The Inbound Marketing Model

By Rod Colon

Social networking is built on the inbound marketing model. Inbound marketing refers to non-intrusive methods of reaching customers by providing something of value that gets noticed, discussed, and freely shared across a wide swath of the online population. It’s built on the premise that attracting customers to you by providing something of value produces greater benefits than the traditional outbound marketing model which includes intruding on strangers with unsolicited e-mail, phone calls, faxes, etc. — often generating nothing but resentment.

With inbound marketing, you create compelling content, post it on your blogs, and attract the online community because you have something interesting to offer. Because the medium is based on permission, conversations occur because both parties agree to participate and want to be present.