Just about every business is familiar with SEO and Pay Per Click Marketing (I’m sure you’ve received many calls and emails to inform), but many business often ignore or dismiss simple, but effective content marketing strategies that can attract customers and help build your brand. With 2015 just around the corner, technology has presented marketers and business owners with effective options in a variety of mediums from video to audio and images. Yes, I realize it’s still a little early to talk about 2015, but the New Year is my favorite time of year.
Here are three marketing strategies that you should evaluate for the New Year:
Video Marketing
Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that video marketing is still a great strategy, because presence on sites like YouTube has become more and more necessary since streaming became popular and the cost of producing video dramatically decreased. YouTube contains one of the biggest search engines out there, and over 1 billion unique visitors make their way to YouTube each month. Viewers consume video content at an aggressive rate. The rise of mobile devices make this viewing even easier, and increase viewership even more.
What do you do with video marketing, though? You keep customers updated with big announcements. Training videos, short tips, conferences or interviews. The point is to keep in touch with your audience, and give your brand a recognizable face. With so many companies hiding behind a brand logo and a keyboard, video marketing gives you an opportunity to stand out.
Podcasting
Podcasting is a field that is growing rapidly. While it does involve some start-up cost if you want to do it correctly, it’s less expensive than paying for broadcasting that customers might ignore. With podcasts, you build a reliable audience that is interested in your subject matter. At the same time, you position yourself as an expert and leader in the market. Podcasts that are created regularly with quality content keep businesses connected with their customer base. They also offer an opportunity to make announcements and promote products (but understand that’s not the meat or purpose of your podcast).
Traditional podcasting differs from video marketing by not presenting viewers with a face or any other video content. However, it makes up for it in portability. Podcasts can be downloaded to mobile devices like your big IPhone 6 plus or android device. They can be played in the home, in the car or when listeners are literally running around. How many podcast are on your phone? The trick is learning how to strategically position your products in the mix of the content.
Images
Pictures tell a thousand words, and now there are different types of images like photos and infographics that can tell even more. Most importantly, images are great social media tools because they are commonly shared. They’re quickly digested, and memorable – if done correctly.
Social sites have taken a particular interest in image-sharing. Post an image and it will gain followers, illicit comments and be shared. Each of those things promote your business with current customers and their own followers. Your customers take on a portion of the marketing job and help you spread the good news.
Game Changer
While all of these marketing strategies used effectively can be a game changer for you in 2015, you shouldn’t just jump in and start throwing videos up on YouTube. There is strategy involved and if your goal is to not just build an audience, but instead, “an audience that buys” you’ll need to do some footwork in the beginning. You’ll need to really think about your customers and think about what they really want and need and how that matches up with your offerings.
What you may find is that your offerings and your customer needs are not aligned. And fixing that will be the real game changer for you in 2015.
