Which marketing methods are the most cost-effective?

Marketing has changed dramatically over recent years and for the small and medium-sized business with a limited marketing budget, this has huge benefits.

Inbound marketing channels are social media, blogs, content, podcasts, infographics, and anything which involves you giving, sharing and engaging with the customer. Inbound marketing provides value to the customer.

Outbound marketing can be trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail campaigns and anything which seeks out customers and advertises to them rather than gives them something. It rarely educates or entertains and is overall much more expensive.

Savvy businesses are identifying this trend and are moving their budgets away from trade shows, direct mail, advertising, etc and adding content to their websites and social media channels in order to attract new customers and keep old ones.

Mashable UK reported that blogs & social media have a much lower cost per lead than trade shows and direct mail. PPC campaigns are an exception as they are considered an inbound marketing channel yet have a higher cost per lead than direct mail.

Every business is different and I would be wrong to say that you should abandon the traditional outbound marketing channels in favour of the new inbound channels. It's important to know what works for you and have the right balance for your business. Things are changing fast and what worked last year, might not necessarily work next year. Keeping abreast of all the changes can be extremely time-consuming and this is why many small and medium-size businesses outsource their content and social media marketing in order to ensure their strategy is always current and relevant to their industry and the marketing trends.

If you would like a FREE consultation to discuss your business marketing strategy and how outsourcing your social media management can help, please feel free to contact us.