You can’t stand out from the competition when your marketing methods are the same as everyone else’s. However, in this day and age where every marketing method seems to have been exhausted, it can be more difficult than ever. Let’s look at five unusual ways to market your business and, most important of all, leave a lasting impression with likely customers.
Free publicity through charity
There are a number of ways to generate free publicity. Ideally, it comes from tipping off reporters about charitable giving your company already does or volunteering your employees already do. You could build on it by having your team wear their T-shirts or jackets with the company logo while building houses, picking up trash or volunteering.
Remember to have them do interviews about the event and sign releases so photos of them working can be used in the newspaper. Don’t forget to report scholarships your company gives and its winners or hiring events. And in every case, ask that the reporter include a mention of your company and link to the home page. These links have especially high domain authority with search engines.
Free giveaways
Media outlets love to have stuff to give away for contests, and they mention your company as a result. You can increase the impact by giving away branded merchandise that people will use over and over again like custom buttons with photos or something as simple as a notepad with your company’s logo.
Consider giveaways through influencer blogs, too, so that you can leverage their audience to get social media mentions while the influencer gains another freebie to reward his or her audience with. If the influencer is reviewing your product, you can give them freebies as an additional giveaway for their audience to reward them for the review and further reinforce your branding message with their base.
Celebrate your clients
Many businesses send out Christmas cards and holiday baskets to their clients. Instead, celebrate your clients. Send them birthday cards or anniversary cards, a personalized touch that goes a long way in today’s world. To make it even more unique, send them cards with coupons or discount codes for your business whether as a birthday present or “anniversary” present for having been a customer for the past year.
Swag for the trade shows
Trade shows are a classic way to get in touch with corporate buyers and the very engaged public. Try to give out items that are different than what your competitors are giving away. For example, give away stickers with your company logo or contact information on it instead of pens and T-shirts. You can even attend a trade show and give away freebies like this as meet people if you don’t have a booth.
Educational workshops
There are three main ways to capitalize on educational workshops. The first is to hold the educational workshop yourself and give away free items at the end to reinforce your branding message. The second is to sponsor someone else’s educational workshop for the right to do the same. The third option is to attend a public educational event and give out useful items and educational material that is related to the mission.
For example, cities holding educational seminars for the public on how to use less water are excellent forums for lawn services to give out brander soil moisture meters for instance. At a public health workshop, doctors could give out custom printed magnets containing lists of when to go to the ER and when to go to the doctor along with their phone number and address for the latter case.
Key takeaways
Use giveaways as a form of social media outreach and mentions from key influencers, as well as generate word of mouth marketing when done at public events. Give branded freebies away at trade shows and public events.
Make sure your employees are seen in your company T-shirts or uniforms at charitable events and when they are volunteering, and you can ensure this by letting the media know about these events in advance.
