Content marketing vs. inbound marketing: what’s the difference?

Let’s answer this quickly: they are different, yet the same.
Content marketing and inbound marketing are two terms many firms like ours are using quite a bit these days. And for good reason, ‘cause it’s all about the sales baby. IOHO, content marketing is the parent of inbound marketing. Content marketing is about providing valuable information to your audiences. Information that attracts prospects and converts them to customers, then retains them. This content can take a variety of forms -- printed, web, internet, heck even face to face interactions count. Content marketing is about the intentional practice of luring customers by providing the information they are looking for (with regard to your products and services).

Inbound marketing is the same thing, but only online. It's all digital content. And typically there are tools used to track, monitor and measure the effectiveness of this online activity. A lot of attention, lately, has been focused on inbound marketing. And while we fully support the practice, we believe content marketing shouldn't serve inbound marketing, rather it should be the opposite. Focus first on your entire content strategy. What information are you delivering to your prospects? How is it packaged? Is it effective? Start high and drill down. Eventually you'll cover digital content and can evaluate the need for inbound marketing.

If you'd like to learn more, check out our FREE Guide to Internet Marketing.

What are your thoughts? Have you evaluated inbound marketing?