There is no best way to do marketing. It’s a process, one that can evolve quickly depending on your industry, product, or even ideal customer base. It makes sense that most business owners start their marketing strategy by implementing what is most comfortable. 

For example, if Instagram is the social media platform you use most, then it is likely where you would start your marketing efforts. There’s nothing wrong with this approach! In fact, while working with a limited budget, it makes sense to optimize where you are investing your time and effort. 

But as your business grows, your marketing efforts are going to need to expand into less familiar marketing channels. 

What Is a Marketing Channel?

A marketing channel is anyways in which you reach your customers, introduce them to your business, and engage them with your product. For example, marketing channels you should consider leveraging include your website, email marketing, each social media platform, print campaigns, and word of mouth. 

With so many different marketing channels available, identifying which channels are best and how they can be optimized depends significantly on your business. The best way to figure out the best platform for your business is to get in the dead of your ideal and general customers. Are they women, men, single, parents, and then use that information to determine the best social and media platforms to get in front of them.

Market Toward A Greater ROI

To see an increased return on your marketing investment (ROI), aim to get your brand in front of your ideal customer five to seven times as quickly as possible using your marketing channels. 

There are two main ways you can do this: 

Concentrate On a Single Platform

Single-channel marketing is when a business or brand uses only one channel to market to their audience.  For example, if you are concentrating on marketing through Facebook, you could invest in ads until you reach your ideal audience enough times. 

However, depending on your business, a single-channel approach could end up costing you thousands of dollars with little ROI. 

Implement a Multi-channel Approach

We always recommend this approach over investing solely in a single channel because it allows you to get the five to seven impressions faster and with less cost. A multi-channel approach uses different marketing channels to drive towards a common goal.

Where a multi-channel approach might seem more complicated and demand a larger bandwidth, it also uses a smaller ad-budget. By directing potential customers to your website, where they pick up a Pixel, and can also be lead to another call to action, such as signing up for your email marketing. You can then control how and when this audience interacts with their next impression, using an email campaign or advertising exclusively on social media to your previous visitors to your website. 

Anchor Your Channels

When you market successfully, your business grows. In turn, as your business grows, it pushes your marketing to evolve into more intentional strategies. The best way to do this is by anchoring your marketing efforts on all channels to your website. Your website provides an accessible, consistent, and comparatively inexpensive way for you to stay in front of your customers. 

When businesses first launch, most owners recognize that they need a website, even if they don’t necessarily know why or what kind. As their business grows and develops, they discover their website needs to build brand awareness and convert leads to customers. A successful website nurtures the existing communication between the brand and the customer, providing consistency with all other marketing channels. 

This approach can frequently make the goals of each channel simpler. For example, if you run social media ads featuring your product, what they are really doing is generating interest. These ads need to drive traffic somewhere, preferably your website. 

Remember, it’s less about getting in front of your ideal customer than staying in front of them. On average, a brand needs to make five to seven impressions for the potential customer to build brand recognition. Depending on your industry, your product, and the messaging on each touchpoint, you might need to continue nurturing the lead even after seven impressions to secure the sale. Having a robust website that potential customers know about, save you marketing efforts while empowering customers to make the next impression on their own.

If you still aren’t sure where to get started, we can help.

At Raine, we understand how confusing and overwhelming this can be, which is why we offer a free, no-obligation marketing strategy to ensure your business starts in the right direction.