As opposed to traditional outbound marketing, there are many benefits of inbound marketing. Whereas outbound marketing reaches out to consumers and tries to catch their attention, inbound marketing is about being prepared when consumers reach out to you. They may do this because they want information about the product or service you’re selling. Or they might actually be looking to buy. Consumers that come to your webpage, social media page or blog might be at one of various stages. Through inbound marketing, you can take consumers at any stage—from those who know practically nothing about your product or service to those who just want to make a purchase—and give them what they want. Here are five benefits of inbound marketing.

1. It doesn’t get in the consumer’s face. Outbound marketing can be very distracting for a consumer. You’re trying to watch your favorite TV program or read your personal emails and you’re bombarded with advertising. This can turn a person off. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, doesn’t reach out to the consumer. So this gives the consumer the freedom to find out more about that product or service only when they’re ready to do so.
2. It’s informational, not promotional. Given how much promotional writing and images surround people, it’s always refreshing to them to just get straight information. When you set up a webpage or a blog, you’re giving the customer information about your product, your field, your company etc. You’re not trying to sell these things outright.
3. It’s more effective. When you place an ad on TV or on a billboard, chances are most people will just ignore it unless they really need that product or service. You’re likely to reach very few of them and convert them into customers. On the other hand, when a person is reaching out to your website or social media page, that shows that they’re already interested in your product or service. Given that they’ve already taken the first step, it’s very easy to complete the sale.
4. It’s inexpensive. As compared to placing ads in traditional media sources like magazines, newspapers, billboards etc., it’s quite inexpensive to start a website and social media pages. If you can blog yourself and update your social media in-house, you don’t have to worry about the expense of inbound marketing. Even hiring a blog-writing service for several months will cost less than one billboard.
5. It’s the future. The Internet is obviously here to stay. It’s expanding by leaps and bounds everyday. And although the way in which SEO and social media marketing work seems haphazard, there’s a slowly developing method to all the madness. Overall, you should just keep in mind that the more you put into inbound marketing, the more you’re likely to get out of it.