Selling and buying have been in the nature of human beings since the dawn of the civilization. We’ve indulged in trading something for something and in the midst of all of that, marketing has taken birth and has evolved to its present state normally referred to as internet marketing. That is one of the many fruits of technology we’ve reaped.
In this article, we are going to see how inbound or internet marketing has transformed the industries over time, and how has the inclusion of social media been doing in accelerating that change.

The era of outbound marketing

It is worthwhile for us to know a little about the outbound marketing before we jump into the details of this article. Outbound marketing is the name given to the marketing strategies that involve radio, TV, newspaper ads, billboards, magazine commercials, and everything out there that has no connection with your internet and that is more related to the things you are served with rather than you searching for them.
For many businesses, outbound marketing still has a major role in their marketing strategies. However, since the change has taken place and further amendments are coming, they’d have to steer clear to inbound marketing and change the course of their strategies in that direction. This is because internet marketing is here to stay and evolve into the all-in-all faction we foresee.
So, even if you don’t like to come onboard inbound marketing, you’d still have to because the world is moving fast and you wouldn’t want to stay behind your competitors. The era of outbound marketing is about to die a slow death.

Social Media

It all started in 2004 when the world saw the gradual dawn of social media. Now as we look at it, it has evolved into the necessary ingredient of the marketing strategy of any company. Owing to this, more than 50 million businesses are currently operating on Facebook and the numbers are as big as this one on other social media portals like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.
It is obvious that every big and small business has an online presence through these portals. This is because their efforts are paying off in terms of establishing a fruitful relationship with their consumers. They are coming to know of their reputation out there. And through special analytical tools, they are getting insights into the behavior of their customers, which, in turn, is supporting their change to suit the requirements of the cut-throat competition.

Search Engines

Would you like to receive blanket messages about different products you don’t even use or would you simply like to research the product you specifically need? Like most of the people, you’d prefer the later and that’s where search engines come.
Google and the likes of it are the search engines that deliver content and information to over 100 billion searches per month. So, when people visit the websites listed on the organic search, they face inbound marketing at its best.
For those websites, lead generation, content marketing, keyword research mean a lot and these are some of the areas of inbound marketing that needs to be explored by every other business. With these, referrals, customer satisfaction, positive reviews, and testimonials also work wonders.
As the internet marketing is taking new shapes and turns, new techniques are being explored and with all of what we said about the search engines and their role in inbound marketing, the recent addition of video production has accelerated things for the best. Now, as we see it, customers are keener on seeing a video about the product in question rather than read about it. And this is the sole reason why you need to revamp your business website.

Mobile

According to Google, mobile dominates the pie chart of most searches on the search engine. That means more and more mobile devices are being used by people to extract information from the internet and make decisions. This is the scenario of the whole world and thus, there is no question of not adapting your website to the mobile versions of browsers – technically called mobile optimization.

Content – The reigning king

Content is the backbone of internet marketing. It does not matter what kind of content your website holds – be it video, text, infographics, or whatsoever – all of it needs to be consumer-centric and should answer all of their questions in detail about your business and your products. This is because consumers all over the world search for information themselves and when they land on your website because of your SEO efforts, the first thing that will greet them is your content.
Therefore, it has become indispensable for every business to invest in their content creation and marketing. Opening up your own blog on the sidelines of your website can be a good start. Fresh new content added to it daily, weekly, or monthly can have an enormous effect on the decisions of your customers.
As we said, the content of your website can be anything and recently, due to the rise of the video production services and its facets called 360 video, VR, and whatnot, it has taken internet marketing to a whole new level. Couple the impact and reach of social media with it and what you get is a thoroughly effective campaign set up to take your company to new heights.

The overall transformation

Internet marketing and social media combined have revamped the sales cycle of industries completely. Marketers have cleverly and slowly steered clear of all the notorious outbound strategies like cold-calling or buying customer lists and have entered the era of attracting leads and turning them into loyal buyers.
That inevitably has pushed the sales teams to a later stage in the sales funnel where they only appear on the scene when customers need help with their decisions.
As the outbound marketing techniques are dying a slow death, inbound marketing is taking their place. In all of these aspects, if you truly want to succeed and become a part of the change, you will have to embrace it.