Unconventional Marketing Tactics That Can Yield Big Results

Are you interested in building a large following for your business? Of course, you are–because who wouldn’t want to attract many subscribers and users to boost business growth? But how do you create a massive audience quickly and promote success without breaking the bank?

The secret to achieving this objective is to think outside the box and get creative with your marketing campaigns. A study in the Expert Journal of Marketing reveal that by adding a touch of creativity to marketing, businesses can address large audiences, improve consumer experiences, attract attention, form lasting relationships, and encourage social sharing in a cost-effective way.

By embracing out-of-the-box thinking, you can easily develop unusual campaigns that maximize your marketing impact. Non-traditional methods, such as cause marketing, attending trade shows, turning your product into a challenge, and target marketing, are inexpensive and guarantee positive results. Continue reading to learn more about these unconventional marketing tactics that yield big results. 

Leverage Cause Marketing 

If you want to create a unique and effective marketing campaign, why not align your products or services to a social cause? Marketers call this technique cause-related marketing, as it gives customers an opportunity to interact with your products in a way that supports a greater purpose. What you get in return is positive brand perception and the attention of socially conscious consumers.

Based on a global study by Zeno Group, consumers are four to six times more likely to purchase from purpose-driven brands. Too often, brands collaborate with non-profit organizations to design marketing campaigns that benefit a social cause. For example, since 2006, Dawn Dish Soap Company has been working with the International Bird Rescue and Marine Mammal Center to help save marine wildlife. Through a marketing campaign dubbed Dawn Saves Wildlife, the company donates cash gifts and bottles of its products to help support the non-profits’ efforts to save marine birds and mammals.

This type of partnership allows each party to enjoy increased reach from each other’s audience. However, for your marketing plan to be impactful you need to find a trustworthy non-profit partner and create a cause both parties believe in.  

Finding a charitable organization you can trust lies in conducting due diligence on business prospects. When assessing potential partners, make sure your goals and values align. Also, review industry trends to be sure your partnership has a positive effect on your profits and sustainability. Remember, you can still go solo and achieve great results with cause marketing. All you have to do is determine how your brand can contribute to a social cause and develop a meaningful and unforgettable campaign.

Examples of successful cause-related marketing campaigns you can copy are Cadbury’s Donate Your Words, Starbucks’ What’s Your Name, and Uber’s Move What Matters.

Transform Your Products Into Unique Challenges

Viral marketing, especially on social media, can help create brand awareness to a large audience. The problem with this marketing tactic is that it fails to highlight what a company offers. For example, creating a video everyone loves might not help you explain the benefits of your product or ask your viewers to buy. So, how do you solve this obstacle?

Turn your product into the focal point of a competition or challenge. You can get inspiration from Codecademy’s 2013 challenge that encouraged people to learn coding as their New Year’s resolution. This simple idea helped Codecademy grow their target audience significantly. 

Another example of a product challenge is GoPro’s 5th Million Dollar challenge. During this challenge consumers were required to capture and share unique experiences using the Hero 11 Black cameras. The primary objective of product challenges is to create brand awareness and creation of high-quality user generated content.

Note that promoting challenges to boost brand recognition works for both start-ups and big companies. The key to successful campaigns is to identify the main problem your product solves and turn it into a challenge. Just ensure the challenge is easy, purposeful, and engaging. 

Target A Specific Demographic

What does target marketing entail? This approach focuses on creating awareness for a service or product among a specific group in the market. It is, therefore, crucial to identify customers that use or need your products based on gender, age, location, income status, education, and religion. Then, design campaigns that resonate with their interests.

For example, suppose an interior designer offers services to residential property owners only. Instead of advertising their work on a newspaper column that goes out to everyone, the interior designer should specify their customer for this service. Next, they would promote their work to their target audience via a direct mail campaign, Facebook ads, flyer delivery in a residential area where your target audience lives to attract more customers and increase their return on investment. Directing your marketing efforts at specified consumers makes the promotion of your products easier and cost-efficient. You also get to attract the right customers, which results in higher-quality leads that drive sales.

Furthermore, when you pay attention to small, specific segments, your brand starts to stand out from the crowd. Vans Instagram account @vansgirls is a perfect example of target marketing. Since the popular shoe brand appeals to multiple groups, it segments its audience and creates different Instagram accounts based on aspects such as gender, age, and interests. For example, @vansgirls targets women and features content that resonates to that demographic. 

Attend Trade Shows

It doesn’t sound like a marketing strategy, but it is one of the best ways to promote products offline. Typically, trade shows or expos attract professionals from different industries, influencers, and potential customers who you can interact with and expose your brand.

It’s worth noting there are hidden ways trade shows enhance marketing efforts. It’s important to identify and harness them to boost brand exposure. For example, being at a trade show gives you a chance to come up with new ideas and form partnerships with other industry professionals. Ideally, the feedback visitors give about your product and branding tactic when they visit your booth can be valuable for improving your campaigns.

Trade shows also provide a space for conducting market research and collecting customer feedback. The information you gather at corporate events can help you refine your product lines, streamline your marketing strategies, and pinpoint areas of growth in your business. 

Unusual or non-traditional marketing techniques provide exciting opportunities for small and large brands to propel growth to higher levels. When you think outside the box and create unique campaigns you attract a large following, generate buzz, and establish your brand as an authority in the industry.

Therefore, take time to experiment with unconventional methods like, turning products into challenges, attending corporate events, targeted advertising, and cause-related marketing.