7 Types of Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Business Growth
Marketing is the process of creating, delivering and exchanging value for customers, clients and society. Marketing strategies are the plans and actions that marketers use to achieve their marketing objectives and goals. There are many types of marketing strategies, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will explore seven of the most common and effective marketing strategies that can help you grow your business.
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing is the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and drive profitable customer action. Content marketing can take many forms, such as blog posts, ebooks, videos, podcasts, infographics, webinars, case studies and more. Content marketing can help you establish your authority, educate your prospects, generate leads, nurture relationships and increase conversions.
2. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Social media marketing can help you increase your brand awareness, reach new audiences, engage with your followers, drive traffic to your website, generate leads and sales. Some of the most popular social media platforms for marketing are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and TikTok.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing is the use of email to send messages to a group of people who have given you permission to contact them. Email marketing can help you communicate with your existing customers, build loyalty and trust, increase repeat purchases, cross-sell and upsell your products or services, deliver personalized offers and recommendations, and recover abandoned carts. Some of the best practices for email marketing are segmenting your list, crafting catchy subject lines, writing engaging copy, adding clear calls to action and testing your campaigns.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your website from organic search engine results. SEO can help you increase your visibility, credibility and authority in your niche, attract more qualified leads, generate more conversions and revenue. Some of the key elements of SEO are keyword research, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, technical SEO and analytics.
5. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the use of paid advertising to increase the visibility of your website on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEM can help you reach your target audience at the right time and place, drive more traffic to your website, generate more leads and sales, test new products or offers and measure your performance. Some of the most common SEM platforms are Google Ads, Bing Ads and Amazon Advertising.
6. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is the use of influential people who have a large and engaged following on social media or other platforms to endorse or promote a product or service. Influencer marketing can help you increase your brand awareness, trust and credibility, reach new audiences, generate word-of-mouth referrals and conversions. Some of the types of influencers are celebrities, experts, bloggers, vloggers, micro-influencers and nano-influencers.
7. Referral Marketing
Referral marketing is the use of incentives or rewards to encourage your existing customers to refer new customers to your business. Referral marketing can help you acquire more customers at a lower cost, increase customer retention and loyalty, improve customer satisfaction and advocacy and boost your reputation and word-of-mouth. Some of the ways to implement referral marketing are creating a referral program, offering discounts or freebies, asking for referrals at the right time and thanking your referrers.
Types of Marketing Strategies
Marketing strategies are the techniques you use to reach your target audiences. They can use a variety of formats, including traditional forms like radio, print and TV campaigns and digital techniques like pay-per-click advertisements, search engine optimization, website content and social media posts. In this article, we will explore three types of marketing strategies that have been developed, tried and tested by generations of marketers from various industries.
Outdoor Marketing
Outdoor marketing is any type of marketing that takes place outside of the consumer’s home—and outside of the digital realm. This form of marketing relies on high visibility within the public realm and may include billboards, flyers, shop signs, transit vehicles, bench ads, or even stickers—all designed to draw attention to a particular business or service. Outdoor marketing can help promote services throughout a community, or create brand awareness more broadly, across multiple markets.
According to Statista, outdoor advertising revenue in the United States reached $9.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $10.1 billion in 2021. Some examples of successful outdoor marketing campaigns are:
- The Coca-Cola Happiness Machine: A vending machine that dispensed free drinks, pizza, flowers and other surprises to unsuspecting customers.
- The IKEA Moving Day: A campaign that distributed free cardboard boxes with IKEA branding and coupons to people who were moving in Montreal, Canada.
- The Spotify Wrapped: A campaign that showcased personalized data from Spotify users on billboards around the world, such as the most streamed songs, artists and genres.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is a type of digital marketing that involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Content marketing can take many forms, such as blog posts, ebooks, infographics, videos, podcasts, webinars and newsletters. Content marketing can help educate potential customers, build trust and credibility, generate leads and conversions and improve SEO rankings.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 70% of B2B marketers surveyed say they have much more or somewhat more success with content marketing than they did one year ago. Some examples of successful content marketing campaigns are:
- The HubSpot Blog: A popular blog that covers topics related to marketing, sales and customer service, with over 7 million monthly visitors.
- The Dollar Shave Club Video: A viral video that introduced the brand’s subscription service for razors with humor and personality, generating 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours.
- The Airbnb Magazine: A print and digital magazine that features stories from Airbnb hosts and travelers around the world, inspiring readers to explore new destinations and experiences.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that involves collaborating with influential people who have a large and engaged following on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok or Twitter. Influencer marketing can help brands reach new audiences, increase brand awareness, generate social proof and drive sales. Influencer marketing can take various forms, such as sponsored posts, product reviews, giveaways or live events.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $13.8 billion in 2021. Some examples of successful influencer marketing campaigns are:
- The Fenty Beauty Launch: A campaign that featured diverse influencers from different backgrounds, skin tones and genders to promote Rihanna’s inclusive makeup line.
- The Daniel Wellington Watch: A campaign that leveraged micro-influencers to post photos of themselves wearing the brand’s minimalist watch with a unique discount code.
- The GoPro Awards: A campaign that encouraged users to submit their best photos and videos captured with GoPro cameras for a chance to win cash prizes and exposure.
Marketing strategies are essential for any business that wants to reach and engage its target customers. By choosing the right type of marketing strategy for your industry, goals and budget, you can increase your chances of success in a competitive market. Whether you opt for outdoor marketing, content marketing or influencer marketing—or a combination of them—you can create impactful campaigns that resonate with your audience.
References:
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/30841/1/MPRA_paper_30841.pdf
http://sdh.ba.ttu.edu/JBandIM2004pdf.pdf
https://www.shopify.com/blog/types-marketing
18 Common Types of Marketing (Examples Included) – Ahrefs
50 Types of Marketing Strategies for Promoting a Business – Indeed
Marketing in Business: Strategies and Types Explained – Investopedia
https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-marketing-plan/
https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/email-marketing/
https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
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