Tuesday at BIA/Kelsey’s Leading in Local Conference, HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan emphasized that the local marketing game has changed – dramatically, secularly. Traditional “push” marketing techniques (usually requiring large budgets) no longer resonate with many consumers. Rather, small/medium businesses must be nimble and creative, qualities at the foundation of the company’s inbound marketing approach.

“It’s much harder to turn money into interest today,” Halligan said. Rather, for SMBs that invest in creating their own content that fosters engagement (rather than “renting space” from someone else), the Internet “can pull it like wind pulling the sails of your business.”

This content that drives inbound marketing can take several forms: blogs, articles, e-books, webinars, menus and more. Fresh content drives inbound links, and “links give you leverage.” The net effect of committed content marketing is a “new moat” around a business to shield it from competitors that aren’t as engaged with their customers. The new winning formula for SMBs: “fat brains, skinny wallets.”

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