The 4S Consumer Behaviours and the Natural Evolution of Inbound Marketing

Digital transformation continues to advance, and Marketing is in constant evolution. The traditional funnel, which for decades guided communication and sales strategies, now needs to evolve to keep pace with changes in people’s behaviour.

Recent research by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) highlights the so-called 4S behaviours – streaming, scrolling, searching and shopping – which are redefining how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products and services.

Is the way you design and implement your Marketing Strategy already adapted to this new post-pandemic reality? Are you taking into account your customers’ new digital preferences and habits?

From the sales funnel to Influence Maps

For years, marketing professionals based their strategies on the AIDA model and its derivatives. This linear model assumed that consumers followed an orderly path: discovery, consideration, purchase and loyalty. Inbound marketing itself, popularised by HubSpot, was structured around the traditional funnel of “attract, convert, close and delight” and later evolved to the concept of the Marketing flywheel, illustrating a shift towards a more dynamic paradigm.

Even acknowledging that the customer journey is not linear, these stages still help organise the process and identify content gaps.

As consumers, we navigate – often unconsciously – across multiple platforms. We pass through various touchpoints and make purchasing decisions in a non-linear and sometimes instantaneous way. This shift does not invalidate the core principles of inbound marketing, but it does require an evolution in how they are applied in practice.

Influence Maps and the 4S behaviours in the customer journey

Influence Maps are visual representations that identify and organise the multiple touchpoints and interactions that influence consumers throughout their decision-making journey, from discovery to purchase, taking into account non-linear digital behaviours.

According to the article, more than visibility, true influence depends on three factors:

Attention: it is not enough for the consumer to see the ad or post; it must be meaningful to capture attention.

Relevance: the suitability of the message in responding to real needs.

Trust: to purchase, the customer must trust both the solution and the channels or platforms themselves (the brand’s touchpoints).

1. Streaming: continuous and personalised content

Streaming goes far beyond entertainment. Consumers consume content continuously through YouTube, podcasts and social media, among others. This change represents a natural evolution of a fundamental inbound marketing principle: creating valuable content that attracts an audience.

Streaming strengthens the inbound “attraction” phase by enabling brands to maintain an ongoing dialogue with their audience. Unlike traditional static content, streaming allows sequential narratives that accompany consumers over time, creating opportunities for deeper and longer-lasting relationships.

Creating content to be consumed in the same way people watch series is very different from producing brochures or purely promotional content, as was common ten years ago.

Referring to the Content Matrix, people are on social media to be entertained and to socialise. The role of content creators is to find engaging ways to deliver the message.

2. Scrolling: value discovery

Scrolling has become the new digital shop window. People spend hours browsing social media feeds without a specific purchase intent, but open to discovery. The ability to capture attention in seconds has become crucial.

This dynamic creates an opportunity to surprise consumers at the moment of passive discovery, a concept that goes beyond the traditional inbound SEO strategy. Content must be magnetic and relevant to stop the scroll, and valuable enough to generate engagement. What type of content captures your customer’s attention? What emotions do you want to evoke?

3. Searching: search behaviour

Search has evolved significantly over the past decade. Consumers use image search through Google Lens, ask questions via voice search, interact with AI-powered assistants, and look for video reviews on YouTube. This multiplicity of channels requires a holistic approach to SEO and Content Marketing.

Search remains a central pillar of inbound marketing, but it has expanded. The traditional strategy of “being found when the customer searches” is still valid, but it must now encompass multiple formats and platforms, from text to voice and image.

This is where the search terms your customers use to find solutions come into play. Are you being intentional when creating content across multiple platforms?

4. Shopping: integrated transactions

Modern shopping is fluid and omnipresent. Consumers expect to be able to purchase through social media posts, video ads or directly during a search. The distinction between discovery content, solution consideration and purchase decision has blurred.

This evolution represents the merging of the traditional inbound phases of “conversion” and “delight”. Integrated shopping allows every touchpoint to become a potential moment of conversion, eliminating barriers between content marketing and sales.

The purchasing process should be seamless and aligned with customer preferences. How do your customers prefer to buy your product or service? Is it worth investing in customer education to support the adoption of new technologies?

Online purchasing has grown significantly across all age groups. Are we too attached to rigid ways of thinking? Listening to the market matters.

Inbound Marketing and the 4S behaviours: a necessary synthesis

Integrating the 4S behaviours with inbound marketing principles results in a hybrid approach that preserves the philosophy of attracting customers through valuable content, while adapting to the non-linear reality of the modern consumer.

How to adapt Inbound Marketing to consumer behaviour

Streaming: instead of creating isolated content pieces, brands should develop continuous narratives that keep audiences engaged over time.

Scrolling: leverage moments of passive discovery to introduce relevant, educational and valuable content in a non-intrusive way.

Search: be present across all formats and platforms where consumers search for information.

Shopping: remove barriers between education and purchase, enabling conversions at any stage of the journey.

From strategy to execution

Phase 1: Strategic Audit

• Analysis of brand content assets and their performance
• Mapping the customer journey through 4S behaviours
• Identification of integration opportunities across behaviours
• Assessment of digital presence across multiple platforms

Phase 2: Integrated Content Development

• Streaming Strategy: development of continuous educational content series
• Scrolling Optimisation: adaptation of existing content into multiple formats, for example transforming a carousel into a short video that captures attention from the first seconds
• Search Expansion: diversification of content for multiple search platforms (text, audio and video)
• Shopping Integration: integration of purchasing functionalities across touchpoints, supported by educational content

Phase 3: Continuous optimisation

• Unification of the inbound experience across all 4S touchpoints
• Implementation of lead scoring systems adapted to non-linear behaviours
• Creation of Marketing Automation workflows that account for multiple interactions, focusing on journeys and possible shortcuts
• Data-driven analysis and optimisation based on multi-platform behavioural data, prioritising evidence over assumptions

The role of Artificial Intelligence

AI emerges as a key enabler of the 4S behaviours.

It immediately brings to mind countless possibilities, from video series creation and podcasts to specialised newsletters and shopping campaign optimisation.

Artificial intelligence enables brands to respond in real time to consumer needs and preferences, amplifying the traditional capabilities of inbound marketing.

Opportunities to act now

The current market presents unique conditions that favour the adoption of 4S behaviours. With widespread mobile device usage, a digitally literate population and a growing e-commerce ecosystem, companies have a real opportunity to lead this transformation.

Many brands have already adopted inbound marketing principles without consciously naming them: they created blogs with keywords aligned to the customer journey and produced educational, SEO-optimised content that builds confidence and supports purchase decisions.

This solid foundation can be strengthened by integrating the 4S behaviours, creating a significant competitive advantage.

There are opportunities both for B2C brands and B2B markets. There is still much to be done in terms of high-quality content in European Portuguese.

Time and focus are required to guide Marketing and Sales teams to work differently and collaboratively.

Conclusion: the evolution of Inbound Marketing

In Marketing and Media, there is always someone declaring the death of something. We will not take that route.

The 4S behaviours do not represent the end of Inbound Marketing, but rather its natural evolution.

The core philosophy of attracting, converting and delighting customers through valuable and relevant content remains valid, but its execution must adapt to the non-linear reality of today’s consumer.

• Maintaining core customer-centric marketing principles
• Adapting to new content consumption behaviours
• Being present at every moment of discovery and decision
• Seamless integration between relevant content and conversion

For companies that have already invested in content and SEO, this represents not a radical shift, but a strategic expansion of existing capabilities.

The question is not whether Inbound Marketing will survive the 4S behaviours, but how brands will integrate both realities into a cohesive and effective strategy. The time to begin this transition is now.