Vanity Measurement Metrics

Most businesses already have a website, and worry about how much traffic their website attracts but traffic alone is a vanity measurement metric - like focusing on turnover rather than profit.

Try not to focus just on vanity metric numbers and focus on what really matters - getting the right traffic to your content. 

Your Goals for Your Website

Your goal should be to attract the right visitors and for the right visitors to qualify themselves as leads. Traditional marketing tactics rely on interrupting potential customers and pitching to them; whereas inbound marketing makes sure that your leads come to you - via your website.

Building a website that is constantly evolving with new, engaging content, giving you an edge over your competition.
Updating your website with fresh, relevant content gives potential customers a reason to stay engaged instead of leaving for competition.

Investing your time in creating brilliant content will pay-off, not in the form of vanity metrics, but in the form of well educated, informed and warm leads coming to you.

By understanding your customer's needs, you can create a journey that leads them through your sales funnel and nurture campaigns until they are ready to buy.

Buyers Personas

If you're committed to getting the right traffic to your site, you first need to know who you're targeting your content to.

This is where Buyers Personas come in.

A buyers persona is a "semi-fictional representation of your buyers based on data, interviews and some educated guesses"(Hubspot). It's a definition of your ideal buyer presented in such a way that makes it sound specific. You name these 'personas' according to their roles, for example "Marketing Mandy", "Sceptical Suzy" or "Management Mike".


When creating content, you want to think of these personas; Is this piece useful to Management Mike? Marketing Suzy perhaps?
Defining these buyers personas can help you to create relevant, valuable content for your website that will draw in the right traffic. 

Improve your conversion by creating content targeted towards your buyer personas, educating your leads.

The Three Pillars of Inbound Marketing

Now you have identified your businesses buying personas and you're committed to bringing the right traffic to your site. But how do you start? 

There are three pillars of inbound marketing. These are - Attract, Convert, and Delight.

Focus on thinking about: What problems your customers are having, how your products can help resolve these challenges, what issues you can help with now or later, and what their buying triggers are.

Focusing around these three pillars and questions help you create educational content for your buyers personas and prospects. Use content as an educational tool for your customers and prospects, rather than something people won't be drawn towards. 
Keep people coming back to your site time and time again to read your content and educate themselves.
Focus on what customers want rather than trying to push a product in their faces. 

The new method of Inbound Marketing creates a relationship with your prospects and customers by constantly educating them on the benefits you offer. Become an industry leader through content marketing, and create quality leads to convert at higher rates than other companies in similar spaces.