Marketing is easy, they say. Just focus on selling the product, they say. Who the heck are “they” and what planet are they from? There’s so much more to marketing than you think. It’s building a brand. It’s collecting and utilizing data. It’s coming up with fresh creative marketing ideas monthly, if not daily. And it doesn’t end there. You have to be creative and try new things that your competitors haven’t even thought of. It’s a game that continually pushes you to come up with the next best thing.
Even some of the top brands in the country still have trouble coming up with creative marketing strategies that aren’t too annoying or repetitive or flat out boring. In fact, we’re a little tired of the same old loud commercials playing in the background trying to abruptly get our attention.
Do you know what I’m talking about? The ones where they don’t actually pique your interest but instead just drive you crazy? Go ahead and start humming that annoying jingle you hear during commercial breaks. Yup. And it’s playing again in my head. And again. I’m now covering my ears, shaking my head and screaming “PLEASE MAKE IT STOOOPP!” Just kidding, kinda.
Contrary to popular belief, there are ways to avoid blending in with the crowd whilst not compromising a consumer’s sanity. You just gotta put a little work into it. “Work…you’re telling me I need to put in even more work aside from my day to day responsibilities?” Yes, unfortunately, nothing in life comes easy. Unless you’ve married into royalty. Or your parents are still your sole source of income. But I digress.
It’s time to get creative and come up with marketing ideas that very few businesses are implementing. Sounds exhilarating and you want to start right now, you say? Well ok then! Buckle up your seat belt folks, cause we’re about to take you on a roller coaster ride of ideas.
Let’s start off light and then get to the more complex ideas further along the list:
When you’re not sure whether you should get in line for Goliath…
You Partake in Guerrilla Marketing
Ok. We know what you’re thinking. “You just spent your whole intro lecturing us on how we shouldn’t be annoying, etc.” Just hear me out. There’s a difference between posting banners of your upcoming event all around town and interrupting your consumer’s online shopping experience with a bunch of pop-up ads. Guerrilla marketing is defined as “an advertisement strategy concept designed for businesses to promote their products or services in an unconventional way with little budget to spend” according to trusty Wikipedia.
There’s a tattoo company in Chandler, Arizona that everyone in the office knows about. Why? Because they’ve plastered their company’s logo everywhere in the valley. In fact, one day I was leaving my baby shower in North Mesa and spotted a “Disciple Tattoo” sticker on the back of a stop sign. Later that day I went to visit my in-laws and noticed the same sticker while sitting at a red light in Gilbert. They weren’t invasive but they definitely caught my attention. Now I just need to decide what new tattoo I should get. BRB.
When you muster up the courage to get in line and step onto the ride…
You Host a Giveaway on Social Media
Once you’ve hosted a giveaway on social media, there’s no turning back. We don’t mean to sound dramatic, but big things are coming your way. “People love free stuff,” a quote by pretty much every human being. I love free stuff, you love free stuff, so why don’t you offer up a product or service to get people talking?
Plus, engagement on your posts is pretty cool too. If you’ve got something worth a buzz, share it on your company’s social media accounts and announce a winner after 2-3 days. Ask a question in your post or simply have people like your page for a chance to win. You could even link up with an influencer, but we’ll get into that in a moment.
When you’ve fully committed and you’re already strapped in…
You Ask for User Generated Content
First off, if you don’t know what user-generated content is, it’s basically leveraging your audience to share their own content publicly. Say you’re a resort and you’ve got fabulous pools all around the property. You can create a post asking your followers to share a photo or experience of their own at one of your pools. Boom. Your most loyal guests will start posting pics like there’s no tomorrow.
Or, if you don’t have three lavish pools where your guests can spend hours sunbathing, you can run a fun “caption this photo” poll. The key is to make it easy for your followers to engage. Asking too much from people may cause them to give up entirely.
On your mark, get set, gooo!
The Power of Leveraging Social Media Influencers
As promised above, it’s time to discuss social media influencers. A new term for many, SM influencers are on the rise. They’re relevant, trendy, trust-worthy, have accumulated a loyal following, and much more. We’re not suggesting you try to reach out to Kim K. for a spot on her ‘gram, but we do suggest reaching out to a local influencer or someone who is more in your niche.
Do you sell customized baby products? Research and seek out popular mom bloggers who are willing to mention your products in their posts in exchange for free goodies. If you sell a service, like dog sitting, it’s wise to direct message local influencers who mainly post about dogs in exchange for some type of fee.
You’ll want to feel confident and be established in your business before reaching out to an influencer, otherwise, they might move on to the next best offer.
When you’re slowly climbing up to the top…
You Record Podcasts
Let’s face it. Ain’t nobody got time to read books anymore. In this go, go, go life we live in, information is best consumed through earbuds. People can listen to podcasts at the gym, while in the car, on a run, or even at work. See a trend here? Multitasking at its finest.
If you have a great subject you could talk about for hours, podcast it.
When you’re at the top of the highest drop…
You Create and Host Webinars
Sharing is caring. When you present your wealth of knowledge to a group of people, they’ll likely begin to trust you and buy into what you have to say. I personally enjoy watching webinars about how to write compelling blogs that keep people’s attention (how am I doing so far?)
Anyway, webinars are a great lead generation tool. Your audience will learn a thing or two about your product or service, while you collect their email and other basic information. Win-win!
Once you’re midway through the ride…
You Offer Free + Shipping Offers
Here’s the deal. Let’s say you sell soy candles (yes that’s a thing, look it up if you don’t believe me) and you’re at a standstill in orders for the week. You’ve tried every trick in the book to get people to buy a pumpkin spice soy candle in preparation for fall. But it’s just not working.
Ugh. What gives?
We have an idea that might work (and will help you collect emails too). Offer a free candle plus the cost of shipping. The customer essentially pays only the “shipping fee” which equals the estimated cost/lead + material cost + shipping, therefore, your customer acquisition cost is paid for by the customer AND you got them as a lead. SCORE.
For when you come to the end of the roller coaster ride…
You Personalize Campaigns
We all like it when a company caters to our wants and needs. I mean, how else are you going to sucker me into buying a third pair of Birkenstocks in a year? When you personalize campaigns, you speak to the consumer in a way that stands out above the rest.
Try this on for size: Send a personalized email asking your customers what they like and want to see more of. After that, send them a custom URL with content and offers specifically designed for them. It sounds like a tough task, but it works.
We hope you enjoyed the ride and gained useful info from this post. If you have any questions or comments for us, please write them below!
