HubSpot’s 2018 State of Inbound report found that 63% of companies view generating traffic and leads as their biggest marketing challenge. Traditional advertising is less effective today, and newsrooms are shrinking by the day.
Consider an alternative – communicating with your centers of influence (COI). COIs are narrow audiences that are trusted by those who ultimately purchase or use your product or service. COIs are a good referral network because they’re often actively looking for solutions to their clients’ (your ideal customers) problems and challenges.
In working with these groups, the key is not to sell, but to educate and inform.
— Hollie Geitner, WordWrite Communications