Effective marketing ideas require a lot of research and time to develop. But if you know your audience, you can develop marketing tactics that will work for them at each stage of the customer journey.
For example, you can use social media to encourage customers to tag your business in their posts. This spreads brand awareness and exposes you to a new audience.
Guerilla Marketing
In today’s world, where everyone is exposed to so many advertisements — and where subscription and streaming services allow viewers to skip commercials entirely — it can be challenging for marketers to cut through the noise and make their brand or product stand out. Guerrilla marketing offers a way to do just that, by surprise and delighting people in unexpected ways.
While traditional ads tend to blend into the background, clever guerilla campaigns can generate buzz and even go viral. They can be small, such as sidewalk chalk art or bench ads, or larger, like a stunt that turns a subway station into an orchestra. These campaigns often involve some element of interactivity, whether through branded costumes that invite people to take pictures or pop-up shops that provide fun experiences. They also use technology to amplify and track results.
Event ambush marketing, for example, takes advantage of captive audiences — at an event such as a movie premiere or music concert, or while they are stuck in traffic, for instance. A simple example would be a company handing out branded water bottles at the venue or organizing a flash mob to dance to promote a new movie.
The best guerrilla campaigns are unexpected, memorable, and aligned with the brand’s image. It’s also important that the campaign is safe and legal.
Posters
Posters offer a bold canvas for creativity, allowing businesses to experiment with eye-catching visuals and persuasive messaging. When placed strategically, posters can be an effective marketing tool that increases brand visibility and drives measurable returns. Posters can be a powerful promotional tool for a wide range of industries, including healthcare, retail, entertainment, and hospitality.
Poster advertising offers a cost-effective solution for reaching a wide audience and providing sustained exposure for brands. Posters can be customized in size, style, and color to suit specific audiences and environments. For example, a poster can feature a vibrant design for youth-oriented events or a minimalist approach to convey a professional message. Posters can also be used to communicate public service announcements and social awareness messages.
The first step to creating an effective poster is ensuring that your content is clear and concise. The headline text should be large and eye-catching, while the body copy should be readable from 3 to 6 feet away. Make sure your font size and font type are appropriate for the poster’s size and environment. Additionally, use high-quality images to attract attention and maintain consistency across designs.
If you’re presenting at a conference or other event, a poster can be an effective way to share your research and engage with attendees. However, it’s important to remember that poster presentations typically take place in crowded spaces with competing content. This can lead to low audience engagement if your poster is not properly formatted or presented in a favorable time slot.
Traditional Marketing
While digital marketing is essential for a successful business, it’s important to incorporate traditional methods into your strategy. Traditional marketing techniques include print ads, radio and television commercials, billboards, direct mail, networking with local businesses, and more. These strategies can help your business reach a wider audience and build brand recognition. They are also less likely to be avoided by audiences who use ad blockers.
Unlike digital marketing, which can be expensive and time-consuming, traditional marketing tactics are relatively cheap and easy to implement. They can also provide a high ROI for small businesses. Additionally, traditional marketing can be more effective at reaching certain demographics. For example, if you’re targeting older consumers, radio and TV ads may be more effective than online advertising.
Another advantage of traditional marketing is its ability to create a more personal connection with potential customers. Face-to-face interactions with a salesperson can be effective for building trust and closing the sale. Trade shows, conventions, and other events can also be a great place to network with potential clients and showcase your products or services.
Social Media
As social media grows in popularity, many businesses use it as a tool for marketing and customer service. McKinsey reports that 79 percent of customers expect to receive a response to their online complaints within 24 hours.
While the ubiquity of social media presents unique opportunities for companies, it can also present challenges. For example, the number of new social media sites launching each year can overwhelm communications teams, making it difficult to keep pace with new trends and technologies. One way to overcome this challenge is to establish work-in-progress limits for each team member. These limits encourage employees to focus on what they’re doing instead of jumping from one project to the next.
Effective marketing includes the ability to tell a compelling story that resonates with audiences. According to Erin Berman, founder of Blackbeard Studios and a brand storyteller, an irresistible story contains all the elements of a great movie: characters; their challenges and motivations; a setting; obstacles; and the climax (the value that your solution provides).
Creative social-media campaigns can help drive brand awareness and sales. For example, the Snicker’s “Hangry” campaign used humor to show how their candy bar is a sensible solution to a common customer pain point – being hangry. The campaign positioned Snicker’s product as the ideal snack for busy people on-the-go and helped the company become more relevant to its target audience.