2015 in review – How the inbound model is changing

As an experienced inbound marketing agency, we’ve worked with brands from all backgrounds to deliver bespoke inbound strategies across a variety of channels to help them better identify and attract the people who matter most to their growth ambitions. Want more information check out our blog “Lessons from an inbound marketing agency”.

We’ve had a great 2015 at Grain, and have made lots of wonderful new friends and met new clients that we can’t wait to collaborate with over 2016 and beyond. We’re especially excited because 2016 looks to be one of the most crucial and critical times for what we do best; inbound marketing.

Inbound campaigns, we believe, are better than what are fast becoming dated outbound methods such as buying lists and hammering sales calls. An inbound marketing strategy can be more cost-effective, attract local and targeted customers, and give you a greater, deeper connection with people online – provided you build the right strategy, of course.

So what happened in 2015 that’s going to change the inbound model so drastically in 2016? There were some serious developments across a number of the main online marketing principles such as data collection, content marketing, social media marketing, biddable media, and others. Changes that can be used immediately on your inbound campaigns, whether you’re partway through a campaign or thinking of investing in one.

And probably the most important thing to happen during 2015 was...

Data breaches and privacy concerns

2015 was a terrible year for data theft with a large number of big-name brands targeted by criminals. The story actually started late November 2014 with Sony targeted by North Korean hackers in retaliation of the film The Interview. Sadly more big name international companies were breached throughout 2015 with Ashley Madison, T-Mobile, and the Steam gaming network on Christmas Day.

There aren’t ever any winners here. Companies get shown up to have poor security when it comes to guarding customer data, and – well – customers get their data stolen depending on the site they registered to, from email addresses to credit card information and more. In the case of Ashley Madison, it can destroy families.

Just as upsetting is how companies use customer data in unethical ways. Glasgow-based Optical Express also lost a court case in 2015 after texting laser eye surgery marketing information to people from a list purchased from Thomas Cook, which led to 7,506 customer complaints. We've already highlighted how such a situation falls under the umbrella of outdated and shady outbound marketing.

2016 should see a drastic reduction of the latter example. A new ruling set to be published by the EU Commission in March 2016 is expected to lay down new, stricter guidelines for firms that collect and share customer data. Companies need to get express consent that customers wish to hear from third-parties, and it’ll be essential for them to keep records of such consumer interactions for legal reasons, just in case.

How it affects inbound: Customer security has always been essential online, but 2015 has made shoppers more vigilant than ever before. The most successful inbound campaigns of 2016 will need to spell out security information to potential customers, as well as have fool proof, ethical, and very visual means of data collection and usage.

Monetisation of social channels

Lord Sugar (like him or loathe him) and his team made an interesting observation during the final of The Apprentice this year when they pointed out that, despite the global popularity and success of dating app Tinder and its enormous install base, it took the company a good couple of years before it started seeing a profit thanks to advertising and paid subscriptions.

2015 has seen major social networks and apps refine and mature their models to not only increase their revenue but open up new, clever ways of advertising to attract companies that want to reach out to and connect with a mobile- and social-savvy millennial audience. Snapchat’s selfie lens partnership with The Peanuts Movie, for example, was an excellent way to reach a mass audience instantly through unique content.

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and the rest have also been working on their own lead generation services to give advertisers more bang for their buck. Google+ has also had its usual will it/won’t it die phase, reinventing itself (again) and changing most of its features. It’s been the targeting portion of Facebook that’s been the most impressive update though, with new local lead generation features that encourage users to follow calls-to-action on posts.

Some features have also carried over to Facebook-owned Instagram which has helped companies that use it connect with its young audience (32 per cent of U.S. teens think it’s the most important social network by far), while both Instagram and Pinterest hope to make $2.8 billion in revenue by 2017 and 2018 respectively. Visual social media content with great CTAs really took off this year, and should carry on into the next.

How it affects inbound: Social’s always had a key part to play in inbound, but 2015 has seen the medium step up a level to offer advertisers something meatier to their social posts with tangible follow-throughs. Visual social media has exploded too; 2016 will see brands use more creative content and imagery to reach out to a growing audience.

How it affects biddable media

The right inbound strategy will marry in a number of inbound techniques to reach the right targeted audience across a number of platforms. Biddable media, such as PPC and social ads, can help get the ball rolling quickly though and improve your brand’s visibility amongst your target audience almost instantly.

The changes that we’ve mentioned here though can have a profound effect on biddable media, and make it more targeted and affordable than ever whether it’s through social or search. Data collection, for example; you can target people with smaller bids for more refined search keywords to bring them back to a highly-optimised, content-driven page that securely collects data.

Likewise with social biddables; new lead generation and social page options give brands the opportunity to mix and match inbound methods such as content and email campaigns to produce a fully creative low-cost ad network that’s fully targeted and localised (if your strategy calls for it). That can also include video biddables such as YouTube ads through Google’s TrueView platform and its own lead generation options.

Most importantly though, with the targeting options available, it allows marketers to really align themselves with the psyche of their market with a fully creative, affordable campaign. EU social media and online display ad spend is set to reach €28.7bn by 2020; the biddable side of advertising continues to grow enormously, and it can really help get your creative inbound campaign off the ground for 2016 and beyond.

As an experienced inbound marketing agency, we’ve worked with brands from all backgrounds to deliver bespoke inbound strategies across a variety of channels to help them better identify and attract the people who matter most to their growth ambitions. Want more information check out our blog “Lessons from an inbound marketing agency”.