25 Different Marketing Channels – The List is Almost Endless

Selling successfully these days requires the ability to use many different marketing channels to source business. The reason for this is that prospects’ attention is now spread out over many media sources, rather than being limited to television, radio and newspapers as in the past.

To increase business this year, use the following as a checklist of 25 popular marketing channels that you should be leveraging.

1. LinkedIn: Currently the king of social media for B2B types, establishing a presence on LinkedIn is a must for connecting with C-suite execs and other important decision makers.
2. Paid Search (PPC): Google’s entire empire was built on inexpensive paid search results, a testament to this marketing channel’s effectiveness.
3. Organic Search: This is where your SEO efforts come in — attracting prospects to your sites through relevant, keyword-rich content.
4. Direct Mail: Direct mail use has fallen off, which makes it a great opportunity for creative marketers as there is less competition. Handwrite the address and the chances of your prospect opening up the envelope increase.
5. Facebook Page: While there are issues with the amount of fans that actually see your posts on their newsfeeds, the sheer amount of people that use Facebook make having a presence there a must.
6. Pinterest: This channel still has a lot of potential for those who can think visually and have a knack for content curation.
7. Newletters: Both email and paper ones are inexpensive ways to keep top of mind.
8. Manufacturer’s Reps: Often representing several manufacturers, these might be more cost effective for smaller businesses that cannot afford to hire their own sales forces.
9. YouTube/Vimeo: Producing great-looking videos is cheap nowadays; leverage this channel to speak directly to your prospects and show what you can do.
10. TV/Radio/Newspaper ads: Traditional media channels are still alive and kicking — if you have the budget, you can get a lot of traction in your marketplace with an eye-grabbing ad.
11.  Loyalty Cards: These aren’t just for supermarkets; consider offering discounts and rewards for cardholders.
12. Company Website: Everyone has one — but is yours setup for mobile devices as well?
13. Sports or Program Sponsorship: In addition to local sports teams, consider sponsoring a YouTube web series that aligns with your branding.
14. Paid Reviews: Many bloggers will write an honest review of your product on their blog for as little as 10 to 50 dollars. Make sure they disclose that they are getting paid for the review to stay FCC compliant.
15.  Podcasts: Podcasts with interesting guests can generate a lot of attention. Consider making a page on your website with the current episode as well as an easy-to-access archive of past episodes
16.  Press Releases: You can hit major news outlets with a well-written, newsworthy press release. Skip the free services and use something like PRWeb for better distribution and clout.
17. Blogs: Develop a voice, and stick to your guns. Opinions are okay to voice in blogs, whereas they are not recommended in other marketing channels.
18. Tradeshows: A lot of people dread setting up their booths and handing out trinkets, but many smart companies can attest to the success of this marketing channel when leads are handled correctly.
19.  Promotional Items: Going along with tradeshows, you need “swag” to hand out. Invest some money in higher quality items that would tend to get placed on a desk, such as a clock or nice pens with your logo and website URL.
20.  Trade Magazines: The trades are excellent places for recruitment ads and for “stealing” salespeople from the competition.
21. Affiliates: Affiliates promote your product on their websites, blogs, and social media in exchange for a small commission. When someone places an order, everyone wins.
22.  Guest Articles: Find out the influential blogs in your industry, and pitch a guest blog with a link back to your website.
23.  Apps: Apps for tablets and smartphones are becoming major marketing tools for businesses of all types. See this past blog post where I list some excellent resources for building apps for free or low cost.
24.  Technical Support Personnel: Tech support personnel should be offered incentives and even commissions for identifying opportunities to sell upgrades or additional services.
25.  Referrals: The trick is to develop a system; you are losing tons of referrals if you don’t script things out and use your CRM effectively.

Need more marketing tips? Read our past blog articles, or contact us here to sign up for one of our training courses.