The State of the ‘Inbound State of Mind’
The dawn of a new year often brings a review of the one gone by. We have addresses to assess the state of the union, the state of the state, the state of the city and so on. The B2B marketing industry is no different. Organizations evaluate and reflect upon the results of last year’s plans, while strategizing and forecasting for next year. In 2010, the staff of MLT Creative completely immersed ourselves in inbound marketing, embodying what we came to call “the inbound state of mind.” We even created a video that creatively and lyrically symbolizes our journey:
Our website and our marketing activities have been a living, breathing clinic for the results we expect for our clients, and we’re proud to compare our 2010 efforts to those from 2009 (when we had yet to fully embrace inbound marketing).
Website Grade:
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Using our HubSpot Website Grader report, we’ve been able to sustain a grade of 99 for most of 2010. When we started this journey, we had a mediocre site; now our grade reflects the power of on- and off-page SEO, as well as our increased keyword rankings.
2011 Goal: Reach a grade of 100 by improving our on-page SEO and inbound links.
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Website Visits:
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Perhaps our most telling metric is a meteoric rise in the individual visits to our website. The majority of these visits can be traced to our blogs, as well as the landing pages for several content and webinar campaigns. We know that constant attention to filling the funnel increases opportunity for lead generation and new business.
2011 Goal: Increase our visits by 50% by offering more advanced content, publishing more blogs per week and widening our social media reach.
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Inbound Links:
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We saw a significant increase in the number inbound links to our site. These friends of MLT host one of our links at no provocation and, usually, no reciprocity.
2011 Goal: Monitor our linking domains and continue to offer innovative content that addresses the concerns and needs of our defined client personas.
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Leads:
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More visits equate to more leads, and leads are the harbinger of new business. Our leads were so abundant in 2010, we built and streamlined automated lead-nurturing programs to keep them warm. Now standard operating procedure, marketing automation helps us maintain contact with our many prospects.
2011 Goal: Create content programs our prospects can replicate, and results they can duplicate. Renew focus on the middle of the funnel activities to nurture leads.
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New Projects:
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Closed business is why we exist and grow. We are proud of our marketing and sales synergy plan, which ensures ongoing communication between these key components of our prospecting machine.
2011 Goal: Increase the number of retainer and project clients by 20 percent. Continue ongoing marketing and sales synergy.
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Inbound Marketing Certified Professionals:
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Nine members of MLT Creative have embraced the “never quit learning” maxim by passing the Inbound Marketers Certified Professional examination through IMU, most with honors distinction. An intelligent and creative staff keep the engine primed for innovative ideas that work for our clients.
2011 Goal: Increase the inbound certified staff members to 95%.
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Maintaining an “inbound state of mind” has propelled our marketing efforts well beyond the goals we set for 2010. But inbound marketing requires constant review, analysis and adjustment. You’ve got to keep the machine oiled and the drivers smart if you want to see an increase in business. We plan to do just that.
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Martine Hunter is the creative director of inbound marketing with the Atlanta advertising agency, MLT Creative, which specializes in B2B marketing. She holds the Inbound Marketing professional certification and serves the Atlanta chapter of the Business Marketing Association as a member of the board of directors.
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