The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Digital Marketing

The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Digital Marketing

You’re probably no stranger to online shopping trends – with exponential growth in the presence of digital marketplaces, businesses now need to scale their marketing strategies to meet the high demand for relevant content. Brick-and-mortar businesses are now expanding to web spaces and competing with strictly digital brands, which pinballs owners in every direction for new ways to reach their target audience.

But knowing what marketing strategies to use if you’re starting or looking to expand even further isn’t always easy. Fortunately, two universally accepted marketing strategies can point you in the right direction.

Inbound and Outbound Marketing

In all the technical jargon of the digital world, these two terms are more cut-and-dry than you’d think. Outbound marketing includes reaching out to a consumer base to draw in potential leads, while inbound marketing focuses on internal content creation and distribution to draw people in. One goes out, and one stays in-house.

Outbound Marketing

Traditionally known as “push marketing,” outbound marketing is a modernized take on canvassing and cold calling. Think Avon; Girl Scouts of America; Tupperware; the people that come to the door and sell you a product or service. Now imagine it on a broader digital scale encompassing a range of display ads, cold emailing, TV commercials, and radio announcements aiming to capture consumers’ attention and funnel them into the transaction zone.

On the pro side, outbound marketing is a safe segue into brand marketing. It’s tried and true and markedly the oldest method of generating business awareness. But – and it’s important ‘but’– it’s a very generalized strategy. Consumers nowadays don’t have the same attention spans as they used to. Emails are easier to ignore, and phone calls are fielded into the voicemail abyss. In-your-face ads are commonplace and expensive to support. Outbound marketing is a no-brainer if you’re a well-known business with a high budget and a big name to throw around. So, what’s an alternative for smaller businesses?

Inbound Marketing

If outbound is the “push,” then inbound is the “pull.” More subdued in method, inbound marketing encourages the consumer to do their research in a hands-off way. Instead of flashy ads and email notices, inbound marketing manifests in social media, blogs, articles, and webinars – content marketing mediums consumers must look for. Think of any time you’ve searched for a dupe of a high-fashion brand or a personalized service experience. Through content marketing and some optimized keyword play, search engines are ready with links and articles for that smaller target audience.

This type of marketing is also more quantifiable than outbound marketing. Instead of reaching out to a general populace that may or may not pay attention, businesses can steadily track how much traffic they’re getting based on their keywords. The audience reception drives curated content, so it’s highly adaptable and much more nurturing to the commercial tunnel than outbound marketing.

Which One’s Better?

The answer is dependent on personal business and consumer needs. Outbound marketing is the older, experienced brother of inbound marketing. Still, as consumers become more attentive to business presence, inbound marketing’s subtle approach is beginning to prove more successful in supporting brand awareness. The internet is a big pond with a diverse ecosystem of digital storefronts, and the inbound strategy isn’t restricted to local areas like outbound marketing. Conversely, if a business already has a lot of experience and attention, outbound marketing could be beneficial in keeping brand names relevant.

Choosing the best strategy for your business will require analyzing your purpose and products, but both marketing strategies can significantly boost a digital marketplace.