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Multi-Touch Attribution Models Explained – A PR-Centric Approach

June 26, 2025 By Jeff Collard 1 Comment

In today’s digital age, understanding customer behavior is crucial for business success. Multi-touch attribution offers a way to evaluate each interaction in a customer’s journey. This method helps businesses identify which marketing efforts drive conversions. If you would like to master multi-touch attribution for PR success, this blog article is for you.

For business owners and marketing teams, this can be a game changer. It allows for smarter marketing investments and improved customer engagements. But, what exactly is multi-touch attribution, and how can it be leveraged effectively?

This guide will explore these questions and more. We’ll delve into the various models of multi-touch attribution. Each model offers unique insights into customer interactions.

Moreover, we’ll discuss how a public relations-centric approach can enhance these efforts.

Media relations, for one, plays a vital role in shaping customer perceptions. By integrating PR strategies, businesses can boost their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and digital presences.

Join us as we unravel the complexities of multi-touch attribution, and discover how it can transform your marketing strategy.

What is Multi-Touch Attribution?

Multi-touch attribution is a method used in marketing analytics. It measures the impact of each interaction a customer has before making a purchase. This approach recognizes that most customer journeys are not linear. Each touchpoint can influence the decision-making process in unique ways.

Consider a customer who discovers a business through a blog post. Later, they might see an ad, read a review, and finally make a purchase. Multi-touch attribution assigns value to each of these interactions. This provides a more accurate picture of what drives sales conversions.

Here are a select, core aspects of multi-touch attribution:

– Recognition of multiple channels: Unlike single-touch models, multi-touch considers all customer interactions.

– Attribution weighting: Different marketing models assign value in varied ways, reflecting diverse strategies.

The importance of this method cannot be overstated. It enables businesses to optimize their marketing spend efficiently. By understanding which channels contribute most to sales, businesses can prioritize those investments.

Moreover, multi-touch attribution sheds light on underperforming channels. By identifying these, businesses can refine strategies for better results. This adaptability is crucial in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.

In summary, multi-touch attribution provides detailed insights into understanding customer behavior. This enables marketing directors and C-suite leaders working with PR firms and marketing agencies to tailor their marketing efforts effectively. Realizing these dynamics is essential for businesses of all sizes and types aiming to enhance their digital footprints.

For most or all businesses, every marketing dollar counts. Multi-touch attribution offers a way to maximize the effectiveness of each expenditure. Unlike traditional models, this provides a nuanced view of the customer journey.

This approach reveals which channels are performing well. Knowing this helps businesses allocate resources more efficiently. In turn, this can lead to increased sales and better return on investment (ROI).

Here’s why multi-touch attribution in marketing is essential:

– Improved Budget Allocation: Insights into channel performance optimize marketing spend.

– Better Customer Insights: Understand how customers engage across various platforms.

– Enhanced Strategy Formulation: Informed decisions lead to more effective marketing tactics.

Multi-touch attribution also highlights areas needing improvement. This permits quicker adjustments and reduced wasted efforts. It is a vital part of the feedback loop in marketing strategy development.

Additionally, businesses and brands can use it to personalize marketing efforts. By recognizing different customer interactions, marketers can learn how to tailor marketing messages that resonate with targets. This personalized approach often leads to more clicks, website events and higher conversion rates.

In essence, adopting multi-touch attribution can transform how businesses approach marketing. Simply put, it offers clarity and strategic insight crucial for thriving in competitive markets.

The Customer Journey: Mapping Every Touchpoint

Mapping the customer journey is about understanding every interaction. Each touchpoint plays a role in moving a customer closer to a purchasing decision. For a marketing team or manager, recognizing these points is crucial.

The journey begins when a potential customer first becomes aware of your brand. This could happen via an online search, a social media post, a published article, or an ad. As customers engage, their interactions provide valuable data points.

These touchpoints are diverse and could include:

– Initial Awareness: Ads, PR-focused articles or social media posts.

– Consideration Phase: Website visits, newsletter sign-ups or product comparisons.

– Decision-Making: Contacting sales, reading reviews or engaging with customer support or a sales director.

Each step needs evaluation to grasp its impact. By grasping these points, businesses can focus efforts on high-yield marketing activities. This not only enhances marketing and reach impact but also improves customer or client engagements.

Visualizing the customer journey can be illuminating. Doing so allows company leadership teams to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. With these insights, they can craft more informed, targeted outreach and message strategies. The ultimate goal is a seamless, engaging customer experience.

Incorporating insights from these mappings into your strategies ensures a customer-focused approach. The more you know about their path, the better you can guide them toward a purchase decision. For our clients, Eberly & Collard Public Relations offers this type of strategic mapping, annual marketing plans and creative tactics to attain slated objectives.

Overview of Multi-Touch Attribution Models

Multi-touch attribution (MTA) involves distributing credit among various forms of marketing and customer interactions. Each model approaches this differently, providing unique insights. Choosing the right one depends on your business goals and customer or client behaviors.

Models range from simple to complex, each with distinct advantages. Linear models offer balance, while time decay emphasizes timeliness. Other models attribute more weight to specific touchpoints with your audiences. Mastering each model helps achieve tailored marketing strategy execution, aligning the model choice with their objectives is crucial.

Aligning each effective attribution model maximizes ROI by clarifying the value of each customer interaction and unifying them collectively.

Linear Attribution Model

In the linear attribution model, every interaction gets equal credit. This model balances the value distribution across all reach touchpoints.

It is suitable for businesses seeking simplicity. Each channel or interaction step in the customer journey holds equal weight. This method ensures every part of the customer pathway is acknowledged.

Key aspects of the linear model include:

– Equal Weight: Every touchpoint is equally valued.

– Simple Analysis: Easier to interpret and implement.

– Balanced Insight: No bias toward any specific interaction.

This model is beneficial for businesses with uniform channel performance. It is ideal when each step contributes similarly to customer conversions or sales. However, it may not fully highlight which parts are most effective.

Time Decay Attribution Model

The time decay model places more weight on recent interactions. The idea is that touchpoints closer to conversion have greater influence.

This model works well for businesses with longer sales cycles. It acknowledges that more recent engagements may impact final decisions in a more emphatic way. The model also specifies that targets can sometimes forget channels where they learned about a business or brand in between touchpoints; though, they do recall the business, brand or the products it sells during the process.

Characteristics of the time decay model include:

– Increasing Influence: Proximity to conversion boosts credit.

– Dynamic Understanding: Captures changing customer priorities.

– Focus on Closure: Highlights pivotal, later-stage interactions.

This approach favors time-sensitive marketing efforts. It’s ideal for businesses aiming to emphasize later touchpoints, understanding the lasting influence of recent or ongoing interactions.

Position-Based (U-Shaped) Attribution Model

The position-based model, known as “U-shaped,: values the first and last interactions most. It gives significant weight to these pivotal steps.

This model is apt for recognizing crucial start and finish touchpoints. It balances recognizing initial brand engagement and final purchase decisiveness.

Key features include:

– Pivotal Moments: First and last get most credit.

– Balanced Middle: Intermediate interactions receive some value.

– Holistic Impact: Captures full journey from awareness to action.

For businesses emphasizing introduction and conversion points, this model fits. It helps in understanding pathways from initial interest to purchase completion.

W-Shaped Attribution Model

In the W-shaped model, major points – first, lead creation and conversion – are highlighted. This approach provides depth by assigning significant value to these steps.

This benefits businesses by distributing credit to these three pivotal interactions. Following the model, it helps highlight crucial progress points in the customer journey.

Main attributes of the W-shaped model include:

– Three Key Events: First touch, lead gen, and conversion.

– Depth and Detail: Recognizes complexity with multiple focal points.

– Comprehensive: Provides full journey context.

Ideal for businesses with distinct milestones, it aligns marketing efforts across these vital interactions. The model emphasizes touchpoints leading up to critical actions.

Full Path and Custom Attribution Models

Full path models expand the W-shape to cover every step in the sales cycle and knowing how to track sales. Custom models, on the other hand, tailor attribution to specific business needs.

These models offer flexibility and depth. Full path attribution accounts for all stages, adding insight into prolonged customer journeys.

Unique facets include:

– Complete View: Considers early, mid, and late stages.

– Custom Fit: Aligns with organizational strategy.

– Detailed Analysis: Allows for nuanced customer pathway understanding.

For businesses with unique sales cycles, custom models provide the adaptability needed. These models encourage a data-centric approach, offering insights into every interaction’s contribution. Adapting these models ensures that marketing strategy aligns closely with business objectives and customer engagement paths.

Single-Touch vs. Multi-Touch Attribution: Key Differences

Single-touch attribution assigns all credit to one interaction in the customer journey. This usually means crediting the first or last touchpoint. It simplifies tracking but may overlook many customer interactions leading to conversion.

In contrast, multi-touch attribution acknowledges the complexity of the customer journey. It credits multiple interactions throughout the sales funnel. This provides a more complete picture of how each touchpoint contributes to messaging and sales conversions.

The main differences include:

– Credit Assignment: Single-touch vs. multi-interaction credit.

– Journey Insight: Simple linear view vs. comprehensive path recognition.

– Data Depth: Limited insight vs. robust analysis of conversion paths.

Choosing the right touchpoint attribution method depends on marketing objectives and complexity. Multi-touch approaches often offer better alignment with modern marketing’s nuanced realities. For businesses seeking strategic insight, multi-touch attribution provides depth and context that single-touch methods cannot.

How PR and Media Relations Influence Multi-Touch Attribution

Public relations (PR) and media relations play pivotal roles in multi-touch attribution. They enhance brand visibility and engagement, influencing many touchpoints. Understanding their impact helps optimize your attribution model.

PR strategies can boost your brand’s online presence. They result in earned media coverage or physical and virtual interactions that serve as credible touchpoints. This increases brand awareness and trust among potential customers or clientele.

Media relations and sponsored content contributes to SEO efforts. They generate authoritative backlinks, which improve search rankings and visibility. These indirect touchpoints support conversion by creating a strong brand narrative and third-party media outlet endorsements.

Key influences of PR and media relations on attribution include:

– Brand Visibility: Increases reach across various platforms.

– Credibility: Enhances trust through earned media.

– SEO Impact: Strengthens backlink profile and website domain authority.

Effective PR strategies require regular media and audience interactions. Engage with journalists and influencers to improve coverage. Serve on panels and webinars to connect directly with leads. This involvement can significantly enhance your multi-touch attribution efforts, painting a more complete picture of customer interactions. It supports data-driven decision-making in annual marketing strategy.

Integrating Multi-Touch Attribution with SEO Strategies

Combining multi-touch attribution with SEO strategies can amplify marketing efforts. This integration provides a holistic view of how various touchpoints contribute to conversions. By aligning these strategies, you enhance overall visibility and effectiveness.

SEO and multi-touch attribution work together to reveal valuable insights. SEO improves organic reach, while attribution tracks which interactions lead to conversions. This data reveals the most influential paths in a customer’s journey.

When SEO efforts focus on specific keywords, attribution can show their real impact. This identifies which keywords result in significant touchpoints. The resulting alignment gives rise to resources that are successfully allocated for maximum returns on investment.

Key steps for integration include:

– Identify Keywords: Assess, add and track keywords that yield conversions.

– Analyze Data: Assess which data-based touchpoints are most effective.

– Optimize Content: Focus on high-impact keywords and message-rife channels.

Implement changes based on gained insights. Regularly update your SEO and attribution models to align with changing consumer or customer behaviors, helping your business remain competitive and responsive in the digital marketplace. By integrating these strategies, you can create a powerful framework for sustained growth and improved digital existence.

Choosing the Right Multi-Touch Attribution Model for Your Business

Selecting the appropriate multi-touch attribution model is crucial for effective marketing strategies. Your business goals and customer behavior are essential in this decision. Different models offer varied insights, making the choice quite involved.

Consider the nature of your sales cycle when evaluating models. Linear models work well for straightforward, long journeys. Meanwhile, position-based models can highlight significant milestones in complex processes.

Each attribution model has its own strengths. For you and your marketing team and leadership, aligning with a model that reflects your marketing objectives and customer engagement patterns is key. A mismatch could lead to misaligned resources.

When choosing a model, consider:

– Sales Cycle Length: Complex or simple processes.

– Marketing Goals: Awareness vs. conversion focus.

– Customer Behavior: Regular vs. irregular interaction patterns.

Choosing wisely bui8lds upon comprehensive insights regarding customer or new client interactions. With the right model, you gain clearer visibility of each channel’s performance, guiding data-driven decisions and effective budget allocations.

Essential Multi-Touch Attribution Tools for Businesses

Navigating the world of multi-touch attribution tools can be daunting for any company and its personnel. However, leveraging the right tools is key to unlocking valuable insights. These tools help track, analyze and optimize customer touchpoints.

A good attribution tool will provide a clear view of your marketing performance. It should integrate well with existing systems. Ease of use is also crucial, so you and your team can make the most of it.

Let’s review some popular options:

– Google Analytics 360: Offers robust attribution modeling features and integrates smoothly with other Google products.

– HubSpot: Combines CRM capabilities with comprehensive attribution reporting for inbound marketing.

– Ruler Analytics: Focuses on linking online and offline conversions, helping track the complete customer journey.

– Kissmetrics: Delivers deep insights into customer behavior, ideal for SaaS and e-commerce businesses.

These tools vary in features and pricing but share a common goal. They aim to help businesses understand where their marketing dollars are best spent.

Customization and scalability matter for growing businesses. The right tool can adapt as your needs evolve, offering more refined insights.

Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing Multi-Touch Attribution in Your Marketing

Implementing multi-touch attribution requires a structured approach. Start by clearly defining your marketing objectives. This clarity will guide your attribution strategy and ensure it aligns with your business goals.

Next, map out your customer journey. Identify key touchpoints where customers interact with your brand. Knowing these touchpoints is essential for accurate attribution.

Choose the right attribution model based on your objectives. Consider factors like sales cycle length, industry changes and customer behavior. This decision influences the insights you gain.

With your model in place, integrate your chosen multi-touch attribution tools. Ensure they sync with your current tech stack. This integration is crucial for collecting comprehensive data.

Train your team on how to use these tools effectively. They’ll need to interpret data and make informed decisions.

Regularly analyze the data your tools provide. Look for trends and anomalies. Use these insights to refine your strategy.

This step-by-step guide serves as a foundation. Remember, multi-touch attribution is an ongoing process. Constant analysis and adjustments are key to success.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Implementing multi-touch attribution can present several challenges for small businesses. A common issue is dealing with data silos. Disconnected data sources can lead to incomplete analytics. Solve this by centralizing your data collection processes. This will guide you to master multi-touch attribution for PR success.

Another challenge is the complexity of attribution models. Multi-touch models can be daunting for newcomers. Simplify the process by starting with a basic model and gradually incorporating more complexity as you gain confidence.

Resource constraints can also pose a problem. Small businesses often lack the budget for sophisticated tools. Consider using free or low-cost attribution tools that still provide valuable insights.

Here’s a list of common challenges along with solutions:

– Data Silos: Integrate data platforms to form a unified view.

– Model Complexity: Begin with simpler models.

– Budget Restrictions: Explore cost-effective tools.

– Lack of Expertise: Invest in training sessions.

Ultimately, staying informed and adaptable will help you overcome these hurdles. Regular updates to your strategy can also mitigate potential challenges.

Measuring Success: Analyzing and Optimizing Your Attribution Model

Success measurement in multi-touch attribution involves tracking the right metrics. Begin with defining clear objectives. Knowing what success looks like helps in choosing relevant KPIs.

Regularly analyze your attribution model’s performance. Pay attention to conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value. These indicators offer insights into campaign effectiveness.

Optimizing your attribution model requires ongoing adjustments. Test different models to find what best fits your business needs. This process may reveal unexpected strengths or weaknesses in your strategy.

Here’s a focused checklist for evaluating and optimizing your marketing attribution model:

– Define Clear Objectives: Establish what success means for your business.

– Track KPIs: Use metrics like conversion rates.

– Regular Analysis: Evaluate performance continuously.

– Model Testing: Experiment with different attribution models.

By continuously refining your approach, you ensure your marketing efforts are strategically aligned with your business goals.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Multi-touch attribution is a must for feeding customer interactions. Integrating it with SEO and PR enhances online visibility.

To leverage these insights effectively:

– Evaluate Models: Choose the one that aligns with your goals.

– Incorporate Tools: Utilize attribution tools for comprehensive analytics.

– Adapt Strategies: Stay flexible to changing market dynamics.

Embrace a data-driven approach for sustained growth and improved customer reach.

Finally, you might ask if multi-touch attribution marketing really matters. We say (resoundingly), yes, it most clearly does matter and is often the cornerstone for integrated marketing success. And, while it may not always be possible to track each and every sale to a specific marketing touchpoint (or vice versa), multi-touch marketing across the available spectrum is perhaps one of the most significant strategies to safeguard comprehensive messaging reach and ROI.

Are you now ready to master multi-touch attribution for PR success? We can simplify the process for you, increasing touchpoints, growing impressions, generating interactions, and boosting engagements for you, ultimately, evoking a bevy of sales conversations for your business and brands.

At Eberly & Collard Public Relations, we specialize in implementing advanced multi-touch attribution strategies to help our clients identify high-performing channels, improve customer engagement options, and maximize marketing investments. Contact us today for personalized consultation.

Unpacking 2020: Lessons Learned and Marketing Predictions for 2021

April 13, 2021 By ECPR Team Leave a Comment

With vaccines becoming more available by the day, and life’s return to “normal” imminent, it is easy to want to forget about the year 2020 altogether. Why dwell on the past, especially if it brought with it much difficulty and strife – right? Though this sentiment is highly relatable, it carries with it a few flaws, at least from the perspective of marketing.

As marketers, it is our job to dichotomize the year 2020 and make sense of the valuable learning elements the year brought with it. To be prudent, we deployed an end of year survey to groups of other marketers and Eberly & Collard social media followers for their input. Our survey asked participants questions that allowed us insight into the ways in which marketing, and marketing platforms, transformed in 2020. We then used the survey’s results to create a roadmap for marketing in 2021.

Now comfortably in the year 2021, we have broken down the results of our end of year survey for 2020 and created a basis of understanding for how these results will play out in the year 2021. After all, 2020 was a pacey year in terms of the growth and adoption of marketing trends, so an in-depth analysis of the trends created in 2020 is much deserved.

Below are the three most telling and informative results from our end of year survey. We are confident that the marketing trends conceived in the year 2020 will continue, and they serve as excellent reference points when constructing predictions for 2021.

Traditional media relations remained strong: According to our survey results, companies launched as many press campaigns in 2020 as they did in 2019.

Traditional media relations remained a staple due to its effectiveness in connecting brands and companies with their target audiences. In 2020, it became more important than ever to be known, and there are few better ways of doing so than being published by a magazine or website.

Many business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies “stated their case” to target audiences in 2020 by leveraging one of the most trusted gatekeepers in the marketplace: the media. Consumers and decision makers in business needed to be conservative with their budget in 2020, and they relied heavily on the media to help make decisions for them.

Our own experiences in the year 2020 supported our survey results. Due to market volatility, those with spending power in the business community wanted to make sure they were working with stable and trustworthy partners. The media of a respective industry acts as a vetting system for potential clients or customers; if you are established and trustworthy enough to be published by a trade publication or applicable magazine, it bodes well for your viability in the marketplace in the eyes of potential business partners.

As an example, in 2020, we were told by many editors across the industries in which we work that there was an influx of submitted press releases for publication. At first, this seemed hard to believe. Was there really that much news that needed released to the media in the middle of a pandemic? But, as supported by our survey results, companies truly needed media coverage in 2020 more than ever. Businesses across all sectors were required to engage with the media as a way of peeking their heads out of the door, so to speak, and saying, “we are still here and serving our clients and customers.”

These results tell us that even during tough years for traditional media, its influence remains constant. In 2021, plan to launch just as many or more campaigns as in 2020. As a company, becoming a familiar name and face in front of target audiences is extremely valuable for future success.

B2B and B2C audiences shifted their conversations to social media.

In what is arguably the least surprising result of our survey, we found that companies increased their social media posting frequency by nearly double in 2020. With a massive increase of people spending more time at home, social media became the new desired place of e-commerce and lead-development for companies in B2B and B2C market segments.

Will people continue leaning on social media as strongly as they did in 2020? Absolutely. If you are familiar with Pavlov’s Dog experiment, you understand that once someone is introduced to specific, rewarding stimuli on a consistent and scheduled basis, they become hyper-aware of when the same stimuli are absent from their daily lives.

This same ethos can be applied to a company’s social media presence. If you found yourself increasing your social media posting frequency in 2020, chances are your followers, who may be potential clients or customers, will notice if you decrease your content frequency in 2021. So, we would advise to continue posting at the same frequency in which your company or brand did in 2020. After all, in 2021, there will be much more success to post about.

In keeping with social media’s high-octane performance in 2020, we found that, through our survey results, many more companies relied on influencers to promote their brand and product than in previous years. As was overheard during a Zoom webinar attended last year, influencers were found to be “pandemic proof” in the first half as 2020. While many traditional forms of media reduced activity for a few months and went home, influencers were already at home, and they were much more used to creating content for brands out of thin air.

Brands and businesses were highly intrigued by the accessibility and relatability of influencers in the eyes of their target markets, and got to work with their influencer marketing programs. Companies learned that there were various levels of influencers geared for different tiers of their target audiences, and it showed through an increase in search terms like “How to find micro influencers”, “Nano and micro influencers” and “Micro influencer marketing.”

These tiers of influencers gave brands a menu of different market segments they could reach at home, and this specialized strategy of targeting B2B and B2C audiences using influencers is sure to continue in 2021.

Desktop and mobile screen time rose significantly in 2020, and it has transformed the way consumers interact with businesses.

For most people spending increased time at home, their phones and computers became all-in-one their place of work, marketplace, social gathering space, and public square. Marketers quickly took notice of this phenomenon and got to work.

Commerce primarily shifted to a digital setting to adapt to the increase in screen time. Producing digitally native content became much more of priority, simply because creating and maintaining visibility in the digital marketplace became extremely important for businesses in nearly every sector.

One of the most interesting B2B hospitality marketing developments of the year 2020 – discussed in HubSpot’s 2021 social media predictions webinar – was the phenomenon of “ghost kitchens.” This is a new kind of hospitality business that was created in direct response to increased screen time due to the pandemic. A ghost-kitchen business is a restaurant that only exists in the digital marketplace. A business owner rents out a kitchen, but the typical symbols of the restaurant’s identity – such as a serving staff, décor, etc. – do not exist. Ghost-kitchen restaurants operate exclusively through delivery services such as Doordash and Uber Eats, but they do not “exist” in the physical realm so to speak. You can’t even place an order for takeout, since there is no physical restaurant-like setting to pick up from.

Think about it – an entire hospitality sub-industry created for a mobile device-exclusive marketplace. We look forward to seeing the places these digitally native companies go in 2021.

Proper digital media management and digital media marketing was a major priority for companies in 2020. Our survey results reflected that B2B and B2C companies increased SEO spend in 2020 to meet this new demand of digital business. We’ve mentioned this before, but if a business was not visible on digital platforms in 2020, it essentially did not exist. Not to mention, our survey yielded results that businesses’ website traffic experienced a sharp increase in 2020, which can be a result of, or reason to build, a strategic SEO strategy for your business.

As far as digital marketing forecasting and an outlook on digital marketing trends for 2021 goes, this year will remain important for businesses to continue an investment into SEO. Though many physical elements of business and commerce are returning, we are not quite there yet, and it is still highly important to remain visible in the digital economy.

Why Inbound Marketing Will Be More Important Than Ever In 2021

October 15, 2020 By ECPR Team Leave a Comment

2020 has been filled with disruption, to say the least. In recent years, disruption in business has typically been considered a good thing. Companies, people and ideas ushering in “disruptive innovation” have been generally defined as positive conductors of growth with the potential to shake up an entire industry.

However, in the last six months alone, people have experienced enough disruption in their personal lives through the various economic, cultural and social issues at-hand. As a result, companies are rethinking the ways in which they make their initial connection with target audiences, but in ways that are not as disruptive or invasive to their daily lives.

At this moment, it is predicted people will leave 2020 feeling over-stimulated and fatigued. So, what does this mean for your 2021 content marketing plan? Tread lightly, and consider growing your organization’s inbound marketing program.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is the practice of growing your company’s prospects, clients and customers by forming organic and lasting relationships through non-interruptive inbound content marketing. While outbound marketing involves an organization reaching target demographics through e-blasts, cold-calls and other marketing techniques that are active attempts at direct communication, inbound marketing allows potential clients or customers to find your company on their own through your company’s web-based content.

The nucleus of inbound marketing is assisting potential customers or clients find your product or service, even before they realize the need for it in some cases. Inbound marketing tools work especially well during disruptive times in business and society; this is because it allows potential clients or customers to make organic initial connections with your organization on their own terms through passive searching.

Before implementing or refreshing your inbound marketing strategy for 2021, you must first understand the three core components of inbound marketing. Understanding and executing these components are essential for connecting with your audiences in ways that bridge strong relationships and solve their problems.

1. Entice and invite the right people to your web-based content through blogs, social media, podcasts, press releases, and more.

The first and possibly most important factor of any inbound marketing is program attracting the right people, i.e. your target audience, to your organization’s website. How do you get them there? You create meaningful conversations and interest through valuable, solution-based content.

This content can come in many shapes and sizes, so to speak. If you are a financial planning firm, you could write a blog or record a podcast that includes helpful insight into how a portfolio should be successfully managed. While this solves half the equation of inbound marketing, you must also be able to strategically position this content so it can be found by the right people.

One of the best ways to position this content with effective, maximum reach is through SEO optimization. This is accomplished by creating web-based, owned content with specific keywords and phrases that are associated with your company, product, service, and industry. These keywords and phrases should be solution-based and written with your target audience in mind. Building on the previous example, if you are a financial planning firm, your target audiences will be searching for businesses like yours to solve specific issues, using keywords and phrases such as, “how to make a comprehensive financial plan,” or, “financial plan for startup example.” In application, it is recommended to build a much deeper SEO strategy than two simple search phrases, but the idea of inbound marketing is to draw in potential clients and customers with a specific problem they are hoping to have solved via search engine.

With a solution-based strategy, your organization’s content-driven SEO will position your company to organically appear in search engine results for the people searching for and in need of this information.

An overlooked device for the first component of inbound marketing is the humble, handy press release. Typically viewed as a traditional method of providing the media with important news or company updates, the press release has found itself in an interesting position during the digital age. When used as native content, and posted to your organization’s website, it can be as practical as a blog or article to build solution-driven SEO keywords and phrases that attract key demographics to your website.

Earned media placements of an SEO-based press release on publications’ websites or digital issues can also be used as a tool to passively draw desired audiences to your organization’s website. Earned media placements typically garner more trust from its readers than owned media, so make sure the press release also contains backlinks to take the reader back to your website.

A prime way to implement the first component of this strategy, using our examples, would be to start out of the gates in 2021 with a well-written, solution-driven and SEO-based press release campaign. Make sure the basis of the press release is rooted in some sort of solution your company offers.

If you are an in-house marketing director at a software company specializing in cybersecurity, for example, kick off 2021 with a press release about enhanced-security updates your company has made to the product that further solves the problems of its current and future users. Place keywords and phrases that are based on search terms your target audience would be using if they were to find your organization via search engine. Then, post the press release to your website and distribute it to various media outlets your target audience would be reading.

When a potential client or customer is served the press release on your or a publication’s website via search engine, they are met with a much more organic, valuable initial connection with your organization, rather than being inundated by your cold-calls or e-blasts. By using this less-interruptive method, prospects feel they have discovered your organization’s solutions on their own terms.

2. How to engage with an audience acquired through SEO-based content

“I’ve attracted the right people to my organization’s website using tools such as SEO-driven, published content on my website. What now?”

Once potential new clients or customers find your organization by way of non-interruptive means, it is essential to engage with this newly acquired audience in ways that encourage long-term relationships. In keeping with our prediction for 2021, it is important to consider less-disruptive methods of introducing solutions and insights that are adjacent to prospects’ goals. This not only motivates them to become a client or customer with your company, but it helps establish yourself as a trusted consultant with whom they can engage.

There are various ways to engage your audience using inbound marketing strategies. Whichever direction you decide to take, it is important that you lead with solution-based selling rather than product-based selling. If you truly want to capitalize on the non-invasive nature of inbound marketing, you should not direct-sell yourself as a product or service, but rather a stream of valuable information and insight geared to offer solutions for a unique set of problems.

In order to sell your solution, you must first understand the “pain points” of a potential client or customer. Regardless the channel of communication, start off the dialogue asking important questions of the prospect’s business or service, and not direct selling in the first interaction.

To apply this to your 2021 marketing strategy, think about how your organization sells itself on social media channels. When someone follows your company on one or more of the social channels on which you are active, they decide that following your company provides them with some kind of value. They likely found your company’s channels on their own, and it is even possible they were served your content from Facebook or Instagram’s “Explore” algorithm; this algorithm, created by Facebook, performs in a similar manner to that of Google’s search engine algorithm.

Regardless of how they found you, a key demographic is now following your company on social media, making your organization visible to them on a daily basis. Once you are aware of this notion, it is important to understand their needs, and work solution-based selling – not product-based selling – into your daily, weekly or monthly social media content. Though the act of posting social media content lies within the “active” marketing arena, it is typically not considered to be disruptive to your followers. After all, they made the conscious decision to follow your organization.

However, in accordance with our 2021 inbound marketing outlook, you will not want to over-stimulate your followers with frequent, aggressive, hard-sell posting, in the same way you would not want to over-communicate with a lead or attracted party you’ve acquired through SEO-based content on your website.

3. Servicing new business generated through inbound marketing strategies

So, you’ve signed a new client through your inbound marketing efforts – congratulations!

Now the real work begins. In order to complete the triad that is inbound marketing, it is vitally important to continue satisfying new clients or customers through consistent non-interruptive marketing strategies. Nothing turns off a new client or customer more than realizing the company in which they have been interfacing acts in a completely different manner once a contract is signed, or a purchase is made.

Consider incorporating automated support mechanisms into your inbound marketing strategy to assist and request feedback from clients and customers. Surveys, in particular, are a great tactic to install in your company’s customer journey. By asking for feedback from your customers or clients using some kind of automated platform, you are continuing to passively sell your company’s ability to understand the needs of its customers, and react and adapt to new ideas for improvement. If, as a company, you can constantly improve your service through mechanisms such as this, you are proving your long-term value, which will in turn lead to renewed contracts or purchases in the future.

Another non-invasive way of servicing your existing clients or customers is through social media listening. Your organization’s social media followers, some of which are not even clients or customers, serve as an effective tool in feeling the pulse of your target audiences. Become familiar with your follower base, especially the followers who are clients or customers, and provide solutions via social media that demonstrate continued support for your patrons.

That said, make sure the solutions you offer directly to your social media followers are warranted; you do not want to appear “needy” or high maintenance.

As you implement these inbound marketing strategies into your marketing plan for 2021, it is important to keep in mind that the most important aspect of inbound marketing is delivering repeated value to new, existing or potential clients, even if the value is not reciprocated in some cases.

With 2020 drawing to a close, and a promising 2021 on the horizon, many in business are more fatigued than ever with tone-deaf and aggressive marketing tactics. Eberly & Collard Public Relations is a HubSpot Certified Inbound Marketing Agency, which means we guide clients in various industries through the steps outlined in this blog. Whether you decide to implement this strategy on your own or with the guidance of an agency, we hope this information acts as a valuable resource for your 2021 marketing planning.

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