Setting up advertising and building a marketing plan for a business is not easy. Sure you can attract new customers with cold calls and meaningless mailings. But why do that when you can use inbound marketing?

By reading this article to the end, you can learn what inbound marketing is, how it differs from outbound marketing, and how to build an inbound marketing strategy for manufacturers.

What is inbound marketing for manufacturers

What inbound marketing is for manufacturers consists of creating and distributing useful content. This approach differs from traditional marketing, which is often perceived as intrusive because it offers information and solutions where and when they are most relevant to a potential customer.

The goal of inbound marketing is to engage the customer by providing valuable information that helps solve their problems or fulfill their needs. For manufacturers, this means developing educational articles, blogs, videos, research, and other materials. These resources promote a better understanding of products and the industry, building brand trust.

Effective implementation of inbound marketing can significantly increase brand visibility, attract quality leads, and improve customer relationships. Ultimately, this helps to increase sales and strengthen a manufacturer’s position in the marketplace.

Why it’s called that

It has been dubbed «inbound» because the basic concept is that potential customers will:

• Discover your content through search engines, paid online advertising campaigns, social media, or any other online platforms;
• Engage with your brand through your website, blog, YouTube channel, social media and more;
• Voluntarily leave your contact information, turning into marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) or sales-qualified leads (SQLs);
• Or, in case your manufacturing business is e-commerce and your sales process is quick and easy, they can directly make a purchase online, bypassing the sales department.

Difference between inbound and outbound traffic for manufacturers

Inbound and outbound marketing are two opposing customer acquisition strategies, each with its unique approaches and techniques. The table below summarizes the key differences between these two types of marketing:

Criterion	Inbound Marketing	Outbound Marketing
Purpose	Attract customers by providing useful content and solutions.	Actively seek potential customers through direct advertising.
Methods	SEO, content marketing, blogs, social media, email marketing.	Television and radio ads, direct mail, cold calls, banner ads.
Audience interaction	Passive. Consumers find content on their own.	Active. Company initiates first contact.
Target audience	People already interested in a product or service.	Broad audience, including people not interested in the product.
Effectiveness	High, due to precise targeting and providing value.	Can be low due to «noise» and intrusive methods.
Measurability	Easily measurable, thanks to website and platform analytics.	More difficult to accurately measure impact and ROI.
Cost	Relatively low, especially in the long term.	High, especially because of the cost of advertising slots and materials.

Inbound marketing focuses on creating and distributing content that draws potential customers to a manufacturer when they are looking for information related to their needs or interests. This can be not only notifications customized to the target audience, but also sending out trial products. It is a strategy that focuses on long-term engagement and relationship building.

Outbound marketing, on the other hand, aims to actively draw attention to the brand through various forms of direct advertising. This approach is often perceived as more intrusive and less personalized, which can reduce its effectiveness in today’s world where consumers prefer to choose which brands to interact with.

How to build an inbound marketing strategy for manufacturers

Organizing inbound marketing for productions requires a comprehensive approach that includes developing a content strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), active use of social media, email marketing, analytics and monitoring. Here’s how you can develop an effective inbound marketing plan:

• Develop a content strategy to promote your product. Use services like BuzzSumo to research popular content in your niche and determine the interests of your target audience. After researching your target audience, create useful and interesting content that answers questions and solves problems for your audience;;
• SEO. Use Ahrefs or SEMrush to research keywords, analyze competitors, and track your website’s ranking. Optimize your website and content to improve search engine visibility.
• Social Media. You can profit by creating a social media page to promote your product. Use Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule and automate your social media posts. These tools will help you maintain an active social media presence and engage with your audience;
• Email Marketing. You can also send out messages via email. They might include an offer to buy products at a good discount, a quote based on batch size, or even instructions on how to pick up a trial product for free. Services like Mailchimp or Sendinblue allow you to create targeted email campaigns, automate your mailings and analyze the effectiveness of your messages.
• Landings and Conversion Optimization. Tools like Unbounce or Leadpages can help you create attractive landing pages that maximize the conversion of visitors into leads.
• Analytics and Monitoring. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are indispensable tools for monitoring traffic to your website, analyzing visitor behavior, and tracking conversions. Use this data to optimize your inbound marketing strategy.

Setting up inbound marketing is an ongoing process that requires regular analysis and adapting to the changing trends and preferences of your target audience. Using the services mentioned above will help you effectively manage different aspects of your inbound marketing strategy and achieve better results.

Tips to improve sales

Manufacturers can also promote their product in other ways. Below are some working tips to help boost sales:

• Include special promo codes and product offers in your content. For example, at the end of a blog or video, you can offer a product discount or free shipping for those who read or watch the content to the end;
• Make it possible to order free or low-cost samples of your products through your website or lendings. Offer potential customers the opportunity to try your product before buying, which can increase their interest and confidence in its quality;
• Include offers of discounts and special promotions in your email newsletters. This will help capture your audience’s attention and encourage them to buy;
• Consider running joint promotions and offers with partners in your industry. For example, you can offer a discount on your products when your partner’s products are purchased, and vice versa.
• Offer exclusive discounts and offers to your social media followers or your newsletter subscribers. This will help you reward customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.

FAQ

What is inbound marketing for manufacturers?

Inbound marketing for manufacturers involves creating and distributing useful content that engages potential customers when they are looking for information related to their needs or interests. It is a strategy that focuses on long-term engagement and relationship building.

What is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing?

Inbound marketing focuses on attracting customers by providing useful content and solutions, while outbound marketing actively seeks potential customers through direct advertising. Inbound marketing is less intrusive and more targeted.

What are the key elements that go into an inbound marketing strategy for manufacturers?

The strategy includes content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), use of social media, email marketing, landing and conversion optimization, Influencer marketing and analytics and monitoring.

Why is inbound marketing effective for manufacturers?

Inbound marketing is effective because it attracts quality leads and improves customer relationships by providing valuable information and solutions that help solve their problems or fulfill their needs.

What tools are used to implement an inbound marketing strategy?

Tools such as BuzzSumo for content research, Ahrefs or SEMrush for SEO, Hootsuite or Buffer for social media management, Mailchimp or Sendinblue for email marketing, and Google Analytics and Google Search Console for analytics and monitoring are used to implement the strategy.