What’s the Difference Between Integrated Marketing & Inbound Marketing?

Integrated marketing, according to Wikipedia, is “an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other.”

Inbound marketing employs blogs, whitepapers, eBooks, videos, social media marketing and other forms of content marketing to optimize search results, resulting in increased inbound website traffic. This marketing strategy brings visitors in closer to the brand and ultimately helps convert them to leads and close them as customers.

Integrated marketing is the what, inbound marketing is the how.

Who uses integrated marketing services?

In today’s quickly shifting marketing and advertising world, integrated marketing has become a vital tool for many businesses across various industries. While most businesses can benefit from a uniform integrated marketing approach, it is a must have for businesses who:  

• market and advertise across multiple platforms, such as online, radio, and print
• have a defined and specific audience
• are interested in the accountability and data that fuels their marketing campaign
• advertise and market in consumer markets or to other businesses

How are integrated marketing plans developed?

Integrated marketing campaigns are much different than advertisements being presented across different media platforms. Instead, each platform and message produced via integrated marketing is an instrumental part of a more comprehensive brand story.

In order to achieve this level of cohesion, integrated marketing plans are developed with several aspects in mind. Integrated marketing plans must include the brand, how the company started and a primary understanding of the market and products.

It’s important to evaluate consumers’ attitudes toward the brand, technological advancements, and the competition’s positioning to most effectively reach prospective clients.

After all of these factors have been considered, the integrated marketing team must determine the most effective way to implement the campaign. It starts with the design of the messaging, product experience, and customer service, and extends across every mode of marketing.

The overall goal is to best exemplify the brand no matter where the marketing message is consumed.

How do you infuse an inbound approach into your marketing strategy?

To use inbound marketing, you must really dig in and get your content strategy together. The content strategy is and must remain most important throughout the big picture planning stage. This strategy development involves knowing the audience, their likes, wants, needs, dislikes, income, and so much more.

A fun analogy to use when comparing integrated marketing with inbound marketing is to imagine both aspects of marketing as a barbecue event.  Think about Integrated marketing as the food—the way it is prepared and how it is presented. Inbound marketing is like a delectable menu, customized for each of your favorite friends and neighbors.

Now, imagine your business success and future were just as simple to maneuver. Good news, it can—and will be—with integrated approach to inbound marketing.

As we travel this integrated-inbound marketing journey with you, we will continue to provide just what is needed to create a solid inbound strategy. If you would like a notification directly to your inbox when we have new blogs, tools, and other helpful marketing tips for success subscribe HERE: