What is Inbound Marketing from a Wife's Perspective?

This blog was written in 2016 but we thought it deserved to be published again - it is great to read Charlene's perspective on Inbound methodology.

My husband runs a business called Search & Be Found that he started from nothing seven years ago and it has evolved into an online marketing company.  I often get asked what he does and with a name like Search & Be Found.  

I get tempted to say he provides an online dating service, but I have on most occasions provided a straight answer - this could be a potential client after all!

He helps people and companies get found online - I have always felt confident that my words accurately reflect what he does, however with the dawning of me contributing to this business on a more permanent basis, (that is, my youngest child is starting school and I have no excuse to not work) I thought I would delve in to find out more.

So what does helping clients get found online look like?

It looks like undertaking a series of activities from:

• building websites & making them mobile friendly
• writing good content - BLOGs and VLOGs
• Google advertising
• Facebook advertising
• Managing social media
• Email campaigns

A contemporary way of thinking of marketing - it is focused on attracting customers to your business - INBOUND marketing .  As opposed to, the traditional forms of marketing like print, TV, magazine, billboards - where marketers went out to allure people in.

That got me thinking...

I recently revamped the boy’s bedroom.  They are a little older now and we took it from a toddler room to a bigger boy room. What is the first thing that I did?

I searched on my iPhone for “kids single beds”

In the school holidays, my 7 year old wanted to spend some of this birthday money on high top Nikes - basketball shoes. It is not a purchase that we had made before so I was unfamiliar as to which shops to go to - what is the first thing that we did?

Searched for “high top basketball shoes” on our iPad.

My husband and I are looking to upgrade our five seater sedan to a seven seater SUV.  What is the first thing we did? You guessed it, we searched on Google for “Best 7 seater SUVs”. We are not only interested in the official word from car professionals and enthusiasts, but also blogs from everyday users.

Another real example

My friend recently built a house and they generally knew what they were after. What was the first thing they did, before scaling the streets of HomeWorld?

You guessed it, they searched online for suitable builders to make the HomeWorld adventure not so overwhelming.

Once they decided what they wanted to build, their nights were spent reading blogs of different peoples experiences, people kind enough to share their experience with the world.

There is a wealth of knowledge in people who have recently completed an undertaking you are about start and who doesn't want to learn from those who have gone before.

If searching online is the initial response of most people, when deciding our everyday purchasing decisions, why wouldn't companies and individuals online do everything they can to be found?