A well thought out marketing strategy is an important component for every business. One of the things to consider when developing a marketing strategy is figuring out which marketing channels to invest in.
There are many different options, but not all of them make sense for every business. It is; therefore, best to invest in the marketing channels that are most appropriate for your target market. The rise of social media and internet usage has made digital marketing platforms extremely relevant. Here are four marketing channels you should be investing in.
Social media
According to EMarketer, there were over 1.43 billion social media users in 2012. This is a 19% increase from the 2011 figures. It’s obvious that social media usage is rapidly expanding, making it the perfect platform for a well-developed marketing strategy.
It is easy to target the right audience through networks like Facebook, which allow for targeted advertising. Twitter is a great way to share small amounts of information about products with a large number of people. There are also other social media networks; like LinkedIn, Tumblr, FourSquare, that can help market products at a fraction of the traditional cost.
Search engine marketing
Ranking high in search engine results is important as only the highest ranked websites get the most traffic. Search engine marketing includes paid advertisements, search engine optimization, and pay-per-click services. Investing in a new website and search engine marketing (SEM) services is not expensive. Most companies that provide SEM services will help develop the website, and website content for an all-inclusive price as well. SEM is a great way to increase the visibility for your product online, and works well with social media marketing methods as well.
Event marketing
Event marketing allows companies to target more specific groups of people as compared to traditional marketing methods like TV advertisements or billboards. It consists of sample distribution, interactive displays, and visual promotions at events. It is very common for companies to sponsor entire events – Mercedes Benz Fashion Week – which are branded to market a specific product.
You can also see event marketing in action at malls, where free samples are being provided. This means that companies – regardless of their marketing budget – can participate in this marketing channel as it is customizable. It is worth the money since it targets a specific type of customer in a more personal way as compared to other marketing channels.
Trade shows
Trade fairs (trade shows) allows companies to promote their products to a large number of potential consumers in the very short space of time. By having trained staff at the booth, collecting leads and quickly following up on them, it can be very easy to turn these potential consumers into actual buyers. This is one of the best methods for creating a lasting impression on consumers.
There are plenty of marketing channels available, but you should focus on using the ones that deliver the most bang for the buck.
Eva has been helping small businesses to improve their promotions for the last 3 years. Her expertise is in custom promotional merchandise, through her work at Custom Gear, one of Australia’s fastest growing branding companies.
Recent Comments