Investing in Inbound Marketing? 5 Stats You Need to Know

At Leighton Interactive we eat, sleep, and breathe inbound marketing. Why? Because we sincerely, and wholeheartedly believe that everything is inbound. We might be a bit biased when it comes to whether or not marketers should be using an inbound marketing strategy - so we thought we would let the facts and statistics do the talking. 

More specifically, we thought we would share some of HubSpot's statistics from their 2017 State of Inbound report and marketing statistics. I wanted to help paint a clear picture why inbound marketing - now more than ever - is worth the investment...

Inbound Marketing Statistic #1

63 percent of marketers admit that their top challenge is generating enough traffic and leads.  - HubSpot, 2017

When it comes to marketing, proving ROI is difficult enough - but without leads and traffic it can be even more of a struggle. There are many ways to relieve this pain with inbound marketing. But some favorites include using blogs, forms, emails, and workflows to increase website traffic and capturing qualified leads. 

INBOUND MARKETING STATISTIC #2

In the past year, it's no doubt that buzz terms like "ABM" (account-based marketing), "Smarketing" (sales + marketing), and "Sales Enablement" have come to light. That's because marketing and sales departments are finally realizing that they work better together. 

However, this inbound marketing stat shows the challenge these departments are facing...

59 percent of marketers say they provide salespeople with very high-quality leads, only 25% of salespeople agree.  -HubSpot, 2017

There's a gap that needs to be bridged - and inbound marketing can help. Instead of passing cold leads to sales, an inbound marketing strategy can nurture cold leads into warm and hot leads before moving onto sales. This provides the sales team with qualified leads and details (i.e. what content they're interested in, how long they've been in the funnel, etc.) that can assist in a sale. 

Inbound Marketing Statistic #3

Like I mentioned earlier, blogging is a commonly used tactic in inbound marking. But did you know that a massive "53% of marketers say blog content creation is one of their top inbound marketing priorities" (HubSpot, 2017)? That's because blogging works. It can entertain and educate users about a company's business, services, and values. 

Blogging can also be an opportunity for conversions if the appropriate calls-to-action are placed strategically within the content. This way inbound marketers are nurturing their users throughout their buyer's journey using content and strategy. 

INBOUND MARKETING STATISTIC #4

So, you probably get it, we love inbound marketing at Leighton Interactive. But we aren't the only ones! In fact, "68% of inbound organizations believe their marketing strategy is effective" which is seven percent more than outbound marketers and their opinion on their strategy's effectiveness (HubSpot, 2017). 

What does this mean? It means that more people in the marketing industry are confident when their strategies involve inbound marketing efforts. Whether it's content, email, social media, public relations, or search engine optimization - when an inbound methodology is applied, effectiveness increases. 

Inbound Marketing Statistic #5

Last, but certainly not least ...

55 percent of B2B marketers say they are unclear what content marketing success or effectiveness looks like.  - Content Marketing Institute, 2015).

Wait... so over half of B2B marketers aren't sure what to do with their content marketing strategy? 

I've got five words for you: content will always be king. So, give your content marketing strategy some love with inbound marketing. Not only will an inbound marketing strategy provide some direction for your content efforts, but can also show you what's working and what's not when you use the right tools to measure it. 

As far as knowing what marketing success looks like, consider comparing your content marketing results on a month-to-month or quarterly basis. Staying current on the type of content your industry is sharing and how well it is performing is also an excellent way to compare effectiveness. 

Have you fallen in love with inbound marketing yet? Because we have. And from the looks of these facts and statistics, it appears that others have too. Not only are they using an inbound marketing strategy... it's working for them. Ready to make the investment in your company's future? Let's get to work!