When devising your company's marketing strategy, the chances are high that you already use some digital channels or plan to soon. Digital marketing allows companies to directly reach customers at any time and any place, making it one of the most valuable types of marketing available. When done correctly, digital marketing has unlimited potential, especially when you tap into less traditional channels to better reach more niche audiences.
It can take some time to figure out which mixture of advertising with traditional and non-traditional media works best for your brand, but the payoff can be incredible for companies, large and small.
Learn more about engagement with non-traditional media and how to implement them in your marketing plan below.
Incorporating Non-Traditional Media into Your Marketing
When most people think of traditional media, they think of social media profiles, TV commercials, and radio ads. These all have a time and a place, but they can also be quite costly, especially for smaller companies. Non-traditional media, on the other hand, often include hosting webinars, creating or advertising online video games, or tapping into the ever-growing podcast market.
One of the fastest-growing non-traditional marketing mediums is video sponsorship. Companies pay social media influencers to mention their brand, products, or services in a video or content series. Some of the biggest influencers can charge big bucks for the slightest mention on their profiles, and their personal brand will often overshadow or place your brand in front of an uninterested audience. Smaller influencers with a niche or local following will likely have more affordable rates and better match your target audience's interests.
Although brands should still lean on traditional forms of digital marketing, many could benefit from incorporating a mixture of traditional and non-traditional media. That can create a positive feedback loop, where hard-to-reach audience members may find your non-traditional ads that link to your website. From there, those audience members may then notice your ads in other channels they may have missed otherwise, helping to forge that relationship. By forming deeper bonds, they may be more likely to recommend or share your content with friends and family members, providing your brand with more exposure without having to spend much more.
Reach New and Specific Customers
Marketing tends to work best when you tailor it specifically for the customers it attempts to attract. Large corporations have large marketing budgets that allow them to cast a wide net and hope for the best, but smaller brands must work more on making their marketing campaigns highly specific. Investing in non-traditional marketing platforms capitalizes on highly specific markets since several groups are challenging to reach on television, radio, or standard social media apps.
Take, for example, a millennial cohort who prefers video games. These millennials are hard to reach on traditional channels, but they spend their free time listening to podcasts. Unless you already tap into the less traditional marketing medium of podcast ads, this group of people is almost impossible to reach.
However, they may be a dedicated and loyal group who can become lasting customers if you reach them. Tailor a podcast ad to capture this audience's attention on their voluntary platforms. They already engage this channel, and you stand a better chance of resonating deeply by placing ads on it. It can lead to a higher percentage of sales, even if your reach is less broad. Using non-traditional digital marketing may feel like more work up front, but using these forms of media naturally creates highly targeted marketing, which is most effective. Even if you reach a smaller pool of people, you'll still benefit from a higher proportion of those people converting to customers.
Lean on Email and Content Marketing
One of the most challenging aspects of digital marketing is building trust among customers. Trust encourages customers to make purchases with your brand, allowing them to feel good about doing so. One of the best ways to capture attention and build trust over time is by making blog, video, and audio content that establishes your brand as an authority on relevant topics and paints your brand's unique personality all at once.
Combining content marketing with email marketing can help you build trust among customers quickly. It's especially effective when you send your email list updates about new blog posts, videos, or audio content, as well as other promotions you may run. Many companies want to have huge, sprawling email lists, but those do no good if nobody actively engages with the content you send. Instead, it's far better to develop a smaller email list with people who genuinely care about the content you put out.
Additionally, placing ads on YouTube videos can allow you to capture the attention of niche markets, as can ads on video games and podcasts.
Diversify Your Digital Media Mix for the Best Results
Entering the world of digital marketing for the first time, or attempting to expand on your previous efforts, is an overwhelming pursuit often full of costly trial and error. The good news is that diversifying your marketing strategy and effectively distributing your marketing eggs in many baskets helps capture harder-to-reach customers who are more likely to become brand loyalists. It is also not a journey you need to take by yourself. By working with a trusted media partner, you can leverage their expertise to develop valuable content while letting you focus on growing your business.
