January 31 2011: Writing and promoting content using search marketing, social media, blogging, email marketing and PR… this is the hot new marketing trend this year, say Mukund and Revathi Krishna, the drivers behind Content Crossroads, an Indian enterprise with presence in Germany and the US. 

We share their perspective -- and some useful links to other resources on the subject. Inbound marketing, as opposed to outbound advertising, is the way companies will promote themselves in 2012.

With the economy not quite out of the doldrums, most companies are still trimming expenses and looking for cost-effective ways to structure their campaigns.
Inbound marketing, which includes the promotion of content via blogging, email, social media and SEO, costs 62% less than traditional mass marketing and advertising campaigns. The method here is to create smart content which the user can find and link back to you or your product- instead of putting up a 10-foot banner which says ‘buy me now.’
Great content is the core of a good inbound marketing campaign, and more and more companies are encouraging their employees to blog and join social media conversations. Content marketing takes time, effort, planning and thinking out of the box- but is still worth the trouble since the costs are lower than traditional marketing.
Since inbound marketing is driven by unique content, companies will have to develop a team to manage all their content marketing needs. While it appears to be something most companies can handle on their own, as the volume increases, companies may have to look at specialized marketing agencies to take care of all their content needs. So 2012 is going to be the year of inbound marketing as well as specialized marketing agencies.
This is not a passing fad- inbound marketing is here to stay.
Sources: http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-chicago/inbound-marketing-equals-a-successful-campaign-2012  
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/164581/3-marketing-mega-trends-for-2012.html  
Content Crossroads ( www.contentcrossroads.com  ) establishes brands online by creating high quality content and marketing it through blogs, emails, websites, newsletters and social media engagement. CC is an initiative of Suyati Technologies, a Software Services company based out of Infopark, Kochi, KERALA, with presence in the United States and Germany.Revathi Krishna is Chief Content Officer at Content Crossroads. Mukund Krishna is CEO, Suyati (www.Suyati.com )