How to reach technical audiences through... inbound marketing. Issue 2

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1 How to reach technical audiences through... inbound marketing Issue 2

2 In our previous issue we looked at the use of PR and how it can be a powerful and cost effective way for engineers to reach wider audiences and drive inbound traffic to a website. In this issue, we re delving into the valuable subject of inbound marketing, looking at how engineers can really utilise it as a tool for engaging with technical audiences for greater brand exposure and increased sales. Did you know that 50% of technical companies plan to increase their marketing budgets in the next 1-3 years in areas of content creation, blogging and search engine optimisation? 1

3 How to reach technical audiences through inbound marketing What is inbound marketing? Inbound marketing is the process of attracting or pulling potential customers in through the production of quality, interesting and relevant content that s of value to an audience. Through the creation of useful information, businesses are able to demonstrate their expertise and build early trust with potential customers thus bring them right to your door! Also known as content marketing, inbound marketing is in contrast to the traditional methods of push marketing i.e. hard selling or product and service focused messages delivered through advertising channels. With 93% of the buying cycle starting online2, businesses need to focus on being found.

4 How can your content be found online? Inbound marketing offers you an opportunity to strengthen your online presence and position yourselves as industry experts. Through good quality content you can demonstrate your understanding of industry issues and inform, educate and inspire people. To reach your target audience you must understand what they might search for online technical phrases, keywords, questions, etc. Understanding this will help you write content that addresses their specific problems, which in turn will ensure that you re content is found and remembered. However, it s not as straightforward as just putting a brochure or case study online. The content needs to be written with a blend of good quality facts, insights, statistics and benefits and then embedded with relevant keywords and phrases that will be picked up by search engines. This requires both knowledge and skill by the writer to ensure that the content has flow, relevance and is optimised technically.

5 Let s say for example that an engineer is searching online to find a solution to bearing vibration. They might begin their search by putting into Google bearing vibration, which will produce many thousands of websites and articles containing these keywords, making the search laborious and time-consuming. Now let s say the engineer searches for how to reduce bearing vibration. This is far more specific than the last search and, whilst the list of results will still be huge, they will be more relevant. But for a piece of content to appear at the top of this list it would need to be highly optimised for this set of keywords i.e. a download would need to be entitled How to reduce bearing vibration, the website page URL would need to be entitled /how-toreduce-bearing-vibration and the same string of keywords would need to be repeated throughout the website page both in the front and back end. This specific phrase is then very likely to appear very high up on Google as it has been optimised for this specific search phrase.

6 How can engineers benefit from inbound marketing? Engineering firms have enormous potential when it comes to producing inbound marketing content. Why? Because technical products and services allow for a wide range of subjects to be covered. You can produce all kinds of simple or even complex technical documents that cover multiple topics. You're more than likely to have more than one product or service. One product will have a variety of uses, features and benefits, and it will be sold to a variety of market sectors and used for a range of applications. If you break these down into bite-size pieces you could potentially produce a library of content. For example you could write downloads, datasheets, product guides, articles, press releases, cases studies and so on. (see page 8 for more ideas). With just one product in mind, you could write content on: How a particular product feature has helped to solve a specific industry problem Why certain products are ideal for specific applications or markets How the quality of raw materials can affect longevity and improve customer retention How to get the best out of a product, improve customer productivity and reduce costs How investing in new technology can open international doors How product efficiency can affect the bottom line You can see from this basic list that there are many ways that you can produce valuable content that is benefit focused, rather than just product focused. The key is to really understand your customers What are they looking for? What problems do they have? What do they need to improve? How can you solve their problems?

7 How can Inbound Marketing work for you? Producing regular, quality content will eventually build your reputation, not to mention the trust associated with your brand - making customers want to do business with you rather than a competitor. Quality inbound marketing will: Bring customers to your door Increase visitor numbers to your website Increase your website search engine rankings Increase brand awareness and credibility Build trust in your brand Position your brand as innovators Help to gain industry recognition Give confidence to your customers Increase your market reach and open doors to new opportunities Simplify the sales process by making information readily-available Once you ve produced a piece of content, you need to ensure that it lands in front of your target audience. The content will need to sit on a specifically named web page which needs to be fully optimised with the right keywords for that download. You then need to select the channels to promote the download through i.e. social media, forums, blogs, trade magazines, public relations, marketing and so on.

8 There are so many types of content marketing it s impossible to list them all, however we ve listed those that have the best success rates: News & PR PR is the most cost effective marketing channel for reaching large audiences. Press releases and news articles are always being sought by editors. Once your news story is published it can also be picked up by other industry journalists, giving you an opportunity to reach an even wider audience. Social media Twitter and LinkedIn offer a platform for publishing great content, from simple posts through to photos, videos, links to web pages etc. Filtering Twitter posts with relevant hashtags will help audiences to find your content and possibly even share it with their own followers for increased exposure. E-brochures A great way of compiling a range of useful information into one, easy-tonavigate, visually appealing digital file that s also easy to share with other people. Blogs A useful platform to talk about industry related topics, products, how-to advice, or anything that readers will find interesting. The idea is to write useful information that others can use for their own benefit or share with others. B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who do not. Case studies Success stories are a great way of winning new business. Telling your audience about the projects you ve completed and the benefits that were experienced by your customers, will increase trust and credibility. Newsletters These are a great way of regularly touching base with your customers and new audiences. In addition, by promoting previous issues on your website, you can increase registrations of people wishing to receive your newsletter and build a database of contacts who are specifically interested in what you have to say. Infographics Some people prefer visual content over written. This form of inbound marketing is a great way to convey statistical information or anything that s quite complicated to express through just words. Once again, these are great for social media. Videos Video is a highly effective means of communication and can be used for brand stories, documentaries, interviews, training, technology demonstrations and so much more. They re great for SEO and for social sharing across all media channels. Whitepapers & Research Documents People like to do their research before investing in a product. That s why whitepapers and helpful research papers are so valuable, making information readily available to simplify the sales process and qualify leads before they pick up the phone. Articles These can range from generic industry topics, talking points, case studies or research and development discussions. Published articles have much greater credibility so building relationships with respected publications will open many new doors. Articles can also be shared on social media and of course, published on your own website.

9 How to reach your target audience We ve looked at some examples of content, but how do you get them in front of the right people? Again, understanding your target customer is key to ensuring that your hard work is rewarded. If you don t already know the answer to this a customer survey will help you. By compiling a simple questionnaire you can find out more about what subjects your customers are interested in and where they go to research subjects and gather data. Channels might include: Search engins Trade publications and journals Member organisations Forums and special interest groups Online discussion groups Social Media Online directories Speaker events and exhibitions Online media websites Newsletters and blogs The list can be extensive, but with a little customer and online research you can begin to build up a list of very relevant marketing channels through which to promote your content.

10 The inbound marketing process We believe inbound marketing encourages a very linear process to take place. To explain this as effectively as possible, we ve included the below infographic. 1 CONTENT Content is the driver for inbound marketing. Through the writing and creation of good quality, relevant information you will attract attention and: Increase brand credibility and trust Demonstrate your knowledge Be seen as an industry expert Drive traffic to your website Obtain new contact data 2 REACH Content can be published on multiple platforms to increase brand interest. The higher the quantity and quality of content, the larger the reach. Example platforms include: Social media platforms Press and publicity Off and online events and seminars 3 ACTION If your content is worth reading then buyers will take action over time. They will begin to build trust and see that you are a worthy business. Through placement on relevant channels you will: Increase website visitors Increase website interactions Increase sales leads Blogs and news Marketing communications channels Increase customer retention Increase shares and likes which leads to more reach 4 CONVERSION Having built trust with your audience you will now need to make the purchase journey a simple and equally experiential one. The interaction with your brand should now reflect the quality of your marketing through: Clear purchase journey Customer loyalty Structured pricing and promotions Customer satisfaction Customer services 5 ADVOCACY There is no stronger form of marketing than word of mouth, therefore your customer experience should enable them, and you, to share a successful transaction or relationship through: Social media Case studies Articles Customer loyalty schemes Partner programmes

11 How much does inbound marketing cost? The cost depends on two things; quantity and frequency. You can choose to start at a very basic level, publishing content once a month, or you can really push frequent messages out in different formats weekly or even daily. You will need to consider: Who will write and produce the content? How often you will promote the content. Who will promote the content? The costs of promoting the content If you outsource the entire service it can vary from just a few hundred pounds per month to several thousand pounds per month. Remember, the more you put out there, the greater the results. It s never great to bombard people with content, but your marketing specialist will be able to recommend the appropriate level for your business. Finding the right balance of content will also help to increase your level of success. It s all about being tactical and strategic. If you d like to know more about Inbound Marketing and how it can help your business, please don t hesitate to get in touch. Our advice will cost you nothing but the value that it can deliver could seriously change the future of your business. 1 Source: Trew Marketing 2 Source: Marketo TPMC is a specialist marketing agency for the manufacturing, engineering and building services sectors, providing consultancy, strategic planning and full marketing services including inbound marketing. If you would like a free informal discussion, please telephone or our Marketing and PR Director, Debbie Reeve at deb.reeve@product-marketing.co.uk.