Modern marketing is both a blessing and a curse. In one respect, the internet has opened up the potential for any business to reach a huge global audience. But, that huge platform is also massively saturated, making it harder than ever to get the attention of your potential audience.
Standing out in the busy digital marketplace is a skill in itself, with a whole industry of pay per click and search engine marketing working hard to bring in the traffic.
How can you get people’s attention? Can using a unique marketing campaign make a difference? Or is this just a gimmick?
In this article we’ll take a look at a few approaches you can use to get more human eyeballs on your online ads.
Snapchat filters
Now, you’ve probably seen those funny filters all over the internet. You know, those ones with puppy faces and animated hearts coming out of people’s heads. They’re everywhere, and very popular among a certain demographic. But did you know you can create your own Snapchat filters to promote your business?
As a unique way to get attention with marketing, it can be very effective. Currently this is only available with Snapchat, which is a platform popular with younger web users.
However this can be a great way to generate organic sharing of your filter, especially if you create something really shareable. This is still quite a niche and unique marketing tactic and one that could be great for generating attention to your brand.
Use Reddit
Keeping with the social media platforms, Reddit is an excellent way to push traffic to your site. There are two ways to create unique marketing campaigns with Reddit.
- Create an ad to run on Reddit and target your demographic (the same as any other pay per click ad)
- Search for relevant subreddits and post your link in there, following the rules of the subs.
I can vouch for this as a good way to generate traffic, with several of my top performing pages still getting traffic from Reddit over a year after it was posted there.
This isn’t necessarily a unique marketing strategy, but is most definitely an underused one by many brands.
Get controversial
Controversial ads are one way to stand out, but it can be a thin line between starting a conversation or a backlash.
Some of the best controversial ad campaigns are those that make people laugh, or those that highlight the cause of the underdog. However, on the flip side of that, some controversial ad campaigns have also been accused of everything from racism to cultural insensitivity.
The best way to create a unique marketing campaign using controversial subjects is to test it on a focus group.
Check out some of the most recent controversial ad campaigns to see how they can be a success, or a failure.
Mystery +reveal
People love a bit of mystery, and one way to do this is to build up to a surprising reveal. This is another good way to start a conversation and a unique marketing tactic that can be used by savvy brands.
Let’s say your company is launching a new service, maybe an all in one mobile phone and broadband package. A savvy company would build a buzz around this launch, but leave people wondering what it is. For example, display questions or outrageous statements in highly visible places, accompanied by just a logo (which would tie into the launch). For example:
“I can’t believe I’ve wasted all that money for so long”
“Finally, I am truly FREE!”
You could start with a combined online awareness campaign using programmatic marketing, as well as real world ads on billboards, in print or video ads for YouTube (just as an example).
Then when you launch the digital service, you would tie in an identifiable part of that ad campaign with the new product. Ta-da! People will definitely be talking about it…
Go guerilla
Another tactic when it comes to promoting your business in a unique way? Guerilla marketing is a tactic that is often used, similar to both the mystery approach and the controversial method.
Guerilla marketing normally involves displaying something interactive in the real world that ties into your online marketing.
For example, Volkswagen hung thought bubbles above parking spaces in a shopping mall that said, “I wish I was a VW Golf”, making it look like all the cars parked there were thinking about their brand.
Another option is to create an interactive space, such as a display around a bench on the subway that might encourage people to look, or better still, take a selfie and post it online.
The sky is the limit. If you’re interested in Guerilla marketing then check out a book by Jay Conrad Levinson called, Guerilla Marketing. It’s an old classic, but still very much applicable to the digital age.
Be an expert
People love to listen to experts. It might be Ted Talks, it might be podcasts… As an industry leader (which you are, right), you are probably an expert in your field. Find a way to offer free advice to people, with the caveat that your business is mentioned.
This might be instructional videos on YouTube, free courses on Linkedin, or maybe attending talks in your area. The more people see you and your brand as an authoritative source on a subject, the more they’ll associate your company with quality.
And that, surely, is a truly effective way to run a unique marketing campaign. It’s all about brand awareness and increased website traffic.
If you have any other thoughts on marketing tactics that are underused or unique, feel free to share them in the comments below.