In today’s technological era it seems like every day a new way of marketing is born. With hundreds of different strategies and approaches, keeping up with each can feel impossible. Older marketing strategies are giving birth to newer developments every day. For example, search engine marketing gave birth to article and guest blogging, and social media marketing gave birth to Facebook marketing. Content marketing gave birth to most forms of marketing that now exist.

With so many new ways to market a company, every business has to decide the age-old question: ‘What will work best for us?’ Often, the answer can lie in tangible brand experiences that bridge the gap between digital ads and the physical world. For many lifestyle and retail brands, offering high quality promotional merchandise like custom crew socks can provide a way to keep a brand “top of mind” with consumers every day.

It’s important to stress that every business, audience, industry, and area in the world is different. This is why newer and more creative marketing techniques have been developed and released. Small businesses should embrace these new marketing styles and not push them away.

With all of the new information and strategies around, it can be easy for small businesses to get overwhelmed, and it can get tough to decide on the next move. So, where should you start? Here are some strategies small businesses should consider implementing when developing a strategy for their business:

Article Marketing

This is one of the most cost-effective ways to develop a brand name. It will naturally increase social shares, organic search traffic, and even word-of-mouth influence for your brand. It can consume time and save money. To be highly effective requires a great deal of creativity, consistency, time, and a good website.

Conversational Marketing

Just joining the conversation and engaging with the public is a great way to get your name out there. With all the social platforms, tradeshows, and community events, this marketing style can be very effective and provide results over time because people prefer to buy from people.

Digital Marketing

Websites tend to naturally drive specific types of audiences to their content. Digital marketing makes advertising these sites more effective by displaying digital ads to the right audience at the right time. People still click on ads; they need to apply to their lives and who they are to be highly effective. Narrowing down your target audience and identifying what websites attract this audience (not including your competition) can be a highly profitable strategy.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is not a fad, and it’s not going away. The old email marketing methods were often ineffective, but now there are different ways to use this strategy and succeed. It requires great creativity and good emailing software, but the technology is not expensive. Unfortunately,  acquiring a good email list can be a long battle. Email marketing involves contacting new customers who submitted their information or upgrading old customers to something new. It’s easy, and it can be a powerful tool in your marketing strategy.

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is about getting your customer base to share your products or services on your behalf. For example, Direct TV offers $100 ($10 off for ten months) to every customer who refers a friend. A good referral marketing strategy can convert customers into living advertisements. Trust is important in every sale, and having a friend’s positive review and recommendation is something that every business can benefit from.

Social Media Marketing

The most popular form of marketing is popular for a reason. Social media marketing is one of the best ways to build relationships with an audience. Although it may seem straightforward, it requires a strategy that can consume much of your time or money, sometimes both. This is a valuable way of communicating with your audience because not everyone will open your email. Still, they can always see your product updates on their favorite social network.

Social media is also a perfect platform to promote a company event or promotion and get people excited about your brand. It’s a great way to involve your audience and make them feel part of the company. However, you must produce the right content and time it right. Understanding common event advertising mistakes to avoid will further improve the success of your social media marketing efforts. They illuminate the most important things needed to target the right audience, attract the right people and drive more conversions for your business.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) should always be considered if a business has a web presence. SEM complements your other marketing efforts by making the website and search experience more enjoyable. The new search engine marketing style is about creating highly credible relationships on the web and developing a website that offers a lot of value. With low-quality websites consistently pushed to the back of the search engine, the new form of search is about building a very authoritative website.

Trade Show Marketing

Trade shows are a great way for businesses to connect with their industry. They have the potential to open doors you never thought existed. They also help companies to figure out what their competition is doing because sometimes competitors will give insight into their future product plans at trade shows. Due to the cost of setup and employee hours, traveling expenses and trade show fees can be expensive, but if it’s strategized right, it can pay off. Pay attention to the trade shows in your industry and develop a plan for each one.

Video Marketing

Videos can offer clarity in your message to your target audience. They can provide more emotion and details in your product that are harder to convey through text. With YouTube being the second largest search engine in the world, commercials are now possible for the small business. Highly talented videographers are in great demand but can usually be found for affordable rates. This means small businesses can now create highly competitive video marketing strategies. This is a great marketing strategy for the small business.

Key Points to Remember and Consider

• Every business is different. Understanding your industry and target audience will help you determine how to relay your marketing message.
• Marketing techniques are always changing. Technology changes, people change, and so does the world. Don’t be afraid to take some risks with your marketing strategy.
• You don’t have to do every form of marketing listed here. It’s good to have a focus and balance.
• Creativity should be used in each strategy. It’s the lifeblood of the word viral.