Hey there friends! As an entrepreneur running multiple small businesses, I've picked up a thing or two about marketing over the years. And let me tell you - it moves fast! Strategies that crushed it yesterday can flop tomorrow.
So I wanted to write this beginner's guide breaking down the key types of marketing along with my picks for the top tactics and trends to focus on for 2023 success. Get ready to take some notes!
Below I’ll give an overview of various major marketing categories, then dive into specific strategies, tools, and channels within each type that I recommend for the coming year based on the current landscape. Let's get into it!
Traditional Marketing
Let’s kick things off with what I call traditional or outbound marketing. This refers to any one-way promotional methods that push your message out to the masses. Some examples:
Print Advertising - Newspaper and magazine ads
Radio Advertising - Commercial slots on radio stations
TV Advertising - Commercials on network and cable TV
Direct Mail - Physical promotional mailers sent to mailing lists
Billboards & OOH - Outdoor ads like billboards and transit
Brochures & Sales Materials - Leave-behinds and sell sheets
While some view traditional techniques as outdated, I think basic media channels still have value for brand awareness when done right. Just know that metrics and targeting are limited.
Best Traditional Strategies for 2023: Short direct mail campaigns to targeted buyer lists. Research shows physical mailers can still grab attention unlike impersonal digital outreach.
Digital Marketing
Now let’s move into the bright shiny future with digital marketing tactics. As the name suggests, this umbrella covers marketing done through online, mobile, and social media channels. Some core digital strategies:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Improving rankings in search engines like Google.
Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising - Buying text and display ads on Google, Bing, etc.
Social Media Marketing - Promotions and engagement on networks like Facebook and Instagram.
Content Marketing - Creating informational blogs, videos, etc.
Email Marketing - Sending promotional emails, nurturing leads.
Affiliate Marketing - Having others promote your product for a commission.
The key benefit of digital marketing is leveraging data to target ideal buyers and measure ROI. However, the space is noisy with competition constantly evolving.
Top Digital Strategies for 2023: SEO, social ads, and slimming down email lists for more relevant messaging. Video across social and YouTube also remains huge.
Guerilla Marketing
Guerilla marketing refers to unconventional, innovative tactics to promote a brand or product. The goal is maximum impact for minimum spend getting people's attention. Some guerilla examples:
Experiential Marketing - Brand activations in public like sampling, events
Buzz & Viral Marketing - Creating shareable, shocking content
Grassroots - Promotions driven by local brand advocates
Wild Postings - Posters or stickers placed in public areas
Flash Mobs - Organized public performances to raise awareness
Guerilla marketing thrives on originality and surprise. But it can also come off as intrusive or inauthentic if poorly executed. The shock factor must align with your brand identity.
Top Guerilla Strategies for 2023: Experiential activations at relevant local events. Grassroots campaigns empowering loyal micro-influencers.
Relationship Marketing
Relationship or loyalty marketing focuses on retaining and strengthening connections with existing customers to turn them into brand advocates. Common relationship tactics:
**Direct Customer Communications - Email, surveys, live chat
Loyalty Programs - Rewards programs, promo codes, VIP access
Customer Event - Parties, pop-ups, experiences for top customers
User-Generated Content - Sharing and reposting customer social posts
Referral Programs - Incentives for customers to refer friends
The relationship marketing mindset prioritizes lifetime customer value over one-time sales. These tactics increase satisfaction, retention, referrals and repeat purchases.
Top Relationship Strategies for 2023: Email surveys to capture customer feedback. Creative user-generated content campaigns on social media.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. Unlike interruption advertising, inbound provides relevant value at every stage of the buyer's journey.
Content Creation - Blog posts, videos, podcasts, guides to attract visitors
SEO - Optimizing content to be found by searchers
Lead Nurturing - Personalized email drips to convert visitors into leads
Landing Pages - Custom pages where visitors convert to leads
Social Promotion - Sharing content across owned social channels
Done right, inbound marketing earns attention and trust to drive qualified traffic and leads. But creating valuable content at scale takes significant time and skill.
Top Inbound Strategies for 2023: Targeted content offers and lead magnets. More interactive and educational video content across YouTube and social.
Brand Marketing
Brand marketing builds awareness, recognition, and sentiment around your company and products through consistent and creative messaging.
Brand Messaging - Establishing values, personality, voice, and positioning
Visual Identity - Logos, color palette, typography, and design aesthetics
Storytelling - Crafting compelling brand narratives and origin stories
Advertising - Reinforcing brand image and recall through campaigns
Community Building - Fostering brand-aligned communities for engagement
Brand marketing generates familiarity, affinity, and trust in the long run. But it requires upholding values and consistency across all branded touchpoints.
Top Brand Strategies for 2023: Values-based messaging. Utilizing micro-influencers and brand ambassadors. Experiential marketing.
Internal Marketing
Internal marketing aims to inform, educate, and get employees excited about your brand, new products, campaigns, events, and more.
Company Newsletter - Email updates on company news and wins
Intranet - Central online hub for policies, documents, and resources
Training Programs - Onboarding and ongoing education
Internal Events - Town halls, holiday parties, lunches
Swag & Freebies - Branded apparel, accessories, office merch
Digital Signage - TVs displaying internal messaging in offices
An engaged team creates stronger external marketing and customer experiences. But ineffective internal comms breeds disengagement. A balance of education, motivation and culture is key.
Top Internal Strategies for 2023: Short and snackable video messaging. Gamification through employee apps.
Cross-Channel Marketing
Cross-channel marketing coordinates messaging and experiences across multiple channels to create an orchestrated brand journey.
Omnichannel Commerce - Consistent purchasing across devices and locations
Retargeting Ads - Serving ads across channels based on site behavior
Integrated Campaigns - Awareness, nurturing, sales coordinated initiatives
CRM Platforms - Centralizing data and insights from all touchpoints
The sum of coordinated cross-channel efforts is greater than the parts thanks to expanded reach and reinforced messaging. But orchestration requires extensive planning and alignment.
Top Cross-Channel Strategies for 2023: Omnichannel commerce capabilities. Personalized behavioral retargeting ads.
Key Takeaways for Your 2023 Marketing Plans
Phew, we covered a ton of ground on the core types of marketing and strategies within each channel! Here are some key universal takeaways:
- Align efforts to clearly defined buyer personas, targeted marketing goals, and data-driven KPIs.
- Balance brand building for the long term with performance marketing for near-term conversions.
- Produce marketing with value and relevance to audiences vs interruption and spam.
- Invest in assets like content and tools that continue working over time versus one-off campaigns.
- Build in agility to double down on what works based on response and optimization.
- Stack the deck with multiple coordinated strategies across channels for amplification.
The biggest learning - successful marketing requires an integrated approach leveraging different tactics that play to their strengths. Hope this overview gives some direction on where to focus as you build plans!
Let me know if you have any other questions on core marketing concepts or how to optimize efforts in 2023. I love geeking out over this stuff. Tell me in the comments to keep the conversation going and best of luck executing your plans!
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