What is INBOUND MARKETING?

Inbound marketing consists of the set of strategies focused on attracting customers' attention through valuable, relevant and useful content and interactions. It differs from traditional marketing because it focuses on creating quality content that induces consumers to approach the company, without making use of the old buying methods of ads, mailing lists, etc... It also has the focus on aligning with the interests of its target audience, so as to attract them naturally and convert them more easily.

The methodology behind Inbound marketing involves the succession of several steps: the first involves attracting the "right" people to your brand, that is, those most likely to become contacts. Obviously, in order to center the right target audience, one has to do a lot of in-depth analysis on the kind of habits, problems, needs and goals of our ideal customers. This is followed by the conversion stage, in which it is important to come up with some "tricks," such as free trials or downloadable resources in exchange for personal data that can be used to get real leads. At this point there is the final stage in which the sale materializes with the purchase of the product and the creation of the unbreakable bond with the customer. Once the target audience has been won over, it becomes essential to continue to attract and "delight" them with valuable content in order to build their loyalty and, in some cases, transform them from a user to a brand promoter.   

It is often customary to represent the buying cycle resulting from these marketing strategies by means of a funnel structure: this form results from the fact that in the first phase many people are attracted, while, as it goes on, the potential customers become fewer and fewer, until they reach a small circle of actual users. The goal, however, remains to induce as many consumers as possible to head to the end of the funnel and then try to convert and retain them over time.

The tools to implement this strategy are different and specific depending on the stages. To attract the target audience initially, it is appropriate to make use of social media or blogs, where you can demonstrate your expertise; to convert as many people as possible, you can use Calls-to-action, i.e. buttons that encourage visitors to take a certain action that is useful for the company. To conclude the purchase and win the trust of the contacts, e-mails can be used, while as a loyalty tool you can make use of particularized events tailored to the specific target audience.

What Red Apple International has in common with inbound marketing is precisely quality content: devising and writing text in line with the client's needs, choosing images that represent the brand's values, and developing the project by taking care of the smallest details are the basis of our work.