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Inbound Marketing: Is Your Agency Practicing What You Preach?

https://www.zerys.com/solutions/zerys-for-agencies/content-agency-blog/social-media-marketing-a-new-approach-for-2016You sit down with a potential client to pitch a new inbound marketing campaign, and it’s going great. You confidently and expertly talk about how inbound only works to grow a business and increase ROI if one properly applies certain best practices. Things like blogging, SEO, content, and effective calls to action. Then the client asks, “Why doesn’t your agency blog?”

Practice What You Preach

Is your agency the real deal? Inbound marketing can be easy to define, but less simple to execute, even for agencies who consider themselves experienced masters of the game. If your agency wants to attract and work with clients who are eager to get onboard the inbound train, it’s not enough to preach what’s good for them, particularly if you aren’t executing those same practices yourself. You need to lead by example.

There’s a lot of information out there telling clients what to look for in an inbound marketing agency. Does your firm meet the recommended criteria?

Blogging

As you tell your clients, weekly blogging is the content backbone of inbound marketing. Make sure your agency’s blog:

  • Is well-structured and consistently offers valuable content through, at a minimum, weekly posts.
  • Is not only informative, but gives clients a good indication of what they can expect for their own blogs.
  • Engages readers in such a way that they are compelled to fill out a form or join your email list to learn more.
  • Uses the latest trends and technologies, such as videos.

Calls to Action

Your calls to action (CTA) should be optimized to both reflect your agency’s message and fulfill a client’s needs. Effective CTAs are what convince leads to click to learn more, and they are the first step your readers take towards their own inbound journey. Keep in mind that everything you do on your own site indicates to clients how well you will handle theirs.

Social Media and Emailing

For any inbound marketing agency, a social media presence is a must. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more offer your agency a platform for posting content that offers value to your readers. Tailor your content to each platform’s particular format. Facebook is great for videos, Twitter for graphics and images, while LinkedIn lends itself to longer posts for professionals and organizations. Does your use of social media sell your services?

  • Are you promoting both your own content and curated content from thought leaders and trusted brands?
  • Are you consistently engaged on the social channels that matter?
  • Do your social media accounts have a healthy following?

Quality Content

Most inbound agencies claim to be masters of inbound. Savvy clients will look to your agency’s own website and inbound marketing strategies to judge how well-suited you are to handling their own campaigns. High-quality content is the very foundation of inbound marketing, so give your audience what it’s looking for.

  • Write content that is interesting, engaging, and resolves your clients’ needs.
  • Stay away from the sales-heavy aspects of outbound marketing. Talk less about yourself and more about your client.
  • Strive to make a strong connection with potential clients. Avoid posts full of fluff or sales content.
  • Make sure that, when compared to the competition, your blog, content, and social media activity measures up – or surpasses – the rest.
  • Offer learning resources that educate your clients and help them make decisions.
  • Avoid using the same old stock images. There are plenty of sources for original and interesting images.

Walk the Talk

It’s great to devote a good portion of your time to thinking about how best to promote and position your clients’ brands, but don’t neglect your own agency’s brand. Make your agency a living case study that your clients look to for inspiration and reassurance. How you handle your own inbound marketing campaigns offers potential clients firsthand knowledge of how you’ll handle theirs. Be the agency that practices what it preaches so that potential leads become loyal clients who trust you’ll do what it takes to help their business grow.

Topics: Inbound Marketing

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