Brands these days are becoming increasingly aware that they have to continuously reinvent their marketing tactics to reach the widest audience in the shortest time possible. From the days of paying for advertising space in glossy magazines and newspaper dailies, brands are now using the internet and cutting-edge tech to promote their products and services to their target audiences and to the general public as well.
Among the most widely-used and dominant marketing tricks that generate tons of engagement is called viral marketing. It can be as simple as a meme posted on Twitter or a funny YouTube video with expensive production. As long as people are clicking on the photo or link to watch or share with friends, viral marketing can catapult even a relatively obscure brand into internet stardom and financial success.
Aside from this marketing trick, there are other equally effective and unusual ways of promoting one’s brands. Here are some of the most uncanny ways of brand promotion that women marketers like you could get inspiration from:
1. Go virtual. The COVID-19 pandemic has given another definition to virtual marketing. From the traditional VR marketing solutions that let potential buyers experience your products virtually using VR goggles, brands are now offering their latest products or services through virtual launches. So, either you want to go with the original definition of virtual marketing (using virtual reality technology), or you prefer the newer method (launching your product or service through the internet), going virtual will surely be something that will turn heads and give you the media mileage that you need for your brand.
2. Get an influencer, try a flash mob, or go celebrity busking. These are three brand promotion tricks that are totally fun and guaranteed to catch people by surprise. While they may seem quite expensive (especially hiring a known celebrity or influencer), the amount of buzz they could generate for your brand would most likely be tremendous. Judging from the way people everywhere seem to have their smartphones on in public places, you wouldn’t even need a professional production company to document the entire stunt — onlookers would most likely take out their phones and do a Facebook Live of the entire event
3. Go Beta. Long before Slack, PayPal, and Pinterest became household by-words, they were at first struggling brands that tried some unusual marketing ploys to create a hushed, yet totally effective strategy to create an air of exclusivity. What these brands did was to make people sign up to use their platforms on a limited accommodation. Such a novel way of making their target markets feel like they were part of an elite circle proved to be such a huge hit for these brands, judging by how big they are right now in terms of popularity and commercial success.
4. Go the tried and tested humor lane. It’s hard to go wrong with good old humor as a way of promoting one’s products or services. Whether it’s the unusual crossover of a beer company and characters from a hit HBO fantasy drama series, or the best Super Bowl ad of 2019 that didn’t actually show on Super Bowl (yes, it’s real!), injecting a dose of humor and inventiveness will surely go a long way in promoting the brand that you handle.
5. Reward loyalty. Among the most effective ways of marketing your brand and generating a cult following is to reward community members who show loyalty to your brand. It can be as simple as designating a particularly loyal follower as a brand ambassador or giving discounts and exclusive event invites to clients that frequent your business. No matter how you wish to do it, the idea is to make those who show your brand unconditional loyalty and support feel and see your appreciation for them.
6. Make your online followers generate content for you. User-generated contents (UGCs) are sometimes the best forms of content since they are essentially the pulse of your market. These marketing contents are today’s equivalent of traditional word-of-mouth marketing and they are truly wide-ranging and, best of all, free. Among the great things about UGCs is that they lend an air of authenticity to brands since people tend to believe more what fellow consumers or followers say about a brand. This image of authenticity is a rare character for a brand to have and is therefore the one thing that you should strive for if you want to establish a solid reputation and enjoy peoples’ trust.
There are other equally unusual and highly effective marketing strategies that a woman marketer like you could have. But these six tricks should be enough to generate the level of brand awareness that you need to promote the brand that you handle.
