Strategy
04:21
#34 Brian Halligan – Why Brands Should Act Like Publishers
August 24, 2021
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Behind the Brand interviewed HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan on the subject of why brands should act like publishers. Let’s take a quick look at the difference between outbound and inbound marketing and why brands should focus on outbound marketing to reach today’s consumer more effectively. 

Outbound marketing is interrupting people and people are fighting back

Most marketing is interrupting people. Whether that is an unsolicited email you send to them while they are at work, a cold call on the phone when they are trying to watch TV, in between songs on the radio, in billboards blocking the scenery, it is irritating. Anywhere people are able to build up traffic, whether it is a highway, or a radio or tv show or a website, you rent a little piece of their traffic. And that used to work, but it is working less and less well. People’s tolerance for interruption is going down and their ability to block it has gone up. 

It is not just that we are too busy and we don’t care. Or even that there is so much noise that it is hard to stand out. Consumers have a rising technological ability to tune out interruptive advertising strategies. Spam blocking, Gmail’s new filter for one to many emails, do not call lists, spam blockers, pop-up blockers, people keep coming up with new ways to block interruptive advertising. 

 

Inbound marketing is the solution

Instead of interrupting someone who is trying to do something else, trying to push your message in front of them, you pull. Your marketing becomes based on the way a human actually lives and works and shops and what they, your customers, want instead of what you want. 

Before, it was expensive to create content. But now content production is more affordable. Instead of renting space where other people’s content is earning attention, make your own content and earn your own attention. 

“People tend to find good content. It’s like a magnet, ” says Halligan. 

 

Think like a publisher

Whatever you are selling, you need to engage your customers. They have information and or entertainment needs and you can meet them. Figure out what type of content they need and what they enjoy and deliver it. Then you can earn their attention and pull them to your brand instead of trying to push yourself in front of them while they are trying to focus on something else.

 

Take this guru’s insight and run with it!

Do you have a content publishing plan? Maybe it’s time you make one. You can publish on a blog and promote the content on social media. (We have a gig for that if you don’t have in-house resources to do it). You can also increase conversions and repeat business by creating a series of useful emails for opt-in subscribers. (Which is another thing we can help with). Take inspiration from Brian Halligan and start thinking about how you can crank up your inbound marketing strategy today.