How to Choose the Right Marketing and Advertising Channels

How do you choose the right marketing channels for your business? Many options exist, from social media to email marketing and even offline advertising.

The good thing about today’s modern world is that there are many ways to reach customers. Whether you want to advertise on Facebook or Instagram or send emails through Mailchimp, there are plenty of options.

But choosing the right channels isn’t always easy. For example, some channels might be better suited for certain types of businesses. And if you don’t know where to start, here are some things to consider before deciding which channels are right for you.

Which One Should You Focus On?

It isn’t easy to know where to start with so many marketing channels available. Where and how do you spend your marketing budget? How to choose the right marketing and advertising channels to reach your target market?

One of the significant challenges for SMBs is choosing their marketing message’s proper channels. With a wide range of options available, your possibilities are endless. It isn’t easy to know where to start, given the massive growth of online media. And many SMBs can’t afford to hire a team of full-time marketers or a specialist in a fancy office building.

So how does one find a way through the clutter? With the right strategy, you can market to your potential customers with the right message through the right channel at the right moment.

Choosing suitable advertising media and marketing platforms can help businesses determine which medium will best help them accomplish their business goal and improve ROI.

The terms I use in this post, like advertising media, digital channel, display advertising and marketing channels, may sound fancy. They are simply the variety of platforms and tactics you can use to communicate with potential customers and consumers.

Any method you can use to make your products, promotions, and services grab your target audience’s attention is your own best strategy. Because what works for one company may not work for others.

If you’re starting or have recently launched your business, it’s apparent that you don’t have millions in your advertising budget. In most cases, business owners bootstrapping their business start with a shoestring budget. They try to master all the options themselves. Although this is not extremely hard to do (since you can Google it), it is also the fastest way to get frustrated. There are many options open to business owners today. Your company can use various channels (from search engines, video Ads to social media platforms) to meet the right people in their target demographics.

Digital marketing channels offer today’s business owners multiple opportunities to get their names and messages out in front of many people who may be potential customers. However, the vast number of options can be overwhelming. Study the pros and cons of each channel mentioned below before making a time and budget commitment.

This post goes over the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses today to reach the right people in their target audience. We help you choose which ones are best for your business specifically with these guidelines.

Being thoughtful about your approach in determining the most appropriate channels will not only save valuable time. It will also save money, and you’ll come across as more authentic and practical about your marketing effort to your customer base. Selecting appropriate methods is as important as the content you share. It’s helpful to know how you’re performing with the solutions you currently have in place and score potential options before investing.

Below are some advertising and marketing channels available to you today.

Publications/Print Advertising

Consider which newspaper/magazine you want to place your advert on. Think about your target customer and the publications they are most likely to patronise. The newspaper or magazine ad should be such that it should compel people to spend money on your products or services. According to this post, in 2019, magazine advertising spending was worth an estimated $15.6 billion.

Radio and Television Advertising

Various studies have shown that combining radio and television can help advertisers reach audiences, which is impossible with only one medium. Customers who consume the same adverts on TV and radio have a higher ad recall than those who only saw it on media.

Billboards (Static and Digital)

Traditional billboards are static, and digital billboards are electronic displays controlled remotely by computers. They are taking the outdoor advertising experience to a whole new level. You see them in airports, indoor arenas, shelters and kiosks, etc.

Sales Collateral

These are the materials developed by a business to help boost the sales process. Companies develop sales collateral to move prospective buyers through the entire sales process. For instance, you can design corporate brochures to spread awareness of your company. They include any printed or electronic materials that support the sales process. These are materials you give prospective buyers.

Events

This marketing tactic involves exhibits, displays, presentations, or gatherings to showcase your company’s product, services, or causes. You can host events in-person or online thanks to live-streaming capabilities. They are a cost-effective way to roll out new products or services. You can get patronage on a new product much quicker when you have a live, captive audience to showcase it. And it can come in at a much lower cost than going through traditional media.

Trade Shows and Trade Fairs

Trade shows are events organised to assemble members of a particular industry to exhibit their latest products and services. They usually occur in convention centres in larger cities and last several days. Companies in a specific industry can showcase their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study rivals’ activities, and examine recent market trends and opportunities. They offer tremendous marketing and advertising opportunities.

Incentive Programs

An incentive program promotes or encourages specific actions or behaviour by a particular group of people during a defined period. Companies use incentive programs to attract and keep customers.

Direct Mail

It is a type of direct marketing delivered physically to a prospect’s mailbox through the postal services or other couriers or delivery services.

Sales Call/Face-to-face

t is more challenging to attract a potential customer on the phone because it is easier for them to say ‘no’ or hang up. Therefore, most experienced sales professionals find it easier to negotiate face-to-face.

Websites

These are a collection of web pages and related content identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Today, the Internet comprises billions of websites created by individuals and organisations. A website is necessary for businesses seeking to succeed in this digital age.

Blogs

Blogs are a type of website and an effective channel for publishing different types of content. The only difference between a blog and other website types is that blogs are often updated with new articles. While there are countless blogs globally, there are far fewer ones generating any actual income. It would help if you had a strategy before publishing a blog post, social media post, or other relevant content.

Social Media and Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media is interactive, digitally mediated Web 2.0 technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing/exchange of information, ideas, career interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. SMM uses social networks to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. Today’s primary social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat. Which social platform should you focus on? The one your customers, prefer! You can view SMM as the modern-day form of word of mouth marketing. It plays a vital role in the marketing mix of any company’s digital marketing campaign. You need to pay attention to your social media channel activities.

Email Marketing

This is sending commercial messages via email. An email sent to an existing or potential customer is email marketing if it uses email to send adverts or solicit sales or donations. It is a digital marketing strategy that sends emails and develops relationships with prospects and customers. It is one of the most effective marketing channels, beating out social media, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Email marketing is an indispensable digital marketing tool for any digital marketer.

Newsletters

A newsletter is an electronic or printed report containing news concerning a business’s activities or an organisation sent to its members, customers, employees, or other subscribers. Newsletters contain one major topic of interest to their recipients. It communicates regularly with your subscribers, delivering the information you want in your email boxes. These messages can contain simple text or a structure composed of images and formatted text.

Mobile

Mobile marketing focuses on reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or other related devices through websites, E-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile applications. In recent years, customers have shifted their attention and money to mobile, and companies need to follow suit. According to this article, over 62% of people made a purchase on a mobile device. Only a third of consumers used both a mobile device and a desktop for the same purpose, and 80% of consumers used a mobile phone to research products and prices.

Search Advertising/Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing is marketing a business using paid advertisements on search engine results pages (or SERPs). It is a digital marketing strategy to increase the website’s search engine results pages (SERPs) visibility. The significant difference is that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) focuses on optimising a website to get traffic from organic search results. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) aims to get traffic and visibility from organic and paid searches (digital advertising, display advertising, etc.). Search engine marketing, or SEM, covers both search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search, also known as PPC (pay-per-click) or CPC (cost-per-click). SEM still refers occasionally to paid search with a minor emphasis on SEO, but that’s even rarer than using the term correctly.

Webinars

We use web conferencing as an umbrella term for various online conferencing and collaborative services, including webinars, webcasts, and web meetings. A webinar (or seminar) is a live online conference or presentation. They are interactive, usually via webinar software.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is when brands use celebrities, athletes, bloggers, or other influential people to market their products. Brands often pay these influencers for endorsements, which could be anything from free products to paid trips. The goal is to create buzz around your brand through the influencer’s popularity. But it also has its challenges.

Conclusion

There you have it. This is how to choose the right marketing and advertising channels for your business. If you have questions, contact us or send a tweet at @ademolaabimbola or @mauconline. Bye for now!

Related Article(s)

• The Top Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
• What Is the Difference Between Social Media and Social Medium?
• What Is Digital Marketing?
• How to Market on Social Media

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