Happy Halloween. Yesterday, I momentarily assumed everyone had today off. But no, Halloween is not actually a bank holiday. I think it should be, don’t you? That’s not why we’re here, though (or rather, it is why we’re here, typing away). Mashable<\/strong>, as they are wont to do, posted a great infographic. This one is about inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing and why the former is unequivocally better for business. Outbound, or traditional, marketing refers to pushing products in intrusive ways, like direct mail, TV commercials, and glaring web ads. Inbound marketing refers to the process of earning consumer interest through\u00a0(you guessed it) social media, blogs, white papers, and other content intended to educate and entertain consumers while also making your brand visible. A few stats from the graphic:<\/p>\n 84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an \u201cirrelevant or intrusive ad.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 57% of businesses have acquired a customer through their company blog, and 42% have acquired a customer through Twitter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Those numbers speak for themselves. And I’ll admit to including that first one because it’s a personal pet peeve. Content marketing, while not content merchandising per se, is a close cousin, and the same basic guideline applies: be informative, not pushy.<\/p>\n