Creative ways to increase your company's visibility
Businesses that want to thrive need to remain visible to their customers, but how can you make sure you stand out from the competition? If you want to make sure your audience is noticing you, it may be wise to think outside the box a little. From budget-friendly marketing hacks to clever advertising opportunities, here are some of the most creative tactics we’ve found:
The world is already full of so many billboards, websites, and YouTube videos, you need to take a more innovative approach to your efforts by following the following strategies to increase your visibility:
Take your blogging game to the next level. Want to know what separates a successful blog from one that nobody reads? Successful blogs aren’t boring. Chances are, you already have a blog for your brand—and if you don’t, you need one. You’ll want to update it often, too. Statistics show almost 3.5 times more traffic for blogs that publish more than 16 posts each month. Don’t just describe your product or service repeatedly though. Remember: variety is the spice of life. Don’t be afraid to venture off the beaten path and write about things that are tangentially related to your product. One idea is to try writing from the perspective of a customer who has a problem your product can solve. Just make sure you’re using relevant keywords so that people will find your page during searches. Specificity is vital to keyword success. For example, if your company works primarily in a certain area then make sure some of your keyword strings have geographical tags.
Promote grassroots advocacy by creating influencers. Word of mouth can be incredibly powerful, but how do you get people talking about you? One easy way is to invite your best customers to become brand “advisors”, who give feedback on your products or services and receive rewards for doing so. Customers who feel as though they play an important role in the development of your brand will be eager to talk about the work they’re doing with their friends and family.
Appeal to students by offering unique scholarship opportunities. People usually assume that marketing to college students is a waste of time because they don’t have any money, but that isn’t actually true. Remember, not every penny of a student loan goes towards textbooks and tuition. However, the real value of connecting with students is in the PR it provides. Companies that offer benefits to students often score points with their parents and peers. Try offering a scholarship like Brilliance, a jewelry maker that gives a $1500 to the winner of their annual design contest to further their education.
Make the news about you. People are naturally wary of advertising, because they know that someone is trying to sell them something. As a result, some of them will close themselves off and ignore your content no matter how well-made it is. As an alternative, consider dabbling in a bit of do-it-yourself public relations. Nothing helps sell a brand like an article that goes viral. Don’t just run advertisements for your products or services—craft compelling stories about real-world problems that your products or services have solved, and pitch them to online media outlets the way you would pitch a news story. The best way to do this is by sending a pitch letter first, followed by a phone call. Research each outlet you approach beforehand, so that you can match their tone and style. This approach can provide you with more than just one-time exposure; it can also give you valuable contacts you can use for future PR endeavours.
Get smart about mail—both kinds. Email is a bad way to market yourself because it always gets deleted—right? Not even close. Include opportunities to opt into your email list whenever you run promotional offers or acquire influencers, and you’ll slowly build up a roster of enthusiastic customers who actually want to hear from you about what you’re doing next. Then, email them twice a month with relevant content and watch as your response rates increase.
Don’t be Afraid to Do What Your Competition Isn’t Doing
Creative visibility is all about finding channels that other companies in your niche aren’t taking full advantage of yet. Sticking to the beaten path may be risk-averse, but it’s also unspectacular and unlikely to get you the kind of attention you want. Remember: if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Try the strategies above, and experience the difference that a creative approach can make.