What’s The Better Strategy – Outbound Vs Inbound Lead Generation?

What is the difference between inbound and outbound lead generation? In this article, we’ll explain the main differences between the two types of lead generation. We’ll also discuss the pros and cons of each method.

First, we’ll share the top inbound and outbound lead generation strategies that are available right now. Then, we’ll help you find the balance between these two types of lead generation for your own business. Finally, we’ll give you some resources to get started.

Let’s dive in!

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What’s The Difference Between Inbound & Outbound Lead Generation? 

Inbound lead generation is about attracting people to your business. You do this by using things like SEO, content marketing, and social media. Once these people are attracted, you then need to nurture them until they’re ready to buy from you.

Outbound lead generation is finding people who might want to buy what you are selling. You reach out to these people and try to get them interested in your product or service. If they are interested, then they become a lead or customer.

The main difference between inbound and outbound lead generation is who makes the first contact. With inbound lead generation, the stranger contacts you. With outbound lead generation, you contact the stranger.

Let’s talk about these differences in a little more detail — specifically, about how they impact engagement, cost, and longevity.

Engagement

There are two types of lead generation: inbound and outbound. Inbound lead generation is when people come to you looking for what you offer. For example, if someone types “best shoes for running” into a search engine and clicks on the first organic result, that would be considered inbound traffic.

This type of traffic is more interested and motivated. With outbound lead generation, you are trying to create interest in people who are doing something else. For example, Facebook ads are a great way to do this. As a rule, outbound traffic is less interested than inbound traffic.

You should use inbound lead generation, but it doesn’t mean you have to use it in a certain way. We’ll talk more about the balance you want to have at the end of this article.

Cost

Inbound lead generation is when people come to you. This happens for free through things like SEO and social media, but you can also pay for it to happen faster.

Outbound lead generation usually costs money. You’re buying ads, direct mail lists, or cold email lists. And when you stop paying, the lead stop flowing.

Longevity

Generating leads takes time. You need to build an asset that will pay off in the long run. This usually means creating a website that is search engine optimized, having a social media profile with many followers, or having an email list with lots of subscribers. However, generating leads through outbound methods is more immediate.

You can “turn on” your advertisements and generate leads right away. But once you stop paying for the ads, direct mail, or email lists… those leads will dry up pretty quickly.

Pros & Cons of Inbound Lead Generation

Now that we’ve gone over the main differences between inbound and outbound lead generation, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each.

Let’s start with inbound lead generation.

The Pros of Inbound Lead Generation

1. Inbound lead generation is usually cheaper than outbound lead generation.
2. Inbound lead generation is more sustainable in the long term.
3. Inbound lead generation often leads to higher-quality traffic (people who are further down the buyer’s journey and thus more likely to convert).

The Cons of Inbound Lead Generation

1. Inbound lead generation takes time to get started.
2. Inbound lead generation can be difficult to scale.
3. You need a lot of traffic for inbound lead generation to work well (although you can use things like conversion rate optimization to make the most of the traffic you do have).

Pros & Cons of Outbound Lead Generation

Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of outbound lead generation.

The Pros of Outbound Lead Generation

1. Outbound lead generation can be turned on quickly.
2. Outbound lead generation is easier to scale than inbound lead generation.
3. Outbound lead generation can work well even with low traffic levels.

The Cons of Outbound Lead Generation

1. Outbound lead generation is usually more expensive than inbound lead generation.
2. Outbound lead generation is less sustainable in the long term.
3. Outbound lead generation often leads to lower-quality traffic (people who are less engaged and thus less likely to convert).

3 Top Inbound Lead Generation Tactics Right Now

Now that we’ve gone over the pros and cons of inbound and outbound lead generation, let’s take a look at some of the best inbound lead generation tactics you can use right now.

1. SEO

If you want to generate leads from inbound traffic, one of the best ways to do it is with SEO.

SEO stands for “search engine optimization.”

In a nutshell, it’s the process of making your website and content more visible in Google’s search results.

The better you optimize your site for SEO, the higher you’ll rank in the search results… and the more traffic (and leads) you’ll get.

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a way to market your business using content that is interesting and useful. This type of marketing includes things like SEO (which we just talked about), as well as promoting your content on social media, email, and other channels.

3. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a way to get people interested in your product or service. You create helpful and engaging content, which you then share on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This helps you attract traffic and leads from those social media platforms.

3 Top Outbound Lead Generation Tactics Right Now

Now let’s check out some of the best outbound lead generation tactics right now.

1. Google Ads

Google Ads is a type of marketing where you can place ads on Google’s search results pages. When somebody searches for a keyword that you’re targeting, your ad will show up in the search results. If they click on your ad, they’ll be taken to your website and you’ll have to pay Google a fee for sending them there.

2. Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads is a way to place ads on Facebook. You can target people based on their interests, demographics, and behavior. When someone sees your ad, they can click on it and be taken to your website.

3. LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads is a way to place ads on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Ads is similar to Google Ads and Facebook Ads, but it is designed specifically for businesses that want to sell products or services to other businesses. This means that you can target your ads to people based on their job title, company size, and even their specific skills.Finding The Balance Between Inbound Lead Generation & Outbound Lead Generation

So, what’s the best way to generate leads?

Should you focus on inbound lead generation or outbound lead generation?

The answer is: that you should focus on both.

And you don’t have to take our word for it. According to surveys from Demand Metric, marketers believe inbound and outbound tactics work very well together.

You can increase the number of leads coming to your business by using outbound lead generation. This will involve spending money every month, but the investment will be worth it in the long run. However, you should also work on building assets that will bring in leads naturally, even if the results are not immediate.

In the beginning, you’ll need to use more outbound methods to get leads. But as you continue working on your business, inbound methods like having an email list, followers on social media, and good SEO will help you get leads without needing to advertise as much.

Final Thoughts

There are two types of lead generation: inbound and outbound. Inbound lead generation is getting leads through your website or other online methods. Outbound lead generation is getting leads through traditional methods, such as telemarketing or mailing lists. You can use three top inbound tactics and three top outbound tactics to get started today.

This will help you create a steady flow of leads now as well as build an asset for longevity and future lead generation.

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