The South is known for its hospitality. Whether it’s an outdoor picnic of fried chicken and potato salad or a peaceful Sunday afternoon on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea, Southerners exude a welcoming attitude that says, "Come sit with me, let’s chat."
The heart of inbound marketing is not that different!
Inbound marketing is like attracting visitors to come sit on your proverbial front porch with you where you can share your insights and professional experiences with them. If they have interest in what you have to say (over that glass of sweet tea), they then convert into a lead, and as you continue building rapport with them, engaging them with quality content and offers, they will eventually convert into a customer... and a regular on your porch! You then, of course, continue delighting them with quality service and engagement, which leads to them inviting others to join in.
Inbound marketing efforts establish key connections with potential new customers through a variety of online platforms offering useful content. When a visitor comes across your presence in their search online, they are, in essence, walking up the steps to your proverbial front porch. They want to know what you have to say! So, whether it be through social media, email marketing, blog content, or something on the company website, by all means, start talking, and invite them in.
These are the important conversations that attract new visitors. Through the use of inbound marketing strategies, you create quality content that engages your visitors to stay for a while and to want to come back!
While it might feel ambitious at first, part of what inbound marketing entails is utilizing blogs, social media accounts, and new pages on your website with content that is connected with a common strategy. It is important to realize the impact that producing a flow of fresh, new content for these outlets can have when all of these separate pieces are working together toward one purpose. As you become a resource of knowledge for your visitors, they begin to build trust in your expertise and to want to continue seeking you out to help them or to meet their need. As the relationships with these leads are cultivated, they then convert into customers who then become lifelong promoters of your business – not only coming back themselves, but bringing friends with them – and it all started with salient, intriguing, and thoughtful content.
So, think about the types of topics that your customers would like to discuss as they sit with you on a cool autumn evening on your "front porch." Then write about, link to, or capture that content on video and start sharing this inbound marketing version of Southern hospitality.