The times are changing. The widespread use of the Internet has revolutionized the way in which consumers learn about, purchase from, and interact with brands. As these shifts continue, marketing tactics must also evolve in order to capture the attention of modern consumers. Gradually, traditional marketing activities known as “outbound marketing” are becoming less effective.

In order to remain competitive and successful in attracting customers in the future, businesses can no longer rely on this type of marketing strategy that blatantly annoys consumers with obvious and disruptive tactics, which consumers are starting to tune out completely. It seems that these changes in consumers and technology have created a new era in the world of marketing, centered on permission-based marketing efforts that organically attract attention and visitors to a website.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is focused on “earning” consumers’ attention through a variety of interactive and contextual marketing activities. These include search engine optimization, social media interactions, content marketing, press releases, and many more activities that work together to naturally attract attention to a website.

This strategy is the opposite of traditional outbound marketing, which focuses on pushing messages, products, or services towards consumers in hope that the message will stick in their minds for the future. Outbound marketing tactics, including advertisements on TV, print media, radio, telemarketing, and direct mail are becoming less effective. Why? Modern consumers of today have more power than ever to decide which brands they interact with, which marketing strategies they respond to, and how they ultimately interact with those businesses. With the ability to skip over commercials, avoid spam mail, and throw away flyers, businesses need to find different ways to reach consumers.

In part two, we will explore the different ways your insurance agency can benefit from inbound marketing, plus go into more detail about the differences between inbound and outbound marketing.