Survey: Inbound Strategies Offer Marketers More for Their Money

In a new survey titled, “Inbound vs. Outbound: Consumer Perspectives on Marketing Effectiveness,” researchers from Moz and Fractl compared both types of marketing to determine the most cost-effective way to reach out to buyers. Data proved that with a $10,000 budget, marketers could get more for their money through inbound marketing than outbound.

Statistics showed that with $10,000, marketers could accumulate more than 3 million company views through content marketing. This is a drastic increase from the 300,000 views they could receive through a local television commercial or direct mail (17,000) with the same budget.

These days, buyers are also showing more favor toward inbound marketing tactics, according to the survey. About 35 percent said that email marketing was an effective way to win them over. Fifty-three percent said free content was an engaging tactic companies could use to attract them, and 48 percent said appearing in search results was enough to get their attention.

“Choosing the right marketing mix depends not only on how well a given channel and tactic are for the KPIs you want to achieve, but also your available budget,” said Kelsey Libert, the VP of marketing at Fractl. “Striking a balance between efficacy and efficiency is crucial for a long-term, sustainable marketing strategy.”

B2B Marketers Taking Advantage of Inbound Digital Opportunities

The “2015 State of Digital Marketing” report released by WebMarketing123 earlier this year found that B2B marketers are overwhelmingly practicing inbound and digital marketing. About 93 percent said they conducted email marketing campaigns, while 87 percent said they used social media. Seventy-eight percent utilized SEO, and 56 percent took advantage of paid search opportunities.

In terms of content marketing, seven-out-of-10 marketers said that video was their most effective tactic. As a result, three-out-of-four respondents said they integrate it into their marketing strategy.

Screenshot via Moz and Fractl report.