The thought of writing this post initially left me with a mild panic attack. After all, my audience consists of marketers, yes - but it also consists of CFOs, CEOs, and small business owners. And here I am, talking about a long-term investment strategy into your business: inbound marketing (and sales enablement, but that’s a story for another post). It’s hard enough to talk about long-term marketing plans face-to-face; it’s a whole other prospect to talk about it in writing.
Plus, there’s the medium: blog posts should be interesting and entertaining. Intertaining, if you will. A whole post with a month-by-month breakdown of what to expect...snoozeville.
But the best things in life are absolutely worth waiting for (and writing about): a trip to Disney, your first investor, a big career move, my apple dumplings (for real - these things are, like, family-famous -you know, world-famous...in your family).
Family-famous apple dumplings. The 4-hour prep time is absolutely worth it. Recommended á la mode!
The results of inbound marketing are also worth waiting for as you build your digital trust factor. Here are the emotions you can expect to go through during the first six months of implementing an inbound marketing strategy for your B2B, or B2C, small business.
What’s up: We're getting your new CMS (HubSpot) set up, and identifying personas. We also work together to establish an overall strategy and our first campaign goals. You and your team complete training on how to use the new system.
Your inner monologue: Let’s get going! I’m completely convinced that inbound methods are the answers I’ve been looking for!
What’s up: We complete an in-depth website audit and keyword research, and start site updates with what's uncovered in the site audit. We also start content development!
Your inner monologue: I CAN’T WAIT ANYMORE! Why aren’t we publishing yet? What’s taking so long? What’s up with this new system?
What's happening: We're finishing site updates, and we start publishing content on your site blog. We also complete development of first buyer’s stage offers.
Your inner monologue: Woo! We’re publishing! Let’s see the leads rolling in! Answer all the questions! Solve all the problems!
What's up: You'll be receiving your first results report. We'll be publishing your first buyer’s stage offer and start your email marketing campaign. If applicable, this is when we'll train your team on new sales enablement process and techniques.
You inner monologue: Sooooo…..where are all these leads? We published all sorts of new blogs last month! WE USED ALL THE RIGHT KEYWORDS. Seriously. What gives? What about my money that I've spent so far?
What's happening: In your second report you'll notice an uptick in leads generated as well as an uptick in SQLs. This is the month that lead nurture emails will be executed. If applicable, you'll initiate sales enablement techniques.
Your inner monologue: OH - there the leads are! Good thing we trained on sales enablement and have all this supporting content. Awesome. This is exactly what I was looking for.
What you see: You'll receive your third report and start seeing an uptick in keyword search results. This is also your first report on sales enablement efforts.
Your inner monologue: For realz, guys, I can’t stop talking about this methodology. It just...works. Friends, family, countrymen, you have to try this for your own business. Just, you know, don’t steal my leads.
So what's next? Keep going! The strategy is working. Working with Trending Up ensures that you have a powerful team in your corner to analyze the data and keep your inbound strategy fresh and productive. Carry on.
Want to learn more about how Trending Up does what we do? Excellent. Contact us here - we can do a short assessment of your current site and marketing needs to let you know what we recommend.
If you're not ready yet, I understand. While you're researching, be sure to check out our resource hub. Here's another offer you may enjoy!
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