value content
Why The Distinction Matters
Understanding the differences between inbound marketing and content marketing is key for creating the right marketing mix for your business.
Though effective content marketing lives within a broader inbound strategy, solely focusing on content creation misses the bigger picture. The full inbound methodology utilizes various tactics to turn strangers into brand advocates – not just content alone.
Similarly, relying entirely on inbound marketing without a strategic content marketing plan neglects one of the most valuable tools for attracting and engaging potential customers.
Inbound marketing and content marketing work best together. A strong inbound strategy should incorporate content marketing as a crucial component. At the same time, your content efforts should exist within the framework of a comprehensive inbound plan.
Creating an Effective Inbound Marketing Strategy With Content at the Core
As we’ve explored, inbound marketing and content marketing complement each other perfectly. Here are a few tips to bring them together effectively:
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Build personas – Create detailed buyer personas to deeply understand your ideal customers. Tailor your inbound and content efforts directly to them.
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Map the buyer’s journey – Analyze the typical buyer’s journey to identify key stages where inbound and content can guide consumers along.
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Set goals – Define specific inbound marketing and content marketing goals to align to business objectives. Track KPIs to measure success.
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Audit your content – Take inventory of existing content. Identify content gaps and topics that align to buyer interests.
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Create an editorial calendar – Plot out upcoming content across formats and channels. Coordinate topics to match buyer needs throughout their journey.
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Promote content across channels – Syndicate content across your website, blog, social accounts, and paid channels. Repurpose content into multiple formats.
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Optimize for search – Incorporate SEO best practices into your content and website to boost organic visibility.
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Provide value at every stage – Offer relevant content tailored to each buyer stage, from awareness to consideration, decision, and retention.
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Make CTAs prominent – Include clear calls-to-action across all content types to drive conversions. Send traffic to targeted landing pages.
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Nurture leads – Guide prospects through personalized lead nurturing using content that addresses their specific needs and interests.
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Analyze performance – Track inbound and content metrics to identify successes and areas for optimization. Continuously improve.
With strategic alignment between inbound methodology and content creation, your efforts will attract more qualified customers and leads. An effective inbound strategy has value-driven content at its core.
Frequently Asked Questions About Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing
Still have some questions around inbound marketing and content marketing? Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
What’s more important – inbound marketing or content marketing?
Inbound marketing and content marketing work hand in hand. Both are essential elements for modern marketing success. Prioritize creating remarkable content, while also leveraging multiple inbound tactics to get that content found and connected with the right audiences.
What comes first – inbound or content marketing?
Often it makes sense to start by developing personas and mapping the buyer’s journey to gain a clear picture of your customers and their needs. With this insight, you can build an inbound strategy and create aligned content that attracts and converts buyers.
How much content is needed for effective content marketing?
There’s no magic number for how much content to produce. The key is consistently publishing valuable content optimized for your target audience. Start by auditing your website and establishing an editorial calendar to identify content gaps. Aim to gradually increase content volume over time.
What’s the primary goal of content marketing?
The #1 goal is to provide a steady stream of relevant and engaging content that moves potential customers through the buying journey by addressing their challenges, interests, and questions. Reliable high-quality content establishes trust and rapport with buyers.
How do you track inbound marketing success?
Key inbound marketing metrics include website traffic, lead generation, conversions, SEO rankings, social media engagement, and sales pipeline impact. Use analytics to measure KPIs specific to your inbound objectives. Consider investing in dedicated inbound reporting tools.
What’s the best way to distribute B2B content?
Utilize a mix of owned (your website, blog, social channels), earned (PR, guest posting), and paid (ads, sponsorships) distribution methods. Promote content through email nurturing and sales teams. Syndicate content and repurpose it into multiple formats.
Bring More Customers In With Inbound + Content Marketing
Now you have a complete understanding of what sets inbound marketing and content marketing apart as well as why they’re both critical pieces for modern marketing success.
Attracting customers relies on pulling potential buyers in by consistently offering valuable content tailored to their interests and challenges. That’s why inbound strategies and content creation go hand in hand.
Align your efforts for maximum impact by charting the buyer’s journey, developing personas, setting goals, auditing your content, promoting across channels, optimizing for search, tracking metrics, and continuously improving based on data.
Well-executed inbound marketing has content at its center. And strategic content marketing is most effective when part of a comprehensive inbound plan.
Together, inbound marketing and content marketing become a powerful combination for turning strangers into brand loyalists and promoting business growth. By leveraging inbound strategies rooted in value-driven content, you can attract and convert more qualified customers to your business.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on creating valuable and engaging experiences that attract potential customers. The goal of inbound marketing is to build a relationship with your audience and convert them into leads and ultimately, loyal customers. As an overall strategy, inbound marketing can include multiple marketing techniques, including email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing.
The main inbound methodology focuses on three stages: Attract, Engage, Delight.
The inbound marketing methodology includes three stages: Attract, Engage, and Delight. Source:
- Attract revolves around creating valuable content that solves a problem or answers a question for your target audience.
- Engage involves building a long-term relationship with your audience through sales calls, customer service, and focusing on the solutions your brand can provide.
- Delight ensures your customers stay satisfied by remaining in contact with new opportunities, assistance, and content that continuously provides value.
Inbound strategies that draw your target audience to the valuable content youâve created include but arenât limited to search engine optimization (SEO), influencer marketing, and landing pages.
3 Examples of effective inbound marketing
Clearscope is an SEO-focused content optimization tool that uses AI to grade and recommend changes aimed at improving contentâs chances of ranking on Google.
Clearscope regularly invites subscribers to live webinars, then publishes recordings to attract new customers and provide continuous delight for its audience.
But Clearscope doesnât simply sell customers its tool and call it quits. The company also provides additional guides as well as webinars to add value for potential and current customers.
Those already subscribed to Clearscope get an email notification encouraging them to sign up for upcoming new webinars, and all past webinars are recorded and published on Clearscopeâs site. This consistent creation of helpful content that targets pain points Clearscopeâs customers likely experience ensures its audience remains delighted.
Chewy is notorious for its focus on customer delight. The pet supply company has a pulse on its target audience and appeals to their personality by sending thoughtful notesâusually by mail.
Chewy sent this handwritten birthday card for the authorâs pet cat, Amber. This attention to detail and appeal to customersâ personal lives sets Chewy apart from other companies.
These can include birthday cards for pets as well as sympathy notes when a familyâs four-legged friend passes away. On top of this, Chewyâs customer service goes above and beyond in these situations by offering refunds and even sending flowers to grieving families.
Even if this strategy is one of the companyâs marketing campaigns, this continuous care and assistance have made Chewy customers some of the most loyal out there and contributed greatly to the companyâs success. In Q3 of 2022, Chewy reported a 14.5% improvement in net sales year over year. It also generates brand awareness, as customers are eager to share their Chewy experiences with others or recommend the brand to their fellow pet owners.
Not only do NordVPNâs guides earn top spots in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but they also provide helpful tips and knowledge for its customers as well as potential customers.
Take its guide to double VPNs for example. When we searched âwhat is a double vpn,â Nordâs guide was the second result on page one.
When searching for âwhat is a double vpnâ we found NordVPNâs guide in the second position on page one.
Clicking Nordâs link opens up a thorough explanation of what a double VPN is, its benefits, and when you should or shouldnât use one. Because it ranks in the search engines, this content attracts Nordâs target audience. And because it also focuses on solving a potential problem customers might have, this double VPN guide also engages the audience.
NordVPNâs guide to double VPNs includes a call to action and simple guide to turning on the double VPN while using NordVPN.
At the end is a call to action (CTA), âLetâs double up your securityâ which notes that the double VPN feature is included with NordVPN and also features download links for multiple platforms. Thereâs also a three-step guide on how to turn on NordVPNâs double VPN feature.
