4 Ways You Can Improve Your Inbound Marketing Performance

Inbound marketing is an excellent way of driving potential clients to your website and turning them into happy promoters for your business. Using social media, blogs, keywords, and networking, businesses are finding ways to connect with their customers and create a presence within the community. Below are four ways you can improve your inbound marketing performance.

1. Integrate Your Blog Posts with Your Social Media Accounts

Your business should be on social media for one reason your consumers are on social media. Integrate your other posts into your other social media channels in order to reach more people and cut down on the time it takes to promote each post. Be sure to use hashtags wisely on channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so that potential customers can find your business based on their search criteria.

In addition, include pictures in each blog post and be sure to add an attractive call-to-action link on channels such as Instagram and Pinterest. This will help grab viewer’s attention and grow your following.

YouTube is the go-to site for customers seeking how-to videos. This allows you to reach customers who may not be familiar with your company once they’ve found your relevant video. Be sure to place relevant keywords in your description. Utilize the “About Me” section so you can drive traffic to your website.

2. Improve Your Photography and Photo-Editing Skills

Images often catch the attention of the customer before he or she has read a single word you’ve written. Images can motivate someone to read a blog article or social media posting all the way through. Learn the basics of light, exposure, and angles.

Each social media site has a “preferred” picture size. For instance, long pictures work best on Pinterest. There are free websites like PicMonkey, where you can add text and more to your images. This helps you create “pinnable” content and ultimately drive more traffic to your site to increase sales.

3. Publish Reviews from Past and Present Clients

While great writing, interaction, images, and presentation of products or services will serve a great purpose for your site, reviews are an essential part of inbound marketing as well. Making reviews accessible will reassure a potential customer that you are honest, professional, and a good fit for them.

You don’t necessarily need to hide negative reviews either. In fact, if you can quickly address the concerns of a customer, potential customers may be impressed that you rectified the situation head on. Proving genuine concern will ultimately build consumer trust and help your business.

4. Develop a Personal Relationship with Your Customers

Although blog posts and social media posts are great, they are oftentimes overlooked. Customers appreciate receiving personal attention. In fact, according to Entrepreneur, developing a personal relationship with customers is one of the common characteristics successful business owners have. Here are a few ways you can develop this relationship through your inbound marketing strategies:

Make comments on relevant posts and other blogs similar to yours.
Address the commenter by name if possible.
If there are too many responses, reply to the comments with questions you can answer to address the needs of your target audience.
If you don’t have the time, hire a Virtual Assistant (VA). Hiring a VA is fairly inexpensive on sites like Elance, Odesk, and Fiverr.
For complicated matters, contact the customer personally, via phone or email.

Remember, inbound marketing is a relationship driven strategy. You are to provide outstanding content that readers feel is relevant to them. Engage and upsell to your current customers while intriguing new potential clients.