8 Super Effective Marketing Channels

What if you had lost the marketing race before you even started?

When a business focuses on the wrong marketing channels, they are instantly giving the edge to their competition. But by focusing on the right channels, you can ensure that your business comes out on top.

Wondering what effective marketing channels you should be using right now? Keep reading to discover the answer!

1. Social Media

Some businesses ignore social media as a marketing channel. However, you ignore it at your peril, for social media offers an immense ROI for your business.

It serves as a natural platform for the kind of content you already include on your blog or website. And social media makes it easy for your loyal customers to share that content with others.

Social media also makes it easier for customers to contact your business through a DM or messenger service. This is important because many customers would rather choose to text when it comes to an option of “text vs call.”

2. Company Website

Is your company website a marketing channel? Only if you’re doing it right!

If a customer is curious about your business, the first thing they will do is search you out online. And your website is the first real impression they will have of you and your business.

Make that impression a good one by ensuring the page loads quickly. And conduct an SEO audit to make sure it’s easy for everyone to find your site.

And don’t forget to use analytics to constantly perfect your site. If you notice an issue like a high bounce rate, do your best to isolate what is driving customers away and to fix the problem ASAP.

3. E-Mail Marketing

Have you dismissed the idea of e-mail marketing? The truth is that this channel can be very effective, but it takes more work than most businesses imagine.

For example, no one likes an impersonal e-mail blast. But autoresponders and various CRM tools can help you craft e-mails that are personalized to specific segments of your audience.

And truly effective marketing e-mails must do two things: keep it short and keep it interesting. In an age of tweets and Snapchats, nobody wants to read through a wall of e-mail text.

However, an enticing subject line and a receptive audience segment can do wonders. And it’s easy to for a good e-mail CTA to bring someone directly into your sales funnel.

4. Blog

A blog and a professional website are different animals. If done right, a blog is a great marketing channel for establishing your authority in a particular area.

No matter how popular video becomes, quality text content remains an important part of the internet experience. By crafting this kind of quality content, you gain the kind of visibility and reputation that translates into more business.

And as we mentioned before, there is a lot of room for cross-channel marketing. Be sure to pair your best content with a devoted social media following for maximum impact.

5. Live Chat

Earlier, we mentioned how social media is important because customers can reach out via chat or message. You should also consider adding live chat features to your company website.

Various automated chatbots can help to answer the most basic customer questions. This keeps your live staff from being stuck answering the same questions over and over again.

And a good bot can seamlessly transition someone to live support. When done right, the customer may not even know they were ever talking to a bot!

The benefits of live chat are simple: it allows customers to get more information on services and products while their curiosity is red-hot. And providing live support helps show how seriously your company takes customer service.

6. Reddit

Reddit exists in its own world, well outside the bubble of social media. However, Reddit can ultimately be just as useful as social media when it comes to marketing your business.

For example, Reddit is made of various subreddits devoted around a central theme. By targeting your marketing to certain subreddits, you can reach an audience that is already primed to enjoy what you have to offer.

It’s also possible to market very subtly using Reddit. Posting as an individual user instead of an openly corporate account can help institute more organic company support and more discussions about your products.

7. Word-of-Mouth Advertising

Digital marketing changed the game in a number of ways. However, one advertising truth remains: there is no substitute for good word of mouth.

Customers are naturally skeptical of direct advertisement. But they are naturally more receptive to hearing about a business from their friends and family.

You can take advantage of this by offering benefits like affiliate and referral programs. This provides a direct incentive for your most satisfied customers to tell others about their experience.

Financially, this is always a “win” for your business. The small amount you pay out in bonuses for a new customer referral is far cheaper than you would otherwise spend to bring a new customer into the fold.

8. Free Consultation

Want to truly see your customers’ eyes light up? You need to use the magic word: “free.”

When it comes to new products and services, customers worry about their potential satisfaction level. If they don’t like it, they will feel like they really wasted their money.

Offering something like a free consultation is essentially offering them a demo of what your company can do. They will better understand what you do and what you have to offer before plunking down their cash.

Additionally, free consultations help sell the idea that a customer has nothing to lose by trying your product. And this helps build the kind of goodwill necessary to create truly loyal customers.