Need some HubSpot inspiration?

We've already looked at how you can create a HubSpot-worthy inbound marketing campaign by taking inspiration from leading brands. But when you're applying inbound marketing to HubSpot's brand of marketing philosophy are there examples that really fit the HubSpot mould?

Central to the HubSpot philosophy of inbound marketing is the Buyer's Journey. Here it is as a recap:

In both the Consideration and the Decision stage of the Buyer's Journey key materials include comparisons of various forms. The aim of these in the Decision stage is to help the prospect find a solution that you provide that matches their needs. Earlier in the funnel, in the Consideration stage, you might be using comparisons the show why you're not a good fit for some people - to save getting enquiries that tie up the sales team's time and end up being fruitless for the prospect too. This graph explains the process in a more specific example: 

It may seem counter-intuitive but providing examples of how you're a bad fit for a prospect can actually be really beneficial for your inbound marketing efforts.

Crossing the border slightly, and entering a grey area of comparison marketing, you might even look at a direct competitor and try and turn a prospect from considering them to thinking of you. Some times you might look at a brand's inbound marketing and think 'you're losing customers with that!' but think again, there's often method in the madness.

Mitre 10

How To guides are a classic example of inbound marketing, which HubSpot encourages, that has many people sitting with their head in their hands. Why would you teach someone to do a task themselves that you could make money from doing for them?

Mitre 10 doesn't offer to plant your veggies, or paint your walls so showing people how to do these tasks isn't a direct conflict with what they offer. They may not even get a whole bunch of people coming into the store and tying up staff time asking them how it's done. What these guides achieve is showcasing how easy it is for someone to give a new project a go.

Downloadable as a PDF and with links to all the products used the site makes it really easy for you to achieve everything you need to - and Mitre 10 stocks everything you'll need to follow the video step-by-step.

A lot of Awareness stage Google searches are long-tail searches like 'How can I...', 'What is...' and other question statements. This is because the user isn't 100% sure on terminology or the shape of their problem. As their learning advances their searches become more detailed (eg: instead of 'which screws should I use on a ladder shelf' they'll search '10g 3/4 self tapping nickle screw').

Most brands focus on the latter search terms for AdWords and SEO because they want to appear to those people that have identified a need and are looking for a solution. What Mitre 10 does with its guides is creates the need so it is able to present the solution before the user opens up their research to competitors.

Adobe

Whereas Mitre 10 uses its inbound content marketing to acquire customers Adobe's approach is very much retention. After all you could use the Mitre 10 guides on products bought at Bunnings but tutorials on how to use Adobe's software are pretty useless if you're using Coral Draw (still).

That does not mean it's not useful in the acquisition stage of sales. If a customer is on a trial and can readily find help in getting to grips with how to use the tools then they'll quickly get beyond the awkward learning stage and become a user. Likewise if a potential customer is considering using Adobe over an alternative software the ease at which answers to questions can be accessed might be a key factor in them finding the product that is right for them.

Coming up with new ideas for how to get new customers through inbound marketing on HubSpot is what we do every day. That's why we've pulled a bunch of examples together for you. Find inspiration as to how you can use HubSpot more effectively through inbound marketing with our handy guide.

If you're more keen on having a HubSpot Gold level partner help manage your inbound marketing then you should check out our inbound marketing management programmes. Alternatively, if you're happy to manage your marketing but want the peace of mind that comes from a little HubSpot Support we can help too.