Essentials of Effective Inbound

As traditional marketing becomes a thing of the past, inbound marketing is constantly occurring as technology is bringing people closer to each other, without ever having to actually meet. Inbound marketing is not about interrupting people with your ads, but rather drawing people into your company based on the content you are putting out. Inbound is most effective when the content that is being created is using the right context; it is important to know your audience.

As I was reading and studying the inbound materials I realized that there are many products I have tried because of inbound marketing, and many more I wish to try when I get the funds to do so. I fit the context for many makeup brands who use inbound marketing. For almost 10 years I have been a huge fan of many makeup artists who built their following via YouTube. Before there was contouring, or highlights there were girls giving their best efforts to create makeup looks all for a video to post on YouTube. Now makeup "gurus" on YouTube are monetized and, get many sponsors from makeup brands as well as receive PR packages from the companies as incentive to use and show their brand. 

YouTube and Inbound marketing go hand-in-hand, and to show this I am going to talk about the last set of makeup brushes I purchased. The brand of these makeup brushes is Vanity Planet, this set has 15 different brushes and is priced at $100. When I first saw some ads for these brushes I was skeptical, I was not willing to pay $100 from a brand I knew nothing about.

https://www.vanityplanet.com/products/palette-professional-makeup-brush-collection-2

One day while I was watching YouTube videos, a YouTuber named Sarah Baska pulled out her set of these brushes and said she loved them; she also mentioned you can use her special code you for 70% off. I was not quite sold on the idea yet. I like watching Sarah Baska’s videos, however she is not a makeup artist YouTuber, she is a former Viner and focuses more on comedy videos and story times. Sarah had said she liked them, but did not tell me why; I was not more educated on the brand or the product after her telling me about them than I was by looking at any other add the brand produces.

Some time later I was watching the YouTube videos of Gina Shkeda, or GinsMakeup is her channel name, and she pulled out the same pack of makeup brushes I had seen Sarah talk about before. This time, however, Gina explained what she liked about the brushes and why she would recommend them. After her explanation about what was great I realized these brushes were worth the money, Gina also mentioned that she had a code for 70% off as well, but I did not care as much now because Gina told me that these were good brushes, and answered the questions I had. Gina also used the brushes in a video and said she had been using them for a while before advertising them because she wanted to make sure they were a product she really did like.

These two women are examples of how effective inbound marketing can be. I’m sure there is someone very similar to me that Vanity Planet has created a buyer persona of, and when the context was right I bought the brushes. I knew I needed new makeup brushes, Sarah brought me to the consideration stage, would these brushes fit the needs I have for doing my makeup, but did not answer all of my questions. Then Gina’s video brought me to my decision. I knew these brushes would be good, because I trusted Gina's advice on beauty products; now that I have them, I am happy I bought them.