Organic marketing

You’ve already seen this term mentioned in our discussion of search engine optimization. This, together with content and social media marketing, comprises a powerful type of marketing known as organic marketing.

Organic marketing is any non-paid marketing that aims to naturally (organically) attract people to your business. It involves implementing the best practices to get search engines and social media platforms to display your posts in a prominent position. This contrasts from promoting your business “artificially” via paid links or boosted posts.

This method is the cornerstone of inbound marketing since it’s based on the principle that creating engaging social media content and strong, SEO-driven website copy will bring exposure to your business and magnetically drive customers toward your brand.

In general, audiences consider organic marketing less intrusive than advertising, since it focuses on nurturing prospective customers and drawing them to your business over time.

08. Advertising

That brings us to the next type of promotional strategy: advertising. Advertising is a branch of marketing that uses ad campaigns to present your brand, product, service or idea to the world.

There are many ways to advertise, including online methods, such as PPC ads and social media ads, as well as more traditional methods like TV, radio, billboard ads and QR codes.

As with social media marketing, choosing the right advertising platforms means accounting for your target audience’s demographics and interests, as well as how to present your messaging. Instagram ads, for example, tend to reach younger users but will be largely unseen by older audiences who are less engaged with the platform.

Facebook Ads by Wix allows you to run AI driven campaigns directly from your website dashboard to reach the most likely to convert audiences.

09. Video marketing

As you’ve seen, marketing content assumes a wide range of formats—from blog articles to social media posts to podcasts. Video is another popular content marketing format.

Incorporating fun and engaging video into your marketing assets can be a great way to creatively display your brand—and it gives you ample time and space to convey your message.

You can use video marketing not only to promote your product, but also to provide potential customers with actionable tips and insights about your industry. Think of it as a watchable blog post that helps people trust and engage with your business.

There are several places for displaying video content, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, as well as your website. Try out this video maker to get started.

10. Influencer marketing

The global influencer marketing market size has more than doubled since 2019. In 2021, the market was valued at a record $13.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Influencer marketing involves using Instagram and other social platforms to partner with influencers—people who already have dedicated, engaged followers. These people are considered experts in their field, and their followers will take their recommendations to heart. That means that when an influencer backs your product, it gains instant credibility in their followers’ eyes. The result? More exposure for your brand and new customers.

Typically, influencers require compensation in exchange for promoting your brand, since many rely on sponsored content for income. In this case, you’ll sponsor one of their social media posts.

A very popular influencer (with 100,000+ followers) will be in higher demand and is likely to charge more than a micro-influencer (with 10,000 to 100,000 followers) or nano-influencer (with 100 to 10,000 followers). Often, nano-influencers accept free products and swag rather than payment, especially if they’re just starting. Do your research to find out which partnerships will align with your market and budget.

11. Affiliate marketing

In addition to paying influencers for sponsored posts, you can pay them for sharing affiliate content. This is a practice known as affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing involves two players: the merchant and the affiliate. The affiliate promotes the merchant’s product to their audience and earns a percentage of the sale in exchange.

So, how does this work? As the merchant, you’ll connect with affiliates, either reaching out to them directly or using an affiliate network. Once they agree to partner with you, you’ll provide them with a unique link to your online store.

Then, the affiliate will promote your link, perhaps including it in a blog post, Instagram Story or YouTube video. When a customer clicks on the link to make a purchase, the affiliate will earn a commission from the sale.

Affiliate marketing can bring your business wider exposure. By partnering with affiliates who already have a large audience on their social media platforms or blog, you can reach new customers.

12. Outreach marketing

What do affiliate marketing and influencer marketing have in common? They both involve partnering with people outside your business to promote your product or service.

This is the guiding principle of outreach marketing. An effective outreach strategy involves using email outreach to build relationships with people who can influence consumer opinions about your brand. These include social media influencers, bloggers, journalists and even other businesses.

The goal of connecting with these people is getting your brand mentioned on a well-known site or social media channel. This will strengthen your brand’s authority in your niche, while building brand awareness and helping you gain exposure. It’s also a great way to network with influential people who may benefit your business down the line.

Many companies also use outreach marketing to build backlinks, or links from external websites to their own site. Having a high number of backlinks from credible, authoritative sources helps SEO and can ultimately bring more traffic to your website. That said, don’t start link building without first doing careful research, as search engines can penalize you for malpractice.

13. Email marketing

81% of small business marketers rely on email as their primary acquisition channel, while 80% use it for customer retention.

Email marketing involves sending emails to prospects and customers with the goal of making sales or driving them further down the marketing funnel. Because it reaches customers directly, it tends to generate high returns. For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average ROI is $36.

Depending on your goals, you can send all sorts of emails to your audience, including informational newsletters, new product releases, sales announcements and abandoned shopping cart reminders. It's a great way to put personalized marketing to work. Just keep in mind that everyone you email must have subscribed to receive your messages for you to remain legally compliant.

To start getting subscribers, add lead capture forms to your website with fields for visitors’ names and email addresses. Make sure your forms are eye-catching and include compelling copy that encourages people to join your mailing list.