Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is what used to be known as “marketing”. It aims to push itself at an audience whether that specific target audience wants it or not! Adverts, banner and display ads, cold calling and pop-ups are all perfect examples of outbound marketing.

However, it must be noted that outbound marketing has massively fallen out of favour during the last decade, primarily due to a massive oversaturation on the internet which has caused people to start ignoring display advertising. Since the invention of the ad blocker, it has only got worse. Clickthrough rate rates for display ads are now at a dismal 0.05%.

While inbound marketing is a relatively new concept, it is rapidly gaining momentum in the ever-evolving marketing industry. Inbound marketing is also referred to as content marketing and involves the creation and publication of blog posts, social media posts, infographics, and is essentially content that people are interested in reading.

The use of search engine optimisation and paid search help the user to find your brands content, and if it’s engaging enough, they interact and will read and share your brand’s content showcasing your business to a broader audience.

Inbound marketing is very hands-off; there is never a “sales pitch” when it comes to this form of marketing. Inbound marketing pushes consumers down the sales funnel by increasing their engagement with the brand.

There is no doubt that inbound marketing is by far and away the more fashionable marketing choice right now. Inbound marketing certainly provides a better ROI while also standing at 62% cheaper than outbound efforts.

However, we must also look at the negative sides of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing’s effectiveness can be hard to measure. Since the inbound strategy relies on raising brand awareness and not pushing the hard sell, and as a result of this, it is hard to evaluate exactly how well and inbound marketing plan is working.

The main criticism of outbound marketing has been the expensive costs surrounding it. It is extremely expensive; it’s non-responsive, and it isn’t targeted. Ultimately, you could spend thousands on a tv ad, send it out and then end up just ‘hoping for the best’.

In today’s marketing landscape, many companies utilise a combination of a brilliant target inbound strategy while also capitalising on the benefits of outbound marketing.

If you are looking at utilising the benefits of inbound or outbound marketing then get in touch with one of the Square Media team today!