Inbound Marketing Blog

While developing one of the latest tools we'll be offering on our website—a nifty campaign planning tool and webinar—I thought I'd whip up a truncated, tactical guide to planning an inbound marketing campaign. Of course, seeing as we'll need a webinar AND a workbook to take you through what it takes to plan and manage a campaign, this post is only meant to guide you through at a very high level. 

Here is a quick look at the many elements of an inbound marketing campaign—a TL;DR version, if you will…

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I've been in the marketing world for a very...very...very long time. Everything from being a Marketing Manager who hires—and fires—marketing agencies, to now working for a web marketing agency. Working on both sides of the fence gave me the ability to be empathetic for each side.

But this blog isn't about me, it's about you, the client. Your needs, your goals and ultimately your successes.

Take this scenario; your current marketing agency does an excellent job at print, radio and billboard advertisements but probably isn't the best at digital marketing campaigns. And that's okay. It stands to reason that not every marketing/advertising agency is the best at everything.

Safe content sucks. It certainly isn’t a revolutionary statement. It’s actually a pretty obvious statement. However, the concept becomes extremely daunting when you think about applying it to your veterinary practice’s marketing plan. You’re probably thinking: “Damn it, Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a risk taker.” (if you got that reference, I like you already).

Imagine this scenario: You publish a blog on your prestigious and professional site about….

Dog crap.

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Years ago when I was in high school, I worked for a landscaper. He was brilliant. The properties he took care of were always immaculate.

The one problem was that he never took care of his own yard. His sprinklers didn’t work. His grass was more dirt than vegetation. It was awful.

He’d get home at the end of the day and his own yard was the last thing he wanted to think about.

When it comes to managing our own businesses, it’s no different. And, for Tribute Media, we’ve found that it’s hard for us to market ourselves as effectively as we market for our clients.

Why?

Digital marketing is constantly changing, but what hasn’t changed is its relevance.  For a small company with a business-to-business focus, the digital transformation can seem daunting.

As a B2B company, you want to ensure that you're connecting with businesses in the most accessible way possible. Sure, you can have salespeople connect with them face-to-face or cold call, but nothing is more convenient than a business being able to connect with you online at their own convenience. If you do your web marketing right, you may answer some of their questions and lead them further through the buyers journey even before they meet with you. 

Sometimes, business people think of their website as an ornament or an accessory. Everyone else seems to have one, so they decide to get one too.

They build the website—or they hire someone like us to build it—and once they have gone through it with a fine-tooth comb and analyzed all the minute details to make sure it is absolutely perfect, they take it "live." The average length of one of these website build projects is about 12-16 weeks, though sometimes it can last much, much longer.

After the site languishes on the internet for a year or two or five, these business owners might decide to update it. So they start from scratch (trends and user behaviors change a lot in half a decade). They throw away the old and start the whole 12-16 week process over. The new site goes live again and and sits for another stretch of time. And then the process starts all over again.

As you may have sensed already, there are some major problems with this approach to web design. Here are some things you should know about your website and what it means for your business.

Who’s Afraid of Web Marketing?

When the subject of web marketing comes up, some people might get that glazed-over, deer-in-the-headlights look in their eyes. And when terms like “search engine optimization” or “conversion rate optimization” start getting tossed around, those same people might start feeling like the apes freaking out over the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The basic concepts of web marketing really aren’t that hard to grasp, though. In fact, it’s pretty easy to take old-school marketing approaches and ideas and apply them to the process of building your online presence. Let’s take a look at the similarities between web marketing and traditional marketing.

Within the complex and uncertain business climate we all work in, the biggest challenges often rest on the shoulders of C-level officers and managers. They are left to deal with significant issues that affect their company such as globalization, demographic changes, corporate social responsibility, and the impacts of innovation and digitization.

That's some heavy stuff.

If you are one of these individuals faced with such high-level issues, the last thing you want to add to your plate is the task of strategizing and implementing marketing campaigns. Maybe you've been tasked with finding a marketing solution for your company; you've done your research, and the deeper you go, the more certain you are that there is more to marketing--especially on the web--than you want to deal with and you need professional help to move forward.

In 1911, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hurst made an offer of $50,000 to the first person who could fly a plane from New York to LA in under 30 consecutive days. Calbraith "Cal" Perry Rogers took up the challenge.

Of course, Cal didn't have any money. He had the plane, but in the "good ole days" an airplane required a very large support crew. So, he started talking to businesses about possible sponsorship and was able to secure a sponsorship from Amour and Company for the 1911 Wright Flyer. The company had created a new grape soft drink and wanted to get the word out.

The Vin Fiz Flyer was born. Emblazoned with the logo for Vin Fiz and messages of "Drink Vin Fiz" and "Ideal Grape Drink," Cal began his journey across North America from Sheepshead Bay, New York on September 17, 1911. Not to be outdone, all of the support train cars, paid for by Armour and Company, also sported messages of "Drink Vin Fiz."

Of course, none of this changed the fact that the grape soda advertised as the "Sparkling Grape Drink" did not even come close to living up to its purported luster.

Your website is only as good as the leads it generates for you. So if your site is only generating spam form submissions, or just one or two quality leads per quarter, it's time to address that issue.

Lucky for you, creating an effective landing page is fairly straightforward.

Wait, back up. What is a landing page you ask? In the digital marketing world, it is defined as:

land・ing page

noun

a standalone web page distinct from your main website that has been designed for a single focused objective.