Sarah Vanier

Tag: Strategy

  • The Best Outbound Channels to Reach Your Customer Base

    The best gift I had at two of the start-ups I worked at was hiring and leading SDR teams. As a marketer, so often we’re tasked with generating demand, only to pass over leads and lose visibility into what happens to them. The game of “you’re not handing us quality leads” begins, and we lack the data to be able to see what is being done with the leads. In my current role, when I hear that the marketing team has SDRs/LDRs or has really close alignment with them, I am overjoyed. When you have a good inbound and outbound marketing strategy, you are golden.

    Outbound marketing means the outreach to a customer, rather than trying to draw them in with compelling content and offers (inbound marketing.) Reaching customers effectively is not about being everywhere at once. It is about choosing the channels your audience actually uses and matching the message to the context. While email, phone, SMS, LinkedIn, and paid ads remain core outbound tools, more niche channels like WhatsApp, Snapchat, community platforms, and direct mail can be surprisingly effective when they fit the customer.

    Email is still one of the most reliable outbound channels because it is scalable, cost-effective, and easy to personalize. It works especially well for promotions, product updates, lead nurturing, and re-engagement campaigns. For most businesses, email remains the foundation of outbound communication.

    Phone calls are best for high-value sales, complex products, and B2B outreach. A call allows for immediate conversation, objection handling, and a more personal relationship. It is less scalable than email, but often more effective when trust matters.

    SMS is ideal for time-sensitive communication. Appointment reminders, flash sales, shipping updates, and urgent alerts perform well here because text messages are usually seen quickly. It should be used carefully, though, because customers can find it intrusive if overused.

    WhatsApp has become a strong outbound channel for businesses with international audiences, service-based businesses, and brands that rely on conversational selling. It feels more personal than email and often gets faster responses. It works well for customer support follow-up, appointment scheduling, product questions, and one-to-one sales conversations.

    LinkedIn is especially effective for B2B outbound. It gives brands and sales teams a way to connect directly with decision-makers in a more natural, professional environment. Personalized messages, thoughtful follow-ups, and relevant content sharing tend to work much better than generic cold outreach.

    Snapchat can be a valuable channel for brands targeting younger audiences, especially in consumer markets like fashion, beauty, events, food, and entertainment. It is less about formal selling and more about quick, visual, attention-grabbing communication. Limited-time offers, behind-the-scenes content, and location-based promotions can work particularly well here.

    Online communities such as Discord, Reddit, Slack groups, and private Facebook groups are more niche, but powerful when used carefully. These spaces reward relevance and authenticity. Brands that enter communities only to sell often get ignored, but those that contribute real value can build trust and create strong outbound opportunities.

    Direct mail is another overlooked channel. In a world crowded with digital messages, physical mail can stand out. For high-value accounts, local businesses, or premium brands, sending something tangible can make a stronger impression than another email in a full inbox.

    Paid media such as search ads, social ads, and retargeting also plays an important outbound role. While it is not direct outreach in the same way as email or phone, it helps businesses proactively put their message in front of the right customer segments at scale.

    The best outbound strategy is usually multi-channel, not single-channel. A customer might ignore an email, notice a retargeting ad, respond to a WhatsApp message, and finally convert after a call. The goal is to meet customers where they already are, using the channel that feels most natural to them.

    The strongest outbound teams do not just ask, “What channels can we use?” They ask, “Which channels fit this audience, this message, and this moment?” That is what makes outreach feel relevant instead of disruptive.

  • The Importance of Inbound Marketing and How to Start Driving Inbound Leads

    I remember when I was at a start-up looking for the best marketing automation for the company’s maturity level, and I kept coming across a (then) little company called Hubspot. They coined the phrase “inbound marketing” – and I couldn’t get enough of their blogs because it made so much sense.

    Inbound marketing matters because it helps customers find you when they are already looking for answers, solutions, or products. Instead of interrupting people with cold outreach, inbound marketing attracts them through useful content, strong visibility, and trust-building experiences. That makes it one of the most sustainable ways to generate leads over time.

    At its core, inbound marketing works because buyer behavior has changed. Most people do research before they ever talk to a salesperson. I actually avoid at all costs talking to a sales person! I search online, compare options, read reviews, and look for businesses that seem credible and helpful. As a marketer, if your organization shows up with the right message at the right time, you have a much better chance of turning that interest into a lead.

    One of the biggest advantages of inbound marketing is lead quality. Inbound leads are often warmer because they have already shown intent. They clicked on your article, downloaded your guide, filled out your form, or signed up for your newsletter because something about your offer matched a real need. That usually means less resistance, shorter sales cycles, and better conversion potential than completely cold outreach.

    Inbound marketing also creates long-term value. A paid ad stops working when you stop paying for it, but a strong blog post, helpful landing page, or optimized website can keep bringing in traffic and leads for months or even years. Good inbound content compounds. One useful piece of content can continue generating visibility well beyond its publish date.

    Just as importantly, inbound builds trust and authority. When your business consistently answers customer questions, explains problems clearly, and offers genuine value, people begin to see you as a credible source rather than just another company trying to sell something. That trust is often what moves someone from casual visitor to qualified lead.

    How to Start Driving Inbound Leads

    The first step is to understand your ideal customer. You need to know who they are, what problems they are trying to solve, what questions they ask early in the buying journey, and what might stop them from taking action. Strong inbound marketing begins with customer insight, not content for content’s sake.

    Next, build content around search intent. Think about what your audiences are typing into Google, asking on social media, or discussing internally at work. Now do the research – is that what people are actually searching for? For smaller organizations, I’ve recommended Keywords Anywhere as a very inexpensive Google plugin that does research. For larger, SEMrush is a great tool – more pricey, but it will help you find the right topics.

    Next, create a content strategy around these topics that includes blog posts, guides, videos, case studies, FAQs, and landing pages. The content should reflect the topics and questions that people are searching for directly. The goal is not just traffic – it is attracting the right traffic.

    Your website should also be designed to convert attention into leads. That means clear calls to action, simple forms, valuable downloadable resources, and landing pages tied to specific offers. If people find your content but do not know what to do next, your inbound efforts will stall.

    Search engine optimization is another key foundation. If your content is not discoverable, it cannot generate inbound leads consistently. Focus on relevant keywords, useful page structure, internal linking, and content quality. SEO is not just about ranking – it is about making sure your business shows up when potential customers are actively looking.

    It also helps to create a lead magnet: something valuable a visitor can get in exchange for their contact information. This could be a checklist, ebook, template, webinar, pricing guide, or industry report. The best lead magnets solve a real problem quickly and feel worth the trade.

    Once leads come in, have a process to nurture them. Not every inbound lead is ready to buy immediately. Email sequences, retargeting, educational content, and timely follow-up can keep your business top of mind until the lead is ready to take the next step.

    A Simple Starting Plan

    If you are just getting started, keep it simple:

    1. Define your ideal customer and their top 5-10 pain points.
    2. Do the keyword/search research to find the most relevant related topics to those pain points.
    3. Create a content strategy that includes blog topics, FAQ pages, and downloadable resources.
    4. Optimize those pages for search and user experience.
    5. Add clear calls to action and forms to capture leads.
    6. Set up follow-up emails so new leads continue hearing from you.
    7. Measure what content drives traffic, conversions, and qualified opportunities.

    Inbound marketing is powerful because it turns your expertise, website, and content into a lead-generation engine. It may take longer to build than outbound tactics, but the payoff is often stronger, more cost-effective, and more durable. Businesses that invest in inbound are not just chasing leads – they are building a system that helps the right customers come to them.

  • What is a Marketing Content Strategy, and Do We Really Need One?

    What is a Marketing Content Strategy, and Do We Really Need One?

    Being across both start-ups and companies that have to rebuild their marketing engines has opened my eyes to the importance of marketing content strategy. An engineer has a great idea – and out goes a random blog post. Trend du jour is all over TikTok, so let’s create a piece of content that looks like it as a fun idea. While the intent for these are good, rarely do they actually make an impact and move your target customer closer to a decision. They also unnecessarily waste time and resources, as they will become shelfware on your website as they lack relevance. This is why every organization needs a good content strategy. 

     A content strategy is a plan for how your business creates, publishes, manages, and uses content to achieve specific marketing goals. It is not just about posting blogs, social media updates, or videos whenever you have time. A content strategy connects every piece of content to a purpose, a target audience, and a business outcome. A content strategy helps make sure your content is working as a marketing asset, not just filling space.

    What a Content Strategy Includes

    A strong content strategy usually defines a few key things:

    • Audience – who you are trying to reach, what they care about, and what problems they need solved.
    • Goals – whether the content is meant to build awareness, generate leads, support sales, improve retention, or strengthen brand authority.
    • Topics and messaging – what themes your company or organization should consistently talk about and how those topics connect to customer needs.
    • Formats and channels – whether the content should live on your blog, email, LinkedIn, YouTube, landing pages, webinars, or elsewhere.
    • Process – how content gets planned, created, approved, published, and measured.
    • Measurement – how you will know whether the content is actually performing.

    In simple terms, a content strategy answers: who are we talking to, what are we saying, where are we saying it, and why does it matter?

    Why You Need a Content Strategy in Marketing

    The biggest reason you need a content strategy is focus. Marketing can easily become noisy, and content is one of the first places that happens. When there is no strategy, businesses often create too much of the wrong content, spread themselves across too many channels, or fail to build consistency.

    A content strategy also helps improve efficiency. Instead of reinventing the wheel every week, your team works from clear priorities. That saves time, reduces guesswork, and makes it easier to repurpose content across campaigns and channels.

    Just as importantly, a content strategy improves results. Good content should do more than get views or likes. It should attract the right audience, build trust, answer objections, support SEO, generate leads, and help move prospects through the buyer journey. Strategy is what makes that happen intentionally.

    It also creates consistency, which is essential for building a strong brand. If your content sounds different every week, covers unrelated topics, or targets everyone at once, customers struggle to understand who you are and why they should pay attention. A strategy keeps your messaging aligned.

    What Happens Without One

    Without a content strategy, marketing teams often run into the same problems:

    • Content gets created based on guesswork rather than customer insight.
    • Publishing becomes inconsistent or rushed.
    • Teams focus on volume instead of value.
    • Different channels send mixed messages.
    • It becomes hard to measure ROI because nothing is tied to a clear objective.

    This is why many businesses feel like they are “doing content” but not seeing meaningful results. The issue usually is not the effort. It is the lack of direction.

    How to Start Building a Content Strategy

    You do not need a massive document to get started. A practical content strategy can begin with a few simple steps:

    1. Define your ideal audience and their biggest pain points.
    2. Choose your main marketing goals, such as awareness (tofu), preference/education (mofu), conversion (mofu). To get laser focused, my teams have done this for every campaign and motion as well – greenfield (new customers), upsell, cross-sell, or customer retention.
    3. Identify the core topics your brand should own.
    4. Decide which channels matter most for your audience.
    5. Create a content strategy map with tofu, mofu, bofu content for EACH audience – I recommend about 5 pieces of content for each stage with a laser sharp audience like “Technical Decision Maker, Commercial, <Solution X>, Upsell” and build a content plan around that for each.
    6. Track performance and adjust based on what works.

    The goal is to make content more deliberate. Every article, email, video, or post should have a reason for existing.

    Final Thought

    A content strategy is important because it turns content from a series of disconnected activities into a coordinated marketing system. It helps your business create content that is relevant, consistent, and tied to real outcomes. If content is part of your marketing, strategy is what makes it effective.

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