If you use these two terms interchangeably, you’re not alone. But there are differences between the two—and content marketing plays a huge role in an overarching inbound marketing strategy.
Understanding how to seamlessly integrate your content strategy can help you reach your inbound marketing goals. Let’s compare inbound marketing vs. content marketing, plus go over how GatherContent can help you scale your marketing strategy.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on creating valuable and engaging experiences that attract potential customers. The goal of inbound marketing is to build a relationship with your audience and convert them into leads and ultimately, loyal customers. As an overall strategy, inbound marketing can include multiple marketing techniques, including email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing.
The main inbound methodology focuses on three stages: Attract, Engage, Delight.
The inbound marketing methodology includes three stages: Attract, Engage, and Delight. Source: HubSpot
Attract revolves around creating valuable content that solves a problem or answers a question for your target audience.
Engage involves building a long-term relationship with your audience through sales calls, customer service, and focusing on the solutions your brand can provide.
Delight ensures your customers stay satisfied by remaining in contact with new opportunities, assistance, and content that continuously provides value.
Inbound strategies that draw your target audience to the valuable content you’ve created include but aren’t limited to search engine optimization (SEO), influencer marketing, and landing pages.
3 Examples of effective inbound marketing
1. Clearscope webinars
Clearscope is an SEO-focused content optimization tool that uses AI to grade and recommend changes aimed at improving content’s chances of ranking on Google.
Clearscope regularly invites subscribers to live webinars, then publishes recordings to attract new customers and provide continuous delight for its audience.
But Clearscope doesn’t simply sell customers its tool and call it quits. The company also provides additional guides as well as webinars to add value for potential and current customers.
Those already subscribed to Clearscope get an email notification encouraging them to sign up for upcoming new webinars, and all past webinars are recorded and published on Clearscope’s site. This consistent creation of helpful content that targets pain points Clearscope’s customers likely experience ensures its audience remains delighted.
2. Chewy customer appreciation
Chewy is notorious for its focus on customer delight. The pet supply company has a pulse on its target audience and appeals to their personality by sending thoughtful notes—usually by mail.
Chewy sent this handwritten birthday card for the author’s pet cat, Amber. This attention to detail and appeal to customers’ personal lives sets Chewy apart from other companies.
These can include birthday cards for pets as well as sympathy notes when a family’s four-legged friend passes away. On top of this, Chewy’s customer service goes above and beyond in these situations by offering refunds and even sending flowers to grieving families.
Even if this strategy is one of the company’s marketing campaigns, this continuous care and assistance have made Chewy customers some of the most loyal out there and contributed greatly to the company’s success. In Q3 of 2022, Chewy reported a 14.5% improvement in net sales year over year. It also generates brand awareness, as customers are eager to share their Chewy experiences with others or recommend the brand to their fellow pet owners.
3. NordVPN guides
Not only do NordVPN’s guides earn top spots in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but they also provide helpful tips and knowledge for its customers as well as potential customers.
Take its guide to double VPNs for example. When we searched “what is a double vpn,” Nord’s guide was the second result on page one.
When searching for “what is a double vpn” we found NordVPN’s guide in the second position on page one.
Clicking Nord’s link opens up a thorough explanation of what a double VPN is, its benefits, and when you should or shouldn’t use one. Because it ranks in the search engines, this content attracts Nord’s target audience. And because it also focuses on solving a potential problem customers might have, this double VPN guide also engages the audience.
NordVPN’s guide to double VPNs includes a call to action and simple guide to turning on the double VPN while using NordVPN.
At the end is a call to action (CTA), “Let’s double up your security” which notes that the double VPN feature is included with NordVPN and also features download links for multiple platforms. There’s also a three-step guide on how to turn on NordVPN’s double VPN feature.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves creating and distributing compelling, relevant, and valuable content for a clearly defined audience, also called a buyer persona. The goal of content marketing is to guide customers through the buying process and ultimately inspire them to take profitable action.
Content marketing methodologies typically aim to create content targeted toward the different stages of the buyer’s journey: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Sometimes these stages are referred to as the sales funnel, which pairs Awareness with Top of Funnel (TOFU), Consideration with Middle of Funnel (MOFU), and Decision with Bottom of Funnel (BOFU).
The buyer’s journey focuses on three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Source: HubSpot
Content marketers use the buyer’s journey to determine which types of content are most helpful or relevant to their target audience at that time. Some examples of the different types of relevant content marketers might use for each stage include:
Awareness stage: Blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, and social media posts
Consideration stage: Blog posts, webinars, and ebooks
Decision stage: Demos, landing pages, reviews, and case studies
Canva is an online design tool that doesn’t try to keep inspiration and how-to guides hidden behind a curtain. Its website and social media are full of quick tidbits aimed at helping its target audience of beginner users level up their design skills. (And potentially become Canva subscribers.)
Canva’s Twitter account includes step-by-step guides and videos to help its target audience learn how to use all of its many design tools.
Paired with consistent posts about newly released features, icons, and illustrations, Canva’s guides keep its audience engaged and excited about its product.
Guides don’t have to be boring. Instead, use them to inspire, educate, and delight your audience. A happy customer is a loyal customer.
2. OCEARCH’s marine life tracker
A non-profit, OCEARCH works to tag and research marine life as well as educate both children and adults on the sharks, whales, dolphins, and other animals that inhabit our oceans. Its live tracker map sparks curiosity and gives its audience a tool to better understand the once-secret lives of marine mammals and fish.
The OCEARCH tracker provides a unique tool for its target audience to track and learn about marine life.
The tracker also comes with a short bio about each tagged sea creature as well as their age, weight, and length. The biography cards also come with a call to action to support OCEARCH’s research and education initiatives.
Tools like this help a target audience feel like a part of the initiative and also inspire those further up the buyer’s journey funnel to learn more.
3. Taco Bell’s and Doja Cat’s Mexican Pizza comeback
Doja Cat loved Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza so much she was inspired to create a song about it. She posted her jam on TikTok (here’s a YouTube version) and, needless to say, the video took off. It gained so much attention that Taco Bell Tweeted about the now infamous menu item, saying it would be back and here to stay.
Doja Cat used her love of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza to inspire a catchy tune that caught the attention of thousands of audience members.
While this celebrity and restaurant pairing was unintentional, it just goes to show the power of social media content. If brands play their cards right by monitoring social media and engaging with their audience, they might be able to gain tons of attention that turns into customers and possibly even creates user-generated content (UGC).
3 Differences between inbound marketing and content marketing
1. A holistic approach vs. a content focus
While inbound marketing uses multiple types of marketing strategies that attract, engage, and delight customers, content marketing focuses on creating content that provides value and helps customers make an educated buying decision.
In fact, inbound marketing can use content marketing as one of the many strategies intended to reach customers. This marketing content could include SEO-optimized blog posts to attract prospects, contests and comparisons to engage them, and support content to delight them.
One of the primary goals of inbound marketing is to help your brand, product, or service get found by potential new customers. On the other hand, content marketing typically exists to nurture and guide your audience.
While both may have the same end goal of turning an audience member into a loyal customer, inbound marketing may use more direct tools such as freemium tools, free trials, or community building.
3. Inbound channels vs. outbound channels
As you might have guessed, inbound marketing relies heavily on inbound channels, or channels that bring customers in to the experience you’ve created for them. For example, your blog is an inbound channel that may use SEO to draw your audience in when they search Google.
Content marketing also uses inbound channels, but it also relies on outbound channels—these are channels that reach out to your audience. This includes paid ads that may reach your audience on other websites or even email newsletters that reach your audience in their inbox.
Use GatherContent to streamline your inbound marketing strategy
Both inbound marketing and content marketing are crucial for lead generation, engaging qualified leads, and delighting existing customers. And while they have distinct differences that we’ve discussed here, they also share some similarities.
One similarity is that you need a seamless integration of multiple processes to successfully implement either strategy. This includes content creation, optimization, distribution, and metrics measurement.
That’s where GatherContent shines. It helps you streamline your marketing efforts through its intuitive content planning, creation, collaboration, and management platform. With GatherContent, you can gather and organize content ideas, get stakeholder buy-in, build a library of templates and style guides, and ensure consistency across all distribution channels.
If you use these two terms interchangeably, you’re not alone. But there are differences between the two—and content marketing plays a huge role in an overarching inbound marketing strategy.
Understanding how to seamlessly integrate your content strategy can help you reach your inbound marketing goals. Let’s compare inbound marketing vs. content marketing, plus go over how GatherContent can help you scale your marketing strategy.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on creating valuable and engaging experiences that attract potential customers. The goal of inbound marketing is to build a relationship with your audience and convert them into leads and ultimately, loyal customers. As an overall strategy, inbound marketing can include multiple marketing techniques, including email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing.
The main inbound methodology focuses on three stages: Attract, Engage, Delight.
The inbound marketing methodology includes three stages: Attract, Engage, and Delight. Source: HubSpot
Attract revolves around creating valuable content that solves a problem or answers a question for your target audience.
Engage involves building a long-term relationship with your audience through sales calls, customer service, and focusing on the solutions your brand can provide.
Delight ensures your customers stay satisfied by remaining in contact with new opportunities, assistance, and content that continuously provides value.
Inbound strategies that draw your target audience to the valuable content you’ve created include but aren’t limited to search engine optimization (SEO), influencer marketing, and landing pages.
3 Examples of effective inbound marketing
1. Clearscope webinars
Clearscope is an SEO-focused content optimization tool that uses AI to grade and recommend changes aimed at improving content’s chances of ranking on Google.
Clearscope regularly invites subscribers to live webinars, then publishes recordings to attract new customers and provide continuous delight for its audience.
But Clearscope doesn’t simply sell customers its tool and call it quits. The company also provides additional guides as well as webinars to add value for potential and current customers.
Those already subscribed to Clearscope get an email notification encouraging them to sign up for upcoming new webinars, and all past webinars are recorded and published on Clearscope’s site. This consistent creation of helpful content that targets pain points Clearscope’s customers likely experience ensures its audience remains delighted.
2. Chewy customer appreciation
Chewy is notorious for its focus on customer delight. The pet supply company has a pulse on its target audience and appeals to their personality by sending thoughtful notes—usually by mail.
Chewy sent this handwritten birthday card for the author’s pet cat, Amber. This attention to detail and appeal to customers’ personal lives sets Chewy apart from other companies.
These can include birthday cards for pets as well as sympathy notes when a family’s four-legged friend passes away. On top of this, Chewy’s customer service goes above and beyond in these situations by offering refunds and even sending flowers to grieving families.
Even if this strategy is one of the company’s marketing campaigns, this continuous care and assistance have made Chewy customers some of the most loyal out there and contributed greatly to the company’s success. In Q3 of 2022, Chewy reported a 14.5% improvement in net sales year over year. It also generates brand awareness, as customers are eager to share their Chewy experiences with others or recommend the brand to their fellow pet owners.
3. NordVPN guides
Not only do NordVPN’s guides earn top spots in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but they also provide helpful tips and knowledge for its customers as well as potential customers.
Take its guide to double VPNs for example. When we searched “what is a double vpn,” Nord’s guide was the second result on page one.
When searching for “what is a double vpn” we found NordVPN’s guide in the second position on page one.
Clicking Nord’s link opens up a thorough explanation of what a double VPN is, its benefits, and when you should or shouldn’t use one. Because it ranks in the search engines, this content attracts Nord’s target audience. And because it also focuses on solving a potential problem customers might have, this double VPN guide also engages the audience.
NordVPN’s guide to double VPNs includes a call to action and simple guide to turning on the double VPN while using NordVPN.
At the end is a call to action (CTA), “Let’s double up your security” which notes that the double VPN feature is included with NordVPN and also features download links for multiple platforms. There’s also a three-step guide on how to turn on NordVPN’s double VPN feature.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves creating and distributing compelling, relevant, and valuable content for a clearly defined audience, also called a buyer persona. The goal of content marketing is to guide customers through the buying process and ultimately inspire them to take profitable action.
Content marketing methodologies typically aim to create content targeted toward the different stages of the buyer’s journey: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Sometimes these stages are referred to as the sales funnel, which pairs Awareness with Top of Funnel (TOFU), Consideration with Middle of Funnel (MOFU), and Decision with Bottom of Funnel (BOFU).
The buyer’s journey focuses on three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Source: HubSpot
Content marketers use the buyer’s journey to determine which types of content are most helpful or relevant to their target audience at that time. Some examples of the different types of relevant content marketers might use for each stage include:
Awareness stage: Blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, and social media posts
Consideration stage: Blog posts, webinars, and ebooks
Decision stage: Demos, landing pages, reviews, and case studies
Canva is an online design tool that doesn’t try to keep inspiration and how-to guides hidden behind a curtain. Its website and social media are full of quick tidbits aimed at helping its target audience of beginner users level up their design skills. (And potentially become Canva subscribers.)
Canva’s Twitter account includes step-by-step guides and videos to help its target audience learn how to use all of its many design tools.
Paired with consistent posts about newly released features, icons, and illustrations, Canva’s guides keep its audience engaged and excited about its product.
Guides don’t have to be boring. Instead, use them to inspire, educate, and delight your audience. A happy customer is a loyal customer.
2. OCEARCH’s marine life tracker
A non-profit, OCEARCH works to tag and research marine life as well as educate both children and adults on the sharks, whales, dolphins, and other animals that inhabit our oceans. Its live tracker map sparks curiosity and gives its audience a tool to better understand the once-secret lives of marine mammals and fish.
The OCEARCH tracker provides a unique tool for its target audience to track and learn about marine life.
The tracker also comes with a short bio about each tagged sea creature as well as their age, weight, and length. The biography cards also come with a call to action to support OCEARCH’s research and education initiatives.
Tools like this help a target audience feel like a part of the initiative and also inspire those further up the buyer’s journey funnel to learn more.
3. Taco Bell’s and Doja Cat’s Mexican Pizza comeback
Doja Cat loved Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza so much she was inspired to create a song about it. She posted her jam on TikTok (here’s a YouTube version) and, needless to say, the video took off. It gained so much attention that Taco Bell Tweeted about the now infamous menu item, saying it would be back and here to stay.
Doja Cat used her love of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza to inspire a catchy tune that caught the attention of thousands of audience members.
While this celebrity and restaurant pairing was unintentional, it just goes to show the power of social media content. If brands play their cards right by monitoring social media and engaging with their audience, they might be able to gain tons of attention that turns into customers and possibly even creates user-generated content (UGC).
3 Differences between inbound marketing and content marketing
1. A holistic approach vs. a content focus
While inbound marketing uses multiple types of marketing strategies that attract, engage, and delight customers, content marketing focuses on creating content that provides value and helps customers make an educated buying decision.
In fact, inbound marketing can use content marketing as one of the many strategies intended to reach customers. This marketing content could include SEO-optimized blog posts to attract prospects, contests and comparisons to engage them, and support content to delight them.
One of the primary goals of inbound marketing is to help your brand, product, or service get found by potential new customers. On the other hand, content marketing typically exists to nurture and guide your audience.
While both may have the same end goal of turning an audience member into a loyal customer, inbound marketing may use more direct tools such as freemium tools, free trials, or community building.
3. Inbound channels vs. outbound channels
As you might have guessed, inbound marketing relies heavily on inbound channels, or channels that bring customers in to the experience you’ve created for them. For example, your blog is an inbound channel that may use SEO to draw your audience in when they search Google.
Content marketing also uses inbound channels, but it also relies on outbound channels—these are channels that reach out to your audience. This includes paid ads that may reach your audience on other websites or even email newsletters that reach your audience in their inbox.
Use GatherContent to streamline your inbound marketing strategy
Both inbound marketing and content marketing are crucial for lead generation, engaging qualified leads, and delighting existing customers. And while they have distinct differences that we’ve discussed here, they also share some similarities.
One similarity is that you need a seamless integration of multiple processes to successfully implement either strategy. This includes content creation, optimization, distribution, and metrics measurement.
That’s where GatherContent shines. It helps you streamline your marketing efforts through its intuitive content planning, creation, collaboration, and management platform. With GatherContent, you can gather and organize content ideas, get stakeholder buy-in, build a library of templates and style guides, and ensure consistency across all distribution channels.
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