What are the alternatives to digital marketing?

There are many different marketing alternatives to digital marketing. Before the internet, businesses did marketing and very successfully! We have compiled these articles to assist you in your pursuit of marketing. The same marketing principles apply to digital and traditional marketing. Digital marketing is a medium; traditional marketing is doing your marketing without the internet. Both work. Some take more time than others.

^[1]Marketing strategies exist so individual brands can stand out. But in an era when many brands, including your competitors, have a strong online presence and are employing the same marketing techniques you use, standing out can be challenging.

Some tried-and-tested digital marketing techniques, such as marketing SEO services, content optimization, e-mail marketing, and outsourced web design for mobile compatibility, have proven success in brand building and recognition; as a result, companies use them regularly to expand their reach.

However, the results of these techniques may plateau over time, especially if your competitors are doing the same.

1. Developing a Buyer Persona

Let’s say you own a cosmetics company specializing in vegan, organic products. How will you start promoting your products? On which platform will you advertise them? What message and imagery will you use? You’ll be able to answer these questions easily if you develop your brand’s buyer persona.

In a nutshell, a buyer persona is a research-based profile of your target customers or audience. It describes their demographics, preferences, pain points, problems, and buying behavior. A buyer persona helps you get into the mindset of your customers and allows you to determine what they might want from your brand and what solutions you can provide.

With a buyer persona to back you up, you can create tailored marketing campaigns that appeal to your target customers more than just a generic marketing approach. You also save on marketing resources by spending more on people who will likely buy your products and services.

2. Investing in Original Research

When it comes to content optimization, one of the best practices is to update your content regularly. Freshness is one of Google’s ranking factors when it comes to content. So, even if your blog of two years ago talked about makeup trends at the time, it still has ranking potential if you updated it recently.

But what would you add to an already good blog post?

Experts suggest investing in your own research, for example. You may commission a research and analytics group to conduct a survey on your behalf or do it yourself by sending your subscribers an e-mail with an easy-to-answer questionnaire. You can do it from your website before customers check out or while they’re browsing. Then, you can offer a discount code or a free item in return for answering the survey. Whatever way you want it done, you’ll be able to gather relevant data directly from the people interested in your products.

Going back to the cosmetics company example, you may run a survey on people’s preference for organic vs. non-organic cosmetics. Once you publish the results, you may generate links and collaborate with reputable websites and other blogs that are updating their content for link building initiatives. Not only will this lead to more traffic to your page, but it will also make your website more authoritative.

3. Optimizing for Voice Search Technology

At the Gartner Digital Marketing Conference in 2017, research leaders presented how voice search is seeing an ever-increasing share of search volume. They projected that “by 2020, 30% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen,” thanks to voice search technology. Coupled with the fact that millions of households in the U.S. now have smart speakers, this prediction points to voice search becoming the future or, as a result, typing and tapping on keyboards and screens might soon be a thing of the past.

This means that as a part of your marketing efforts, you may have to optimize your content for voice search. The best practices for doing so include focusing on long-tail keywords and using natural voice instead of intellectual speak. The latter is more appropriate for written searches. Setting up a FAQ page is also an effective strategy because you’re presenting a question in the manner an internet user might ask it and providing an answer immediately.

4. Launching a Native Advertising Campaign

Have you seen the “you might also like” blog post links at the bottom of the articles you’re reading? Usually, these recommended posts are from the same website. However, you might have noticed some recommended articles that say another site sponsors them. These are native ads, and they’re a great way to drive traffic to specific blog posts without resorting to intrusive banner ads.

Native advertising is a paid method of marketing using ads that fit seamlessly into the layout of the website where they appear. Different industry insights show that:

• 70% of internet users prefer to discover goods or services through content than traditional ads
• Native ads are more visually engaging than conventional display ads
• Native ads registered an 18% higher lift in purchase intent than display ads

However, only 26 percent of advertisers are spending on native advertising to reach their audience. Don’t be one of the 74 percent left behind. Start utilizing native ads by creating comprehensive campaigns that meet your goals for your business.

5.^[2] Thought Leadership Content Production

Producing written and video content can help make you and your company a go-to expert in your field much more effective than social media.

“The consistent production of organically discoverable, high-quality content encourages new and existing audiences to interact with your products and services while simultaneously offering SEO benefit for years to come,” says Bailey.

Content can be included on your website and as content-sharing websites, and that of complementary businesses.

Also, consider producing advertorials (native advertising), advises Gimenez.

“We use content marketing platforms to promote our advertorial articles that are placed at the bottom of articles on major sites,” he says. “These advertorials explain to readers what eSalon is and how it works. Then, readers click from the advertorial to our website.”

6. Word-of-Mouth Referrals

“I’ve found that one of the best ways to reach customers has been and always will be word of mouth,” says Lior Rachmany, CEO and founder of Dumbo Moving + Storage. “If you can incentivize this, then you have a great business model. Offering commissions or discounts to customers who bring new customers to your business is a great way to grow your business.”

If it fits your industry, consider using affiliate marketing, adds Eric Hagee, general manager at 2 Sons Plumbing.

“Affiliate marketing offers a great way to use other networks for your company’s growth,” Hagee explains.

7. Listings on Industry Sites

Most industries feature various sites where your company’s services can be listed, offering a much more targeted approach than social media.

“Such industry sites allow you to speak directly to your target market,” says Yesowich. “These include neighborhood review sites, industry referral sites, and ‘find a pro’ sites. In addition, many of these platforms allow you to post photos of work and include links.”

Google My Business and Bing Places for Business are also platforms that enable businesses to create listings that can be found by potential customers online.

8. ^[3]Make customers your ambassadors

Make your brand relevant to customers so that it creates buzz and enters the everyday conversation. For example, according to a study by Nielsen, 92% of consumers believe in brand recommendations from family and friends instead of advertisements. In order to achieve this, encourage customers to leave online reviews, participate in brand loyalty programmes and put your audience at the center of your communication.

For example, the American beauty phenomenon Glossier embraced the allure of making customers the brand’s most devoted ambassadors. The company takes pride in its “people-powered beauty ecosystem” by using user-generated content and making consumers stars of their OOH campaigns.

9. Collaborate and open up for new audiences

Collaborations and brand partnerships never cease to draw interest. It is an opportunity to use your brand’s strengths and team them up with another company’s assets that will create real value – a product that couldn’t exist without the power of two brands combined.

See the example of IKEA’s collaboration last year with a luxury fashion brand Off-White. IKEA’s democratic prices and Off-White’s desirable design made an epic partnership. Limited-edition products sold out within hours and attracted two different, seemingly incompatible target groups.

10. Use your website’s potential

Your website is your digital business card. Ensure that you’re using its entire potential first. Keep an eye on your top and exit pages to better manage traffic on your website. Secondly, create a seamless user experience, make navigation easy, and your services and products visible. Finally, customize your Landing Page to inspire exploration and curate your products to show them in desirable contexts.

Analyze how clear is the communication of your products. Do descriptions reply to questions asked frequently by your customers? Does your website enable customer reviews? Do you conduct AB tests to measure the efficiency of different solutions? Website marketing needs continuous revisions and pragmatic updates to guarantee it responds to users’ evolving shopping habits.

11. Customize your brand experience

Create personalized shopping experiences and make them meaningful. Personalize product selections for your clients – in-store and online, pay attention to small details such as packaging and delivery. Wrapping your product in recyclable packaging, adding handwritten notes to orders or putting your products in modern contexts, such as curated selections, can make a huge difference. Customization should reflect your brand’s attachment to personal, human touches such as an uplifting note added at the back of an extra 10% off coupon for customer’s next purchase.

Though digital marketing tools are key for companies, especially in a COVID-19 reality, alternative marketing tactics appeal to consumers’ sense of individualism and offer a different type of gratification that derives from real-life experiences.

^[4]Bottom line

I know I’ve been writing a lot about alternatives to social media and how businesses should start paying more attention elsewhere. I believe that social media is important, but it’s becoming very crowded and the results are hard to achieve.

I suggest paying attention to alternative digital marketing strategies, but at the same time have a decent presence on social media. I wouldn’t recommend relying solely on social media to drive traffic and customers.

I notice this a lot. Many retail businesses where I am, do not have a proper digital presence. They rely on Facebook and strive to get more followers. In the end, the consumer chooses their competitor, because the competitor looked more professional and better positioned himself/herself on digital space, such as website, newsletter or reviews on Google.

Don’t be one of those losing businesses. Win your customers! Wow them.

Conclusion:

Without marketing, businesses fail or contract. I hope that this article compilation has shown you some different methods for your marketing program.

Should you need assistance with your marketing plans, give hughesagency.ca a call today.

Article Compiled by RapidPage

Article Reference Links:

1. https://www.outbrain.com/blog/alternative-digital-marketing-strategies-you-shouldnt-overlook/ ↑
2. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/6-alternatives-to-social-media-marketing/ ↑
3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-alternatives-digital-marketing-retail-businesses-hubert-pokrowiecki?articleId=6659363695682035712 ↑
4. https://bettermarketing.pub/5-digital-marketing-alternatives-for-retail-businesses-35a12a44793 ↑