The Differences Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing

The marketing world is filled with many facets, it’s truly hard to keep up if you’re not in the thick of it day-to-day. When it comes to brainstorming an exemplary marketing plan for your business it’s vital to have the perfect combination of not too pushy, yet eye-catching and click generating at the same time. How are we expected to find that happy medium? Well, many marketers like to dabble in the art of inbound and outbound marketing. In this blog, we will differentiate between inbound and outbound marketing as well as articulate our approach at Ignite Digital Marketing. 

Inbound Marketing 

To start off, let’s chat about inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is a methodology based on attracting your target audience by accompanying them through their journey of learning who you are as a brand. Inbound marketing communication is a two-way street and should be interactive, thus creating a conversation between business and consumer. 


This type of marketing is unique because it takes a more personal and non-invasive approach. Oftentimes this path is taken to earn people’s interest instead of buying it. Visually, think of inbound marketing as attracting a potential client. You are pulling them in, subtly, but intently. 

Examples of Inbound Marketing 

Inbound marketing is a strategy used to spread brand awareness so your target market can learn more about you and explore your services. This process will guide the viewer/target audience to go down an organic path of learning what you as a brand are all about. Hubspot mentioned that “inbound strategies allow you to engage an audience of people that you can more easily qualify as a prospect of lead.” Customers oftentimes come to pages through inbound marketing efforts like search engines, referrals, and social media. Inbound marketing also looks like blogging, search engine optimization (SEO), opt-in email lists, and pay-per-click. 

Outbound Marketing 

Outbound marketing oftentimes looks like the bossy older sibling in a big family. The advice is unsolicited and 9 times out of 10 you don’t want to hear it. Powered by budget and repetition, outbound marketing is like a megaphone screaming the message as loud as it can to get the point across to as many people as possible. This type of marketing is set to interrupt a user to deliver a message. Quantity is key when it comes to the outbound marketing approach. 

Examples of Outbound Marketing 

Communication is one way when it comes to outbound marketing. This type of marketing looks like cold calls, banners, ads on social media, email marketing, and television ads, to name a few. Customers are sought out when outbound marketing is set up, trying to reach as many people as possible. Display advertising in particular is probably the most common outbound marketing tactic we see as we browse the internet. 

Our Approach 

Now that we have certainty on what inbound and outbound marketing is, we can review why Ignite likes to take the inbound marketing approach. 


While inbound marketing focuses on quality, pure lead generation and brand exploration, outbound is more focused on the quantity of people that can get addressed. 


Instead of pushing the message to the masses, inbound marketing is the process of pulling potential clients and your target audience to your business by creating content that they are interested in and interact with. You are targeting a niche of people and drawing them in as opposed to pushing the message to the masses to seek out customers. This two-way communication method with the potential client creates a way where they can interact with the massage.


 "By pulling clients to your message and letting them have to be available to ask questions and engage with your brand, you are not only nurturing a potential lead but creating a mini ambassador of the brand who is more likely going to share this new information with their communities," said CEO of Ignite Digital Marketing, Stephanie Canfield.


Ignite likes that with inbound marketing, your message is written for your client's needs and addresses problems they are trying to solve.


Need helping deciphering what marketing would work best for your brand? Let’s set up a time to chat or grab coffee to learn more about your brand’s needs. 


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