Mobile & Inbound Marketing Services

In the course of my daily routine, I’ve noticed how many people in real life are consuming inbound marketing services and blatantly ignoring outbound marketing. So, I decided to check my observations against hard data. Here’s how they stacked up:

Mobile, Millennials, Marketing

Stuck in city traffic, I saw that most of the passengers in cars, people in the window of Starbucks, and smokers were looking at their smartphones (as opposed to talking on them).

Millennials touch their smartphones 43 times per day, and 30 percent admit they touch more than four devices over the course of 24 hours. ~The Wise Marketer

Audio Listeners

I asked some of my friends at the gym what they were listening to and found out that internet radio, music via apps, and podcasts were the top three answers (personal music and audio books were in the mix too).

From 2014 to 2015 the percentage of Americans 12+ who have listened to at least one podcast in the past month has risen from 15% to 17%, or an estimated 46 million people. ~Edison Research

Mobile, Social, Advertising

In a slow supermarket line, almost all of the shoppers under the age of 50 (without kids) were looking at their phones. No one was looking at the blaring ad screens or celebrity gossip magazines.

Social media advertising (Facebook and Twitter) will see the most growth at 31% this year, followed by video (29%) and mobile (20%). ~Michael Goodman, Strategy Analytics

Audience Avoidance

In an informal poll, I found that over 75% of my friends don’t have cable TV. Of the ones who have it, most have DVRs to bypass television commercials (also, most have ad blockers installed on their computers).

In 2014, 78% of US Internet users accessed second screens during shows and 71% did so during ads. The biggest second screen activities by far are checking email and social media, time filler, content snacking activities that often require little thought. ~March 2015, Heidi Cohen

Inbound Marketing Era?

I think it’s safe to say we’re witnessing the end of an advertising era. (Is it a coincidence that it’s also the end of the Mad Men series?) Outbound marketing is reaching fewer and fewer people while inbound marketing services are on the rise particularly through digital and social media marketing, networking, and engagement. Consider the possibilities:

• Audio Inbound Marketing Services: Podcasts, online interviews, live Q&A sessions
• Video Inbound Marketing Services: Informational videos, paid-for training, video ads
• Text Inbound Marketing Services: Blogging, SEO web content, email marketing, newsletters
• Graphic Inbound Marketing Services: Infographics, brand images, original photos

Of course, every inbound marketing idea isn’t sensible for every business. But whatever you choose, shoot for a least a little bit of a mix and make sure your inbound marketing is mobile-ready. If you don’t know where to start, use this brief primer on how to tackle inbound marketing.

The Inbound Marketing Services Cycle

• Plan: Set some goals and make a few decisions. This can involve long strategy meetings with your team or it can be a back-of-the-envelope type of plan.
• Create: Jump in. Make something—or hire professionals to do it—and remember, you’re not painting the Sistine Chapel here. You’re just engaging online.
• Promote: Put some effort into getting your message out there. Promote yourself across all of your social media outlets and reach out to influencers.
• Analyze: See if it worked. See what worked. See what didn’t work. Give it some time and check again. You don’t always get traction right away.
• Adapt: If your first attempts or your tenth didn’t work, try something else. If your previously successful campaigns aren’t working anymore, try something else.

The upsides of Inbound Marketing Services are many. It’s relatively inexpensive, it’s easy to track, and when it hits, the payoff can be huge. It just takes some persistence, some flexibility, and even some professional help.