There is no shortage of new trends and buzzwords in online marketing. Terms are often used synonymously, such as digital marketing and online marketing, or inbound marketing and content marketing.
Sometimes this is the result of incorrect use of translations from English, sometimes terms develop in parallel. But such terms are not always as interchangeable as their use might suggest. This article deals with one such case.
Are content marketing and inbound marketing the same thing, or are the two concepts contradictory? Neither. In fact, content marketing can be understood as a strategy that is one of many inbound marketing measures.
Inbound marketing is a complete package, a closed process designed to ensure that customers find your business. Content marketing is the tool, the approach used to achieve this goal. A look at the definitions of the terms makes the differences a little clearer.
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What is content marketing – a definition
Content marketing is a marketing measure. It is a strategic approach within a marketing process that focuses on the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant, and regular content.
What does content marketing involve and what are its objectives?
Content creation is naturally preceded by an intensive target group analysis and detailed content research. This allows you to generate exactly the content you need to achieve the goals you are pursuing with this measure. In addition to research and generation, content marketing also includes
- distribution via social media,
- promotion via email newsletter,
- as well as content seeding, for example through off-page SEO measures.
Content marketing serves to create awareness for your product, your brand, and your company among your target group.
In the initial phase of your marketing activities, content marketing primarily serves to increase traffic. In later phases of the customer journey, it serves to generate leads and conversions.
The latter are the stated goals of inbound marketing —which you can achieve through clever content marketing.
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What is inbound marketing – a definition
Inbound marketing is, so to speak, a passive marketing method. It aims to draw the attention of prospects and customers to your brand, your company, and your website, and then convert them into customers at a later stage through communication channels such as email, social media, and chats.
What does inbound marketing involve and what are its objectives?
Strictly speaking, all inbound marketing goals are directly linked to content marketing. The inbound method was originally intended to move away from traditional outbound marketing.
Users and customers were fed up with flashing, aggressive, and eye-catching ads and banners. Instead of aggressively pandering to the target audience, inbound marketing relies on potential customers finding products, brands, and services themselves.
Content marketing is an ideal tool for passive promotion on the internet. With useful content optimized for relevant keywords and search terms, you can achieve all your inbound marketing goals. You become visible to (potential) customers and win them over by giving them what they are looking for: interesting, helpful, useful content.
Inbound marketing is therefore the soft, passive counterpart to outdated outbound marketing.
The goals of inbound marketing are clearly defined: lead generation and conversion optimization. So if inbound marketing is your method or strategy, then content marketing is your tool for creating a content hub.
In the best case scenario, this will act as a customer magnet and you will have achieved the overall goal of your inbound marketing strategy.
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Inbound Marketing Content Marketing – Differences and Characteristics
The difference between inbound and content marketing lies in the concept:
Content marketing is one method of achieving inbound marketing goals. However, it is certainly not the only one. Although content marketing is not limited to one content format, the core element is always content. Whether in visual form, text-based, or audio content—content is content.
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is the underlying strategy that is implemented through content marketing, among other things. However, other measures are also important at different stages.
These cannot be achieved through content alone.
To turn visitors into leads, you need contact forms, for example, and to convert leads into customers, automation tools are helpful. Your content must therefore be supported by technology, analysis, and manpower. Otherwise, it will fail to have the desired effect and your inbound marketing will miss its target.
In content marketing, the focus is on a goal defined according to the customer journey phase. This can be awareness building, traffic or lead generation, or customer loyalty.
Inbound marketing is clearly sales-oriented. This goes so far that your inbound marketing actually comes to an end with every purchase.
Content marketing, on the other hand, accompanies your customers beyond this phase—for example, through customer loyalty measures.
Inbound marketing is your master plan, which you implement with the help of content marketing.
<span id="test" class="kool-class" " fs-test-element="test"><table class="customTable">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Components</th>
<th>Inbound Marketing</th>
<th>Content Marketing</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Blog</td><td>✖</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Onpage-SEO</td><td>✖</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Offpage-SEO</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Keyword-Research</td><td>✖</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Keyword-Optimisation</td><td>✖</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Social Media</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Data Collection</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Date Analysis</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Forms</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Call-to-Actions</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Landing Pages</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>CRM</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>E-Mail-Marketing</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Automatiions</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Software</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Surveys</td><td>✔</td><td>✔</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Individualisation</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Monitoring</td><td>✔</td><td>✖</td></tr>
</tbody>
</tr>
</table>
</span>
The table presents the components of content marketing and inbound marketing in a greatly simplified form. Due to the fact that content marketing is an important part of inbound marketing, there are inevitably overlaps.
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Inbound marketing and content marketing – overlaps and similarities
Naturally, there cannot be a clear distinction between inbound and content marketing. Think of inbound marketing as a blueprint for a road. Content is the asphalt or cobblestones you use to build that road. Without a blueprint, you can play around with your materials. But without a plan, a strategy, you won't end up with a clear road layout.
Our friends at Hubspot, for example, describe inbound marketing as a three-phase model: attract, engage, delight. Suitable tools can be assigned to each phase. Content plays an essential role in all three phases. You need it for ads and videos, your blog, your social media, in email marketing, and in CRM.
You use software to research keywords and topics, as well as to create and distribute your content. Software is actually considered part of inbound marketing rather than content marketing. Even a landing page, as an element of inbound marketing, is of little value without content. As you can see, there are overlaps between inbound marketing and content marketing at every turn.
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Roll out your own inbound marketing strategy!
Just as the boundaries between inbound and content marketing repeatedly merge in certain areas, the same must happen in your company.
Your marketing team needs to work closely with other departments. This may mean that boundaries and clear hierarchies become blurred there too, and businesses may need to reposition themselves.
In this way, a marketing philosophy often becomes a corporate philosophy.
