Great marketing is one of the most important backbones of a successful business. Whether the marketing is for a large, international corporation or a small mom and pop business, it's a key piece of driving sales, increasing brand awareness, and retaining customers.
Without creative, engaging marketing, it's much harder for a business to stay afloat. If recent marketing efforts have made you realize just how true this is, it's time to start thinking out of the box - and this is the perfect place to start.
Here are 11 creative media marketing ideas to help your campaigns go from flops to fabulously memorable.
1. Social Media Contests
It's not enough to post a few things on social media throughout the week. If you're not asking questions in your captions or creating amazing images that will make people stop scrolling, you have to do something else to get their attention.
That "something" is a contest that your audience can't help but enter. The prize may be a huge giveaway of your products, a combination of your products and other goodies your target audience would enjoy, or a travel-themed item like plane tickets or a free stay somewhere.
But whatever you use to get their attention, also make sure your contest is structured in a way that gives you results - like a significant increase in social media followers or more brand awareness via sharing your post.
2. Influencer Marketing
Another way to stand out on social media is to have a familiar, trusted individual represent your brand. Try influencer marketing if your own posts aren't generating the traffic you're looking for. This will get your brand in front of many new prospects and help you reach them in a way that's direct but not pushy.
Influencer marketing will make more people curious about who you are and what you do. It gets their attention enough so that you can then nurture this interest with more creative pieces of content.
3. Live Streams
Don't forget about the option to host a live stream while working on your social media marketing.
This is a great way to really be direct and transparent with your audience.
Instead of showing them some carefully-crafted post or making sure your feed is perfectly branded, a live stream allows you to be personal. It's a great way to get feedback from your audience, show them what happens behind the scenes of your social media profile, or to give them an exclusive, exciting update to what they can expect in the near future!
4. Podcasts
If you have a little more to share with your audience than you can cover in a live stream, turn your message into a podcast. You may want to consider seeing this creative media marketing through to your own podcast series, or it may be better to just appear as a guest on an already established podcast.
Either way, your message has to be spot on. People won't spend an hour or even 20 minutes listening to something that doesn't relate to them. Your podcast should have a theme that they care about, presented in a way they haven't heard before.
5. Online Courses
Speaking of presenting things to your audience in a new way, have you tried teaching them something new? An online course can do wonders for your brand awareness and conversion rates. It's a great way to create more reach in your market and build trust without asking for a sale right away.
Instead, you're showing how much value you can really offer your audience by giving them something first, then asking for them to purchase something later.
6. Pop-up Events
Although digital media marketing is great, sometimes the best creative marketing strategies occur off-screen. If there's a local event going on that your target audience would attend or a big conference worth going to, make sure you're there and that you're using your time to make valuable connections.
Do something out of the ordinary to make people want to spend a bit of time with you. You may have cocktails or great food, incredible giveaways, or perhaps, have a celebrity come to represent your company.
7. Eye-Catching Creations
If your team can't personally be at an event, make sure you at least have some sort of brand presence there - and show up in a way that no one else will. Swap boring banners and booths for something people can't help but notice.
This may be an interactive installment at an event, a series of 3-D billboards around the event that are tied into its theme or market, or some sort of geo-fenced campaign via email or social media. There are so many things you can do to get noticed even without team members at the event, you just have to get creative!
8. Community Service
Have you tried making your company's values the focus of your marketing campaigns? It may be better to start with the big picture of your brand instead of trying to have people buy into a product offering right away.
This is even more effective if you focus on your target audience's values. If your ideal consumer is someone who is interested in climate change or sustainability, host a beach or park clean up. If they care about animals, do something to benefit a local shelter.
9. Value-Driven Messaging
Participating in value-driven events can be a great way to get attention, but you have to keep that attention long-term. That's where value-driven messaging comes in. It's how you take that initial interest from being at an event or hosting one, to creating a lasting relationship with your audience.
This doesn't have to build on an event or action, either. It can be mixed into social media campaigns and even landing page copy on your website, but the key is to always make sure that whatever your value-driven messaging claims is a true reflection of your company.
10. Blogs
Up next on the list of creative media marketing ideas is blogging! Blogs are the modern-day magazine; everyone is reading them and there's one for every kind of industry. All you have to do is either write a guest blog on a popular industry site or start your own popular blog for people to engage with your brand in a new way.
11. Emails
Last but not least, emails. Many marketers make the mistake of assuming email is dead. While it's definitely not a new concept to consumers, emails still work when they are carefully crafted and sent to the right audience.
Your emails have to be worth opening and reading all the way through. Most importantly, they need to create the actions you're looking for. It doesn't matter how many emails are opened if only a few recipients register for your event or purchase something from your sale. The true sign of a successful email campaign is how many conversions it creates.
Next-level Creative Media Marketing
Speaking of conversions, as great as all of the creative media marketing ideas listed above are, they're only worth using when they generate the results you're looking for. It's not worth putting time and money into something just because it's trendy or competitors are doing it.
Marketing campaigns work best when they're intentional and creative.
You can't have one without the other and expect to succeed; you need to be both strategic and targeted while trying out a new way to reach your audience. That's how great results are achieved - so before you start working on any of these media marketing ideas, work on the strategy of your next campaign!
This may be an interactive installment at an event, a series of 3-D billboards around the event that are tied into its theme or market, or some sort of geo-fenced campaign via email or social media. There are so many things you can do to get noticed even without team members at the event, you just have to get creative!
8. Community Service
Have you tried making your company's values the focus of your marketing campaigns? It may be better to start with the big picture of your brand instead of trying to have people buy into a product offering right away.
This is even more effective if you focus on your target audience's values. If your ideal consumer is someone who is interested in climate change or sustainability, host a beach or park clean up. If they care about animals, do something to benefit a local shelter.
9. Value-Driven Messaging
Participating in value-driven events can be a great way to get attention, but you have to keep that attention long-term. That's where value-driven messaging comes in. It's how you take that initial interest from being at an event or hosting one, to creating a lasting relationship with your audience.
This doesn't have to build on an event or action, either. It can be mixed into social media campaigns and even landing page copy on your website, but the key is to always make sure that whatever your value-driven messaging claims is a true reflection of your company.
10. Blogs
Up next on the list of creative media marketing ideas is blogging! Blogs are the modern-day magazine; everyone is reading them and there's one for every kind of industry. All you have to do is either write a guest blog on a popular industry site or start your own popular blog for people to engage with your brand in a new way.
11. Emails
Last but not least, emails. Many marketers make the mistake of assuming email is dead. While it's definitely not a new concept to consumers, emails still work when they are carefully crafted and sent to the right audience.
Your emails have to be worth opening and reading all the way through. Most importantly, they need to create the actions you're looking for. It doesn't matter how many emails are opened if only a few recipients register for your event or purchase something from your sale. The true sign of a successful email campaign is how many conversions it creates.
Next-level Creative Media Marketing
Speaking of conversions, as great as all of the creative media marketing ideas listed above are, they're only worth using when they generate the results you're looking for. It's not worth putting time and money into something just because it's trendy or competitors are doing it.
Marketing campaigns work best when they're intentional and creative.
You can't have one without the other and expect to succeed; you need to be both strategic and targeted while trying out a new way to reach your audience. That's how great results are achieved - so before you start working on any of these media marketing ideas, work on the strategy of your next campaign!
