Inbound Marketing Myths

 

Myth #1:

Inbound Marketing is a Fad

At its core, inbound marketing is the process of providing value and useful information to prospects, make the business visible, earn trust, and nurture the prospect until you earn the sale. In reality, inbound marketing is the digital version of the same marketing that has stood the test of time. It’s simply a more scalable, efficient, and modern way to approach marketing.

Myth #2:

A Marketing Agency with a Single Person Is Just as Capable as a Team

Many businesses make the mistake of thinking one individual is capable of doing every facet of inbound marketing as efficiently as a team could. This is simply not the case. It’s true, an individual person is likely very capable of performing all the individual marketing tasks that make up inbound marketing, but thinking one person can do all of them in one job role, and do them well, is simply not true. Inbound marketing takes time and a lot of planning, management, and execution. It takes significant effort to pull it off successfully.

Myth #3:

Inbound is The New Term for SEO

Terminology in the marketing world is constantly changing as times change. So it’s very common for businesses to get confused about what inbound marketing and search engine optimization are. Search engine optimization (SEO) is actually a segment of inbound.

While inbound marketing is the practice of providing valuable resources to prospects, SEO is just a facet of what is needed to effectively build those resources for search engines.

Myth #4:

SEO is a Scam

Sure, SEO has gotten a bad rep due to its association with black hat techniques. Tactics like buying inbound links, keyword stuffing and shady link-exchange programs are all bad practices that smart marketers avoid. But, with Google leading the change, modern SEO has left black hat techniques behind and has shifted its focus from search engines to the person doing the search. The act of tricking robots into pushing a business into higher rankings is long gone, being replaced by much more intelligent bots that are able to index pages with qualities that a human would find valuable.

Myth #5:

Inbound Marketing, SEO, and Content Marketing are Competing Ideologies

This myth is a complete misunderstanding of the inbound methodology. To clarify, we’ll break down the definitions of each. Content marketing is the creation and distribution of quality content to a clearly defined target market. Content marketing is integral to every stage of inbound marketing: attract, convert, close, delight. Like content marketing, and as explained above, SEO is just a facet of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing encompasses multiple tactics to reach target audiences.

Myth #6:

Inbound Marketing Shows Results Immediately

No form of marketing can guarantee overnight success and inbound marketing is no exception. It takes time to develop valuable content alone, and even more time for search engines to index all those pages to increase your position in search results. And never forget, it also takes time to lead people through the sales funnel from strangers to sales. Therefore, this myth is very easily debunked.

Myth #7:

Inbound Marketing Has One Secret Formula for Everyone

No form of marketing can guarantee overnight success and inbound marketing is no exception. It takes time to develop valuable content alone, and even more time for search engines to index all those pages to increase your position in search results. And never forget, it also takes time to lead people through the sales funnel from strangers to sales. Therefore, this myth is very easily debunked.