Hubspot, a leader in Inbound Marketing, recently surveyed 644 companies to ascertain the state of both Traditional Media (print ads, telemarketing, tradeshows, etc.) & Inbound Marketing. As Hubspot defines it: “Inbound Marketing is a set of marketing strategies and techniques focused on pulling relevant prospects and customers towards a business and it’s products.”
This is part 11 of a 13 part series of blog posts that share bite-size portions of Hubspot’s overall report, “The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing.” If you’d like a full copy of the report, feel free to contact me by clicking here or search for the report by name on Google.
Since all the companies surveyed were already involved in social media, I supposed this data might be a little slanted in favor of that topic. However, it’s still probably pretty accurate to say that most companies are investing more time and energy into a social networking platform of some kind.
Direct mail is taking a huge hit at 50% less importance. I wouldn’t rule it out completely for any effective marketing plan, as it can drive some awareness. I notice that SEO is a close second to blogs, which is only natural as long tail keyword research is a primary factor in the success of a blog and/or website.
For the few companies that don’t have a website yet, I’d wager that your best bet is to start with a blog, if that’s all you can afford. There are plenty of decent (and free) blogging services to use to get your started. I recommend www.posterous.com for ease of use and excellent visibility when it comes to search engines.
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