So its the beginning of the new year and the time where most companies are contemplating new budgets and where to allocate funds to see the highest return possible. In light of this, this edition of “Getting Graphic” will discuss types of available marketing available in 2019 and how to best decide what works for your business.
1. CONTENT MARKETING
The definition of content marketing is a loose one, but essentially it is the use of any content to help you reach your marketing goals. Whether it’s acquiring new customers, retention of existing ones, or building brand awareness – content marketing can be an awesome way to achieve any of them.
One of the biggest hesitations in companies dispersing resources to content marketing is that it is hard to understand/measure the benefit of it. The idea of increasing your company’s profile to your clientele sounds great – but the results aren’t always measurable by an increase in sales. So let’s dive into what content marketing can provide your business, making it a little easier to evaluate its value.
- Conversation Starter: Creating interesting and relatable content can get people talking. Word-of-mouth has always been, and always will be, one of the most effective forms of advertising. Content marketing can instantly create “buzz” around your company or product. If the content is interesting enough, it can be shared extensively by people who see it, without spending an additional dollar.
- Instant Accreditation: By creating content that is related to your company, industry or products – it gives you an opportunity to put your expertise on display. It allows existing and potential customers to build trust in your brand by exposing them to tips, tricks, advice and other content they can have for free.
- Sense of Teamwork: The use of content marketing can bring a uniformity to you staff as well. Content is the base of your marketing campaign and the development of it can bring all areas of your business together, where the might not normally interact. It forces your marketing team to discuss the content with sales staff, technical staff, management and more in order to create the content best suited for the marketing goals you have set aside.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
The 2000s have brought around the social media era – and has evolved into a gigantic opportunity for business to market their business at little to no cost if done right. It is a powerful way for you to reach prospects and customers. Your customers are already interacting with tons of brands and companies through social media, and if you’re not part of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, – you’re definitely missing out!
So what can SMM help you with? Well, its pretty simple really….everything. But breaking it down into more specific advantages, it can:
- Increasing website traffic
- Building consumer conversions
- Raising or initializing brand awareness
- Creating a positive brand identity and association
- Improving interaction with key consumers & audiences
3. NATIVE ADVERTISING
Native advertising is the art of putting feature content on a third-party website, usually for a fee of some sort. The point of native advertising is to naturally advertise your content within another environment, such as a video, article or info-graphic. Unlike traditional advertising, which is designed to draw attention or stand out, native advertising is designed to blend in to an existing environment and subtly promote your brand to a different audience.
The main draw to native advertising is that it doesn’t feel like “traditional” advertising, therefore, it has a higher interaction rate than say banner advertising…in fact nearly 2X as effective. Although native isn’t new and is dramatically more effective than other forms of 3rd party advertising, It shouldn’t replace all content marketing efforts, it should definitely be added to or upped as part of your overall marketing campaigns. The process of creating native advertising content is simple and direct, as long as it isn’t blatantly promotional or sales focused.
There are obviously more avenues that you can venture into when it comes to marketing your company, product or brand – items like Video Marketing, Email Marketing or even Chatbots are options depending on your company and its marketing strategy. I chose to focus on the areas and trends that are what I consider the best avenue for my clientele, small-to-medium sized business owners. The biggest thing before venturing into any of these areas is to do your research and have a plan! Knowing what your market is and what your goals are will go a long way in allocating your marketing dollars most effectively.