Over the last decade, there’s been a lot of high-fiving going on among “Creatives” in Marketing departments across the globe. The reason is the emergence of the Inbound Marketing model and its widespread acceptance as not only a valid, profitable marketing practice, but also its superiority, in many respects, over traditional, outbound marketing efforts. I won’t put you to sleep with a philosophical debate (as a content marketer, I’m hardly objective) – but it’s worthwhile to share some infographics that sum up the current conventional wisdom on the topic …
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
The Classic Funnel
In the traditional inbound marketing funnel, effective storytelling can go a long way – especially in the top tiers of the funnel. You’ll note that the content types shown here in each stage have a lot in common with the corresponding phases in the Customer Buying Journey (Phases 1 and 2). Ultimately, the shared and overarching principles of both content marketing models is the judicious and strategic use of content to grow brand awareness and to advance our company’s sales objectives.
