Inbound Marketing 101: The Foundational Blocks of Inbound Marketing Strategy

According to a behaviour survey, 68% of the buyers use sources such as blogs to evaluate the product even before considering it. Before buying a product, we do a lot of research to learn more about the product through communities, blogs, social media, or videos. Offering educational content to attract relevant potential customers to your website organically without paid media ads is inbound marketing. 

What's great about inbound marketing is that the buyers are not persuaded directly to buy the product. Instead, you are letting them understand its know-how and educating them. This strategy effectively opens a door to attracting more visitors to your website.

Enticing more strangers, converting them to leads, closing deals, and finally creating brand advocates can be easily achieved when you optimize your foundational blocks under the inbound marketing method. They are, i) understanding and defining your target audience, ii) mapping the buyer's journey, and iii) serving value through content.

Why create a buyer persona?

Spending time crafting quality content without defining your target audience, is a big no. 

Develop a buyer's persona by identifying, and defining target audience, leveraging data based on demography, challenges, and goals.

It helps you to think from your customers' perspective to understand their challenges and thereby figure out how your solution can help bridge the gap. It is easy to create a buyer persona by simply analyzing  this few pro-questions categorically. 

 

Demography

• What is the name of the persona? A pro tip: Naming the persona along with the role helps to remember the person's role throughout the process
  
• What age does your persona fall under?
  
• What gender?
  
• What is your persona's educational qualification (mention the highest degree earned by your persona)?
  
• What is the persona's role?
  
• How much does your persona earn per annum?
  
• What type of organization and where does the persona work? (mention its growth)
  

Responsibility

• What are the goals and objectives of the persona? (List at least two) 
  
• What makes this persona successful in the role?
  

Challenges

• What are the persona's challenges?
  
• What tools does your persona use?
  

 A final outlook would look similar to the persona I have created above. Analysing the answers helps in identifying where your solution best fits and you can tailor your message accordingly. If you are unsure of matching your customer's perspective, then you can interview your customers or prospects to get answers to your questions. 

What are the different stages of the Buyer's journey?

Knowing where your audience is in the pipeline helps you figure out the content that best suits them and eventually paves the way in product sales. Customer journey or buyer's journey what  tracks your customers' conversion path and optimizes strategy based on their status in the marketing funnel. The buyer's journey is divided into four stages. 

 

Discovering stage:

This is the beginning or the phase  where your audience is in search of solutions to their business problems. Providing 'how-to' guides and informative blogs resonate well with your audience and attracts new leads to your website. Don't pitch your product or service here. 

For instance: Let's say a user is looking for an ideal solution to manage his contacts. He is looking for contact management. To capture the user's interest, you can suggest they read a blog that explains the importance of CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

 

Considering stage:

During this phase, your audience wants to learn more about your product or service that might fit their needs. Prompting them to download an ebook or whitepaper as a takeaway allows you more information about your buyers.

 

If the user proceeds to download a suggested resource such as an ebook, the marketing team can follow up with an invite to a webinar or workshop to learn more about the product without being pushy. 

 

Finalising stage:

This last phase is also called the revenue-creation stage where the buyer decides whether to choose your solution or not. Regular follow-ups at right intervals maximize the chances of conversion.

 

After gauging the user's interest, the sales team pitches in with an offer of a  demo tailored to the user's needs. Showcasing the ability to address the user's problem with your product or solution is crossing 90% of this bridge. Patience and showing you understand and value the users's needs is key here. 

 

Promoting stage

Happy and satisfied customers will be your brand advocates and help in promoting and recommending your product or service to their peers. 93% of B2B businesses can easily convert a referral to a customer when your brand advocates recommend them. Also, there is a good chance of cross-selling the product to your loyal customer base effortlessly.

 

Once your deal is closed, it doesn't stop there. You have to assist the customers when required, constantly follow up and support them in their growth phase. This paves the way in building your brand champions who will bring in quality leads.

Why to capitalize on content marketing - the backbone of inbound marketing

Today we live in an information-dense world and it is no surprise that content is the key. Content marketing is a strategy to create and deliver contextually relevant information. It can be blogs, newsletters, landing page, emails, videos, social media - everything that serves information or shares content. Communities, blogs, and social media are widely considered the best platforms to share and promote content. 

Communities

Communities are networking spaces for a peer group with common interests to connect, learn, and share experiences, build expertise, and make contacts. Communities inspire trust and help build credibility for a brand. When content is shared or opinions are expressed, it endorses a brand and validates the thoughts of users and therefore influences buying decisions greatly.

Blogging

Blogging gives you a space to publish content that attracts visitors to your website. It opens up a world of knowledge that has made it a sought after medium to learn new things.

Simple tips that can go a long way in blogging:

• Choose a long-tail keyword topic as it is SEO friendly and more specific.
  
• Ensure your title is not more than 60 characters because the google display screen is 600 pixels.
  
• While drafting blogs, address the industry, not your business 
  
• While formatting, have a lot of white space for easy navigation and include images, gifs, and videos wherever necessary 
  
• Optimize your content for SEO, including your long-tail keyword in title, body, URL, Alt text, and meta description
  
• Your blog posts must be mobile friendly.
  

 

Social media

On average a person spends 142 minutes a day on social media. Social media marketing became and continues to be the hub to spread content and create brand awareness to attract more users, and drive growth. There are a lot of social media platforms. Choosing your ideal platform extends better reach and visibility. 

For example, If you want to increase your engagement rate, you can give Instagram a shot as its engagement rate is 10 times more than what Facebook and 80 times more than what Twitter gives you.

If you want to know more about your target audience or build a leadership portfolio, Linkedin is the right platform. 

Best social media strategies to increase your overall engagement rate:

• Always keep a tab on your social media performance. Continuous monitoring helps to spot the areas that need more attention.
  
• Don't focus on the likes. Other crucial parameters define the quality of the content such as shares, comments, and followers.
  
• Identify your optimal time and optimise the posts further. 
  
• Captivating user-generated content creates more engagement and builds credibility.
  
• Using relevant hashtags bring more traffic. Don't use generic hashtags as the search results are high in volume.
  

Each social media platform is different and unique in its purpose. Identifying which social media handle your audience spend more time on, helps tailor the content that is more relevant and meaningful in delivering the message.

 

Pro tip: Perform social listening. Social listening tools surf the social media to find out if someone mentions you, and notifies you instantly. There are free tools for social listening such as google alerts and Zoho Social to monitor mentions and also analyze your social media performance.

 

Whether it is blogging, communities, or social media marketing, content marketing is core to all these mediums, and great content marketing is the art of delivering value without selling. 

• Topic Participants

• Shaveethira G

• Alex

• Kirian

• Vinit Tibrewal

  

• Sticky Posts

• 10 simple e-commerce marketing tips to boost sales

  Congratulations! You've finally set up that e-commerce store you've been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully it wasn't too difficult. Even if it was, the effort will be totally worth it when you start seeing some orders come through. Now that the store is live, let's take a look at some marketing tips you can apply for sales growth. 1. Avoid cart abandonment If you've ever shopped online, you might have added a product to the cart but then decided not to purchase it. This is known as cart abandonment.

• Marketing in a post COVID-19 world!

  Consumers across countries are increasingly spending more time on a wide variety of digital activities, right from online grocery shopping, to video conferencing, to tele-medicine. There is a good chance that you performed one or more of the following activities during this lockdown, thanks to COVID 19: Cooked a meal Made a TikTok Video Signed up for a remote learning session Consulted a doctor online (or ordered medicines online) Shopped for groceries online A study by Hunter, a food and beverage

• Inbound Marketing 101: The Foundational Blocks of Inbound Marketing Strategy

  According to a behaviour survey, 68% of the buyers use sources such as blogs to evaluate the product even before considering it. Before buying a product, we do a lot of research to learn more about the product through communities, blogs, social media,

• How Zylker doubled their webinar registrations!

  Webinars are good educational resources to gather qualified leads for your product. But what if your visitors are dropping off from your webinar landing page without signing up? What more could you do to convert visitors into registrants? This is the

• The ideology behind why features tell, but benefits sell

  Do you think there's any truth to this? Do features only tell, and benefits sell?  Well, let's see why we should focus on benefits rather than features as the great marketing wizards, David Ogilvy and Steve Jobs proved to be the best examples leveraging

• Recent Topics

• Passing the image/file uploaded in form to openai api

  I'm trying to use the OpenAI's new vision feature where we can send image through Api. What I want is the user to upload an image in the form and send this image to OpenAI. But I can't access this image properly in deluge script. There are also some constraints

• Calendar Year View?

  Is there a way I can view the calendar in year view? Maybe create a page with a view like this?

• ABN Amro

  Hi, We are trying to add Abn AMRO as a bank in Zoho Books. However we get the following error: Type of Error: User Action Required Description: The request cannot be completed because the site is no longer supported for data updates. Possible workaround: Please deactivate or remove the account. Suggested Action: The site will no longer be supported by Zoho Books and should be removed. Does that mean it's no longer supported? Thanks!

• Add bank transfers via a webhook or API

  Hello ZOHO Books Community, is there anyway to add single transactions to bank accounts via an API or webhook? I found in docs to upload a bank statement. But i want to add a transaction from an external (unsupported bank) in the moment there is a transaction

• Books does not allow 19% tax rate for invoice - Please help!

  Hi there, I need to do an import of invoices into Zoho Books. The process worked smoothly before we migrated to the Books Germany Edition in December 2024. It does import 13 out of 14 invoices from my csv-file. For the one it does not import I get the

• When will Zoho Books offer native NFS-e issuing, now with Brazil's National Standard?

  Hello Zoho Team and Community, I'd like to follow up on my previous suggestion regarding the critical need for Zoho Books to natively issue Brazilian Service Invoices (NFS-e). My original idea was that this could be achieved by extending the same integration

• API 500 Error

  Hello amazing ZOHO Projects Community, I get this message. How can we solve this? { "error": { "status_code": "500", "method": "GET", "instance": "/api/v3/portal/2010147XXXX/projects/2679160000003XXXX/timesheet", "title": "INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR", "error_type":

• Admin Access to Subscriber Information for System/Default Bots in Zoho Cliq

  Dear Zoho Cliq Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Cliq's bot management capabilities. Specifically, we are asking for the ability for organization administrators to view the list of subscribers for system/default bots, such

• zoho webmail keeps opening an empty tab when on log in/vist webmail

  as the the title says, whenever i log in or visit the page in a new tab, zoho webmail with open a new tab, but it errors out (see attachment). how do you stop it from doing this?

• FSM work order creation on books quote approval

  I have followed https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/fsm/custom-integrations/zoho-books/articles/perform-actions-in-zoho-fsm-on-estimate-approval-in-zoho-books#Step_1_Create_a_connection_for_Zoho_FSM_in_Zoho_Books in order to create a work order in FSM

• Tip of the week #46 - Stay more organized by moving threads between inboxes

  Have you ever come across a thread in your inbox that should have been handled by a different team or inbox? Or maybe you've wrapped up your part of the conversation, but another team needs to step in to finish the task or assist further? Keeping such

• Text summarization and field detection with Zia, Zoho's AI assistant

  Have lengthy documents that take forever to read and sign? Tired of placing fields into hundreds of pages? Here's a single solution to solve both challenges: Zia, Zoho's AI assistant. With Zia's integration with OpenAI, you can summarize long documents

• Sending Links to Functions in CRM

  Maybe I'm crazy, but currently there's no way to send someone a link to a custom function. The only link you can get is to the myfunctions page, which is very frustrating. This should work like workflow rules where when you click on one, it should have

• zohoからの自動メールについて

  zohoからの自動メールにおいてちょっと困ったことが起こっており、サポートにも相談中なのですが ほかの方にも同現象が発生していないか相談したい。 ▼事象 zohoからの自動メールにおいて時折「このメールが送信者からのものであると確認できないため、このメールに安全に返信できない可能性があります」とメーラーから警告が出る。 ▼状況 発信元：設定した独自ドメイン SPF/DKIM設定：済 利用メーラー：outlook 発生頻度：稀（連続するときもあるが、パタッとでなくなる時もある） サポートへの連絡：ただいま継続相談中

• Using Deluge scripting to create/update data in TabularSections

  I am having following Form structure with some other usual fields, and a tabular section which allows putting question, self rating and lead rating. (pic below) I am trying to create a record of this form via Deluge, but can't figure out way to populate

• Zoho Recruit: How to link lookup fields using record ID instead of name during import?

  Hi, I'm having an issue with lookup fields in Zoho Recruit during data import. When I import records into a module that includes a lookup field (e.g., to an Interview record), Zoho Recruit matches the lookup by the display name (string) instead of the

• Add a "Success" Route to the "Forward to Operator" Card in Zobot

  Hello Zoho SalesIQ Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the "Forward to Operator" card in Zobot. Current Limitation: At present, the "Forward to Operator" card provides the following routes: Operator Not Available

• Power of Automation :: Auto-update Project status based on Tasklist completion

  Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:

• Multi Module Lookup Fields

  🎯 Use Case: In many custom implementations, especially those involving financial tracking, service operations, or project-based work, a single record (e.g. an invoice or bill) often relates to one of several different modules — but only one at a time.

• How to Download a File from Zoho WorkDrive Using a Public Link

  How to Download a File from Zoho WorkDrive Using a Public Link If you're working with Zoho WorkDrive and want to download a file using a public link, here's a simple method to do so using API or a basic script. This approach helps developers or teams

• Facturation électronique 2026 - obligation dès le 1er septembre 2026

  Bonjour, Je me permets de réagir à divers posts publiés ici et là concernant le projet de E-Invoicing, dans le cadre de la facturation électronique prévue très prochainement. Dans le cadre du passage à la facturation électronique pour les entreprises,

• Introducing AI Modeler—a no-code approach to adding AI to your business applications

  Forward-thinking businesses today are embracing AI to make life easier for themselves, their employees, and their customers. But if you haven't started yet, you might be concerned that your business will be left behind. Or maybe you're worried because

• Tip #20 - Three things you probably didn't know you can do with picklists

  Hello Zoho Sheet users! We’re back with another quick tip to help you make your spreadsheets smarter. Picklists are a great tool to maintain consistency in your spreadsheet. Manually entering data is time-consuming and often leaves typos and irregular

• Zoho People how do i view the history of leave taken

  Hi All What is the report that i am unable to view the history of the leave taken for an individual and team?

• UK Registration for VAT with existing stock/inventory

  We have an existing inventory of stock and are investigating how to handle the conversion from a UK VAT unregistered company to a UK VAT registered company. Enabling VAT registered status looks extremely easy, but we cannot find any way within Books to

• Trigger action after workflow

  I would like to trigger a deluge function after the approval workflow is complete. Is this possible? The objective is to take the approved document and move it over to Zoho Contracts to send out to our customer for review and signature. The reason we

• Is it possible to create a meeting in Zoho Crm which automatically creates a Google Meet link?

  We are using Google's own "Zoho CRM for Google" integration and also Zoho's "Google Apps Sync" tools, but none of them provide us with the ability to create a meeting in Zoho CRM that then adds a Google Meet link into the meeting. Is this something that

• Unable To Enable Google Calendar Sync

  Hi Folks, I am unable to enable google calendar sync. I get Internal Error, Problem Occurred Internally. Screenshot attached. How do I solve this?

• Export to Zoho CRM Not Triggering Workflow Rules

  Hello, I have set up an automated export from DataPrep to Leads in CRM but none of my Workflow Rules are triggering once the leads are created. The Timeline history is completely empty in every lead. How can I fix this issue? Do I need to set up a Schedule

• 【Zoho Projects】サンドボックス機能（テスト環境）リリースのお知らせ

  本投稿は、本社のZoho コミュニティに投稿された以下の記事を参照し作成したものです。 Sandbox - Your Secure Testing Space in Zoho Projects ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 本投稿では、Zoho Projects のサンドボックス機能リリースについてご紹介します。 サンドボックス（テスト環境）とは？ Zoho Projects の「サンドボックス」は、新たな設定を作成、検証、そして既存の処理を妨げることなく本番環境に適用することができるテスト環境です。

• Sending from domain alias

  In the Control Panel/Domains, I have set up some domains as aliases for my main domain. Only my main domain has mail hosting. The other domains are verified as aliases for the main domain, and emails sent to <user>@<alias domain> arrive successfully at

• Difficult to Purchase More users

  It's surprisingly difficult and un-intuitive to purchase more user licenses in Zoho One under the new UI. It's not actually possible to do it anywhere from the admin interface. You have to leave the admin/directory section, then click your profile icon,

• How to link web sales payments through Stripe to invoices?

  I have just set up an online shop website which accepts payments through Stripe.  The payment appears in Zoho Books through the Stripe feed as 'Sales without invoices'.  In order to keep Zoho Inventory in step, I manually (for now) create a Sales Invoice

• Announcing New Features in Trident for macOS (v.1.22.0)

  Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.22.0) is here with thoughtful updates to improve your daily workflow. Here's a quick look at what's new. Switch email response type easily. You can now switch between Reply, Reply All, and Forward directly in the

• Layout Rules / Quick create

  Hello, is there a way to create a layout rule for quick create option? Regards, Katarzyna

• Zoho Notebook Will Not Open After App Install

  I am a new user of Notebook. I was able to successfully import my data from Evernote and the product is working well on a Windows 11 computer and Pixel device. I have also installed Notebook on a Samsung S6 lite tablet however the software freezes on

• Leads, contacts, deals table view is not sorting

  i am unable to sort the table view of leads, contacts and deals

• Conditional Layouts On Multi Select Field

  How we can use Conditional Layouts On Multi Select Field field? Please help.

• Zoho CRM Multi-select values not translated

  Hello! I have some issue with translate custom multi-select fields in zoho CRM in other language. I download export file, but it has all my custom fields and picklist values exept multi-select fields picklist values.  Please, help me to undestand, is

• Unable to Download Invoices via API – Code 57 Authorization Error

  I’m integrating the Zoho Billing API with the scopes ZohoInvoice.invoices.CREATE,ZohoInvoice.invoices.READ. I’ve completed the OAuth2 flow successfully, including generating the auth code, access token, and refresh token. All tokens are valid and fresh.

• Next Page