There are four important questions that need to be asked before you start with inbound marketing:
1. Who are my prospects? (Note: this is not the same as the criteria from your last Dunn & Bradstreet list pull.) Think about a few of your current customers and come up with what David Meerman Scott calls their “Buyer Persona.”
2. Where are these people “hanging out” online? How can you make sure you’re strategically placed so that they can’t help but stumble upon you? Social networks provide us with data about who their users are so that we can find them more easily.
3. Set Up Shop Where They Are. What tools are you going to use to put yourself in their path and be found? What kinds of questions are keeping them awake at night? Where are they going to find the answers? Are you there? Which social media networks should you use? What features within these networks would amplify your message best? If you have a store front, have you thought about how the internet can help you be found in the physical sense as well as online? If you’re a service or a non-profit, have you established your thought leadership online or become an invaluable online resource?
4. Work Within Your Bandwidth. Whether you’re a solo operation or you have a team who can spread around the community management burden, it’s perfectly possible to put together a great strategy. The most important thing is consistency. There’s nothing more frustrating than biting off more than you can chew, then feeling frustrated because you haven’t met your own expectations. That’s why there are so many ghost-town websites and profiles littering the internet. Unused blogs and social profiles do more harm than good. The best way to avoid this is to plan well.
If you’re ready to start consulting with some real experts, no matter what size company you are, I suggest you head over to All Things Social Online. Leslie and Jackie will take very good care of you!
