The first step in inbound marketing is to Get Found Online. If you aren’t found, the inbound marketing process won’t work. We tell businesses to blog daily (at a minimum), optimize their websites and engage in social media. Do this and customers will find you. But there are limits as to how fast the customers will find you and it is usually not as fast as the business owner would like.

The reasons for this are varied. The competition may have been on the internet doing the right things for a long time. It takes a while for new businesses to get up to speed writing good blog articles. And it takes a while to get a lot of material out on the internet.

This is where social media can help you jump start your inbound marketing. Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Join in their conversations and discussions. Answer questions. Listen to what others are saying. Give your opinion. Allow yourself to be seen as an expert in your area. Let others know about your blog and website.

Sometimes, especially when you are first getting started with inbound marketing, you just need to go to where your potential customers are and let them know you are available. Social media sites are some of the best places to do this online.