Starting a new business venture, or indeed simply beginning a new campaign means that marketing comes to the forefront and with it, the challenges of how to create and make a successful strategy that pays dividends and keeps your consumer base happy.
How many of us stick to tried and trusted methods and perhaps let other ideas slip by the wayside? If so, then it might be time to look at some other approaches to marketing. Here are seven thoughtful ways to market your business that might be worth considering if you haven’t done so before.
Challenge your team to get creative
Some companies see infographics as old hat, but they are still an incredibly powerful marketing tool when done correctly and these days you really don’t have to spend a fortune to get it right. They’re immensely shareable and contain easy to digest nuggets of information that can drive traffic to your site and increase referrals, links and sales.
It can cost a lot to hire a top designer to make one for you, but these days there are a wide range of commitment free graphic design programs online that allow companies to make their own creative infographics and adverts for free, or for a very low expenditure. A very worthy consideration and one which can help unleash your team’s creativity.
Breathe new life into old data
Coming up with new, fresh and inventive content is tricky, and more so if you’re operating on a tighter budget. One way around this is to simply re-invent what’s already out there.
Steady on, no plagiarising here. The idea is to take some time to conduct research relating to the industry you work in and find studies, statistics or journal articles that highlight interesting facts. Take the most salient points from these, add in some stock images and graphics and then give it an original twist by adding your own predictions at the end.
Also Read
The data is already there, it just needs polishing up. What, to some, might be an article that originally provided little interest, is now a worthy piece of good content that can help drive traffic to your site and to the original articles you’re going to cite and link to in your work.
Target different social media platforms
LinkedIn is still an incredibly important tool and often flies under the radar and isn’t used enough. Don’t just see it as a platform to make connections and then forget about them. Instead, use it to actively talk to people and get involved in industry conversations that matter to you. Make your voice heard on there and it can reap real rewards.
Customer referrals count
The customer referral still matters a lot. Your existing relationships with the people who buy from you can help gain you more traction, especially if you offer them an incentive to stay. What can you offer? A free gift, or a free trial of a new service? Word of mouth is still a very powerful marketing tool and what consumers say about you counts for a lot.
Thought about competitions and giveaways?
This is one idea that will require some initial outlay but can really reap rewards. Setting up competitions and giveaways can give you a whole new outreach to many more potential customers.
How tight is your budget and what could you offer? A printed t-shirt design or mug? Maybe a fancy bag or metal water bottle? You could even run to something very cool and quirky like a custom magic 8 ball. There are sites online that can help you make setting up and running a competition or giveaway easy and hassle free (not to mention easily shareable).
Partnerships and award schemes
Look to find businesses that operate in the same industry as you do, but aren’t direct competitors and team up to work together on joint partnerships that can help promote the both of you and perhaps even contribute to something worthwhile, like a charitable cause or not for profit organisation who are doing good work in the local community.
A partner scheme with another business means twice the amount of excellent publicity and can reap rewards in the long term. Think about business awards too, and which you could enter to add credibility to your brand and image.