Inbound Marketing in 2019: Does it Still Work?

The last time we really spent any time diving into inbound marketing it was the year 2015. Much has changed since then. The question is…what’s the state of inbound marketing in 2019? Does it still work? Is it worth your company’s time and resources to invest in? Let’s take another look at inbound marketing and see what role inbound marketing should play in your 2019 digital marketing strategy.

Inbound Marketing in 2019

Same game, different rules

When I was a wee little lassie playing volleyball with my fellow 5th and 6th graders, we were all taken aback by the news that volleyball scoring was now rally-style, making it so one team scored every turn. This change to rally scoring meant that the length of volleyball matches were now more predictable, plus a little more exciting to watch for spectators. The rules of the game had changed, but we were still playing the same sport – volleyball. The same applies to inbound marketing in 2019. We digital marketers are still playing the same game, but with slightly different rules.

For instance, the type of material we’re producing has changed. In 2015, we saw a lot of eBooks. Today, we’re seeing more videos and webinars. We’ve evolved our inbound marketing strategies because the world as changed. When people no longer want to participate in webinars or watched gated videos, these tactics will change too.

Content Hubs

Content hubs are a new tactic for inbound marketing in 2019. You may also hear these referred to as “Hub and Spoke” content. The idea is to create many pieces of content – for example, blog posts – around one central theme, thus verifying  your expertise on the topic. The main, central topic is the “hub,” and the secondary but related topics are the “spokes.”

For example. Here at RedMoxy, we write an awful lot about Search Engine Optimization. Instead of continuing to write blog post after blog post about SEO without any interconnection, we would write one blog post about SEO in general that links to all the other blog posts about more specific subjects within SEO. Each time we write a new blog about SEO, we add the link to our “pillar” post (that original post about SEO in general) and link back to the pillar post in the new blog post. HubSpot describes pillar pages like this: “a pillar page is a broad overview of a specific topic. You can think of it like a summary or road map.” 

Distribution

Now that you’ve created your pillar page and corresponding “spoke” pages, how are you getting your content out to the masses? That’s where content distribution comes in. Think about what avenues of distribution are at your disposal. There’s your website, your email newsletter and your social media. What about YouTube and influencer marketing – could you make use of those mediums for distribution?

Arguably, distribution is as important as content to your inbound marketing in 2019. After all, if you create powerful content but no one reads it, what’s the point?

Influencer Marketing

I mentioned influencer marketing just now, but it deserves its own place in this lineup. “Influencers” are those who have curated their own following and can therefore put the spotlight on your product or brand with an audience that you yourself don’t have access to. Influencers are most typically bloggers and/or social media personalities. We’ve seen a rise in the use of influencers for digital marketing for the past couple of years, and that hasn’t changed in 2019.

Influencers work because they’re perceived as credible by their audience. It’s like receiving a personal recommendation, but one that your paid your friend to give. If you haven’t yet tried using influencers as a piece of your digital marketing strategy, consider implementing it, at least on a small scale, in 2019.

From content hubs to influencer marketing, it’s clear that inbound marketing is still relevant in 2019. Though our tactics have changed, the guiding principle behind inbound marketing remains the same: create such valuable content that your customers are coming to you. If you’d like help setting up inbound marketing tactics for your company in 2019, get in touch with us here.