The reality is people are talking about it – but it’s just being referred to by other things. It’s a bit like how for a while there were just people doing SEO or looking at very basic Internet marketing and that has now evolved into ‘digital’ titles where the roles involve SEO, website management and social media. A rose by any other name, if you will.
In America, there’s big talk about Inbound Marketing and there are actual individuals in roles with ‘Inbound Marketing’ in the title. In Australia, not so much.
So do we need to do more to get the word out there and for people to start referring to what we do as Inbound Marketing?
I don’t believe so. I believe it’s far more productive to get more people onboard the digital train than to worry about what it is actually called.
A lot of people in power haven’t the foggiest ideas about digital marketing and the various media available or the way these channels actually affect their bottom line significantly.
We need them to understand, appreciate and acknowledge digital marketing as a natural part of the business, like having a website is considered a must have. We need them to actually invest seriously into this and to constantly look forward. Things like TV and Radio still work to an extent but when you see what amazing work is being done in the digital space and how companies are slashing their costs by millions by turning to digital, it’s clearly a no brainer.
Doesn’t matter what you call it – digital is something that has inbound written all over it. Using a qr code on an ad at the bus stop that takes people to a dedicated landing page geared to sell – this is how you’re going to do business in a whole new way.