In the digital age and what many could argue to have become the mobile era, there is a lot of demand for tech from the hundreds of new IoT devices to the millions of apps and websites being developed every year.
No matter where you look, there is wicked competition in the tech sphere to have the most cutting-edge products, the most hype, and the most user involvement in the products.
Modern tech companies understand that having a lively online community is a big part of modern success. The key is to create an endless stream of interesting inbound marketing content to not only draw in new leads but to hold your entire online community involved and entertained.
Successful inbound marketing, especially for a tech company, requires a set of tactics that are part librarian, part sysadmin, and part carnival barker.
You need to create static content for the introverts, games and shows for the extroverts, and constant content for everyone in between.
To help you put that winner's spin on your inbound marketing strategies, we've collected ten of the top inbound marketing tips for tech company inbound marketing:
1) Create a Steady Stream of Educational Content
The reputation of a tech company and your expertise and know-how. Customers who don't understand nearly as much about the software and functionality as you do need to be able to trust you to set them up, guide them through use, and provide solutions when things go wrong.
This means you want to create a strong and sustaining image of your company as experts. Fortunately, inbound marketing was practically built for this purpose.
With a steady stream of articles and social media posts that are both educational to your customers and useful within the industry, you establish yourself as thought leaders and a reliable source of 'tech' information.
2) Know What to Make Into a Mailing List Downloadable
Of course, one of the best ways to build your mailing list of qualified leads is to save your very best and most useful content back as downloadables and newsletter content.
This way, you can use your articles, facts, and interesting studies to tempt inbound-marketed visitors into submitting their email addresses to get access to your premium content. Just make sure to keep that premium content coming once you have hooked few leads.
3) Don't Be Afraid of Surveys and Customer Quizzes
There are a lot of ways to qualify a lead and you don't always have to do it by hand or by tempting them with promises of exclusive content.
What many companies tend to overlook is that people love to take quizzes. With a few cleverly placed and worded online surveys and quizzes, you can gain a remarkable amount of useful information from leads and visitors.
4) Keep Your Content Cutting-Edge
As a tech company, your colleagues and active customers will know if you're recycling content from several years ago and many tech industry professionals have a nose for the most cutting-edge security risks, chip developments, and industry news.
Make sure to keep your content fresh and try to respond to the most recent events in the tech-sphere with thought leadership articles.
5) Highlight Your Best Content
Your content quality can be judged in tiers. There are the articles that are perfect for drawing in inbound marketing leads, the content that is best as a premium or exclusive newsletter, and your content that has the best chance of becoming viral.
For your popular, engaging, and funny content, don't be shy about posting it across multiple platforms, pinning it to your profile pages, or remaking it in fun new ways.
6) Know What Your Tech-Audience is Talking About
Of course, posting about recent events isn't the only way to stay on top of the current tech industry news.
You will want to keep an eye on all the biggest general audience and tech industry news sources so that you'll be ready when the community starts to buzz about something new.
7) Share Your Expertise
You want your brand to be known as a source of technical information both in your specific sub-industry and in the technical world as a whole.
One of the major principles of inbound marketing is to share your company's and employee's expertise with the public to prove that you know your stuff.
Another way to do this is to guest post with other tech news sources to get your name out there in more than just the social media communities.
8) Keep Track of Your Online Competitors
If you really want to stay on top of the inbound marketing game for your products, services, and target audience, don't forget that your competitors are after the exact same thing and they might have some good ideas.
It is a standard practice in the business world to learn from your competitors and today is as good a day to start as any.
9) Solve Problems Before They Happen
If you could name a customer service superpower, the ability to solve problems before they even occur would be pretty high on the list of awesome possibilities. That is actually what all those how-to, best-practices, and maintenance tips articles are up to.
By posting content that tells your audience how to solve common tech problems, you can essentially solve your customer's problems before they happen, building a reputation for competence without even having to lift a finger.
10) Ask for Audience Tips
Finally, while your expertise is much of what you're selling, don't forget that inbound marketing is all about "the fans".
One interesting way to get your audience involved is to ask them for tech tips and tricks they've figured out over the years. You might actually learn something new and very useful.
Inbound marketing for a tech company is a complicated maneuver but it doesn't have to be difficult. With the right mindset and a comprehensive campaign plan, anything is possible.
For more tips on how to inbound market your tech company or for help designing a marketing plan for your tech business, contact us today!