Marketing, or advertising, may feel awkward or like some obscure creature that’s hard to understand or tame but I promise it’s not. With so many various mediums to use, the decision often boils down to which to use that connects with your customers plus testing what is working.
I suggest selecting between one to three methods to begin with and track those results. Tracking the results can be as easy as asking readers to “mention this ad,” “respond by a specific date,” “use this code,” or “use a specific page URL” and noting the unique hits to that URL. Put something in your advertising that can be measurable and tracked. Your overall message can be similar but vary the tracking element.
For my clients I recommend that if using three mediums for a specific marketing focus that each contains something uniquely identifiable. For example: on Twitter or Facebook we would use a hashtag. For article marketing we would include a URL link to a free download that has a counter to record the number of times it’s been downloaded. And for the third medium we’d ask readers to reply with a code word in the subject line or to mention seeing this ad to track how many saw the message.
Run your marketing for a minimum of three months, review the results you’ve collected during that time, and make some slight tweaks to enhance the results you received during this time. Marketing is all about testing, tracking, and tweaking. If you’re not tracking your marketing efforts then you won’t know with certainty what’s working.
Online Marketing Options
- Press Releases
- Article Marketing
- Article/Blog Commenting
- Guest Blogging
- Video Marketing/Blogging
- Blogging
- Podcasts
- Online Radio Show
- eCourse
- Workshop
- Email Marketing
- Social Media: Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Google+/Pinterest, etc.
- Forums / Online Chats
- Networking Groups
- eZine/Digital Newsletter
- Pink Spoon Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Joint Partnership Marketing
- Social Bookmarking
- Word of Mouth Marketing
- Referral Marketing
- Infographic Sharing
- eBooks
- Paperback/Hardback Book
- Pay Per Click Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Google Adwords
- Host an Online Contest
- QR Codes
- Website
- Customized Email Signature Block
- Free Reports/White Papers/Checklists
Offline Marketing Options
- Newsletter
- Postcards
- Brochures
- Business Cards
- Newspaper Ads
- Radio Ads
- Television Ads
- Sponsorship Ads or a Team Sponsorship or Sponsor Gift Bags
- Auction Donations
- Conference Attendee
- Conference Vendor
- Trade Show
- Note Cards/Greeting & Holiday Cards/Thank You Cards
- Public Speaking
- On-Site Training Workshops
- Handouts/Flyers
- Premium Marketing (pens, tote bags, t-shirts, etc.)
- Marketing Wrapped Vehicle or Vehicle Magnets
- Cold Calling
- Coffee/Dessert Meetings
- Provide a Prize for a Local Contest
- In-Person Networking Events (Chamber Meetings, Business Mixers, etc.)
It’s not mandatory to market in each of these mediums. It IS crucial for you to know who your customers are, what their interests are regarding their business, and where these customers would anticipate seeing your advertising.
While it is a good community gesture to sponsor an ad in the local high school yearbook, the reality is that you probably won’t get a customer from someone reading that ad. So do you say no to a yearbook ad? It’s entirely up to you. The parent who is co-chairing the yearbook committee may be a business owner you’ve been trying to reach. This may be a way to strike up a conversation over a common interest point that over time, and relationship building, could lead to bigger business. But the reality is that it most likely is a feel-good type ad that won’t have strong conversion possibilities. Only you will know if you should spend part of your marketing budget here. Apply this same type of consideration to each medium.
Try using a combination of these 4 core fundamentals to marketing:
Advertising: you are calling attention to your own products, services, and needs your business answers for others.
Publicity: securing public notice to your business offerings by being in the news, by word of mouth or other communications. The key is others talking positively about your business on your behalf.
Sales Promotions: giving your current and potential customers advance notice of a service, product, or need that your business provides that they can use, buy, recommend, or share with others. You are encouraging others to take action during a specific time period.
Personal Selling: having 1-on-1 contact with a prospective buyer where you can personally address their specific needs and offer tailored responses, services, and answers via your product offerings.
Before venturing into any marketing medium determine if your preferred customer would typically be seeing this type of advertisement. Let who your end customer is, determine where you place your marketing efforts and marketing dollars. Your customers will drive your marketing presence, and in turn, your marketing frequency will drive your customers [to you].