The ever-increasing battle for attention has gotten to the point where the average person is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day. These include everything from internet and social media ads, TV and radio ads, and outdoor signage. The competition couldn’t be more fierce.
Every business wants a piece of the market, and there are two distinct ways they reach the target market. These are inbound and outbound marketing.
So, what’s the difference between outbound marketing and inbound marketing? Let’s take a deeper look into the two and see which one your business should adapt to.
What Is Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing involves putting your business in front of people who are not necessarily looking for it. It’s also known as an interruption or push marketing, and some of the most common outbound marketing channels include print media, radio, TVs, billboards, digital ads, etcetera. Businesses utilize outbound marketing to reach a wider audience through paid advertisements.
The intention is that some people who see the messages learn about the brand and become a customer. However, outbound marketing has a poor bad click-through-rate because nobody asked for it. Still, with customized tactics such as cold email outreach, it can perform much better, so it’s not disregarded.
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What Is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing takes pride in being the most reliable way to advertise. It’s been thriving ever since it started hitting the airwaves in 2006. What sets inbound marketing apart from outbound marketing is the fact that it’s not as salesy.
Inbound marketing is for the people who specifically go searching for brands or products and services they need. As a business, all you have to do is wait for consumers to search for your products or services then have information for them on the ready. This information can be in the form of social media, SEO, and content, which you use to pull into your sales funnel.
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Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: Is Outbound Marketing Better Than Inbound Marketing?
What’s the difference between inbound marketing and outbound marketing? It’s in how you get your business in front of your target market. Over 50% of marketers claim that inbound marketing offers more ROI compared to outbound marketing.
This would suggest that inbound marketing is the better option, right? Maybe not. You see, according to research, 60% of consumers agree that billboards play a significant role in how they learn about brands.
Billboards are a mainstay of outbound marketing, so can you afford to overlook it entirely? If you’re new in the market and need to establish your brand, outbound marketing can be a great way to introduce yourself to the public.
Inbound marketing, as effective as it may be, takes time. You need to build a following, grow an email list, invest in SEO, and write relevant and valuable content to appear on SERPs.
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The Key Differences of Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing
The optimum goal of both inbound and outbound marketing is getting your business in front of prospective customers. Now, despite the end goal being the same, there are several key differences you need to understand. It’ll help you make an informed decision about which marketing method to focus on for your business.
One Is Pull While the Other Is Push
When you create valuable content for your target market to discover when searching for specific keywords, you’ll be pulling them to discover your business. This is what inbound marketing is all about. It involves taking advantage of topics and queries your target audience is already searching for.
You can find this information through keyword research and community forums, and social media platforms where consumers talk about their problems. Case in point, you intentionally create information revolving around what your prospects want or need.
Outbound marketing or push marketing is exactly the opposite. You create an information based on assumptions or trends. Then you hope that it will capture consumer interest. However, given that they are not specifically looking for it, you will push it on them through advertisements.
One Is Generic While the Other Is Specific
Outbound marketing involves campaigning through various mediums such as print advertisements, billboards, and TVs.
All these are generic because about anyone can see them. Outbound marketing is generic because it tries to appeal to the general public through entertaining or educational content that most people are likely to face.
On the other hand, inbound marketing revolves around creating entertaining and educational content for a specific audience.
Whether everyone is bound to have that problem, a business concerns itself with its target audience, which is the group of people it’s looking to serve. Case in point, inbound marketing is about creating newsletters, social media posts, blogs, and targeted queries for that specific audience.
One Is Permissive, and the Other Is Interruptive
Consumers search the internet to find solutions or answers to their problems. Every time they do this, the search engine shows them the most relevant content. If you have created valuable content related to the search query, it will appear in the search results.
Also, if you offer relevant information on social media, prospective customers will follow you. This will, in turn, permit you to create information that appears on their feeds.
When they sign up for your newsletter, then you’ll have permission to send them customized emails. This is how the inbound marketing methodology works. It’s permissive.
Outbound marketing is interruptive. You see, when consumers are listening to the radio or watching TV, their shows are abruptly interrupted so they can watch an ad.
Even when watching videos on platforms like YouTube, consumers get interrupted now and watch an ad. In the middle of the favorite show, their attention is already captured, so they’re likely to watch the ad.
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Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: Everything You Need to Know
Now that you know the key differences between inbound and outbound marketing, you can choose what is likely to work best for your business. It’s advisable to use both marketing strategies, though. Both are useful in their own right, and you can pick the best tactics to implement for each one. This way, you’ll maximize ROI and grow your business.
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