21 Types of Marketing For Business Success

Picture this: a bustling marketplace where attention is scarce, and brands jostle for the spotlight. In this dynamic landscape, choosing the right Marketing strategy becomes a high-stakes game. Fear not! We’re about to explore the galaxy of marketing options, each like a star with its unique glow.

It’s the way to connect with the right audience and exceed business growth expectations, so with a multitude of options available, each catering to specific goals and audiences, choosing the right Type of Marketing becomes a pivotal decision. In this blog, we will dive into the most prominent Types of Marketing, that will help you narrow down the best choices for your business requirements.

Table of Contents

1) What is Marketing?

2) Digital Marketing

3) Traditional Marketing

4) Influencer and Advocacy Marketing

5) Partnership and Performance-based Marketing

6) Which Type of Marketing Should you Choose? 

7) Conclusion

What is Marketing? 

Marketing is the process of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service. It involves a variety of activities aimed at understanding customer needs, creating value, and building strong customer relationships. Marketing is not just about advertising or selling; it encompasses everything from market research and product development to pricing strategies and customer service. 

This blog section will expand on the different Types of Marketing for businesses commonly used across the world. 
 

 

Digital Marketing  

Digital Marketing encompasses various online strategies aimed at reaching and engaging a wide audience. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) enhances your website's visibility on search engines, increasing organic traffic. Content Marketing involves creating valuable content to educate and engage your target audience.  According to Statista, the top 10 Digital Ad Agencies in the UK recently reported over 185 million £ of average income.
 

 

Here are some significant forms of Digital Marketing to consider:

Content Marketing

Content Marketing revolves around creating and distributing relevant and consistent content to engage a target audience. By offering informative articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, and more, businesses establish themselves as authoritative sources within their industry. This Marketing approach goes beyond direct promotion, focusing on providing solutions to customer problems, answering questions, and addressing their needs.  

Effective Content Marketing builds trust, promotes brand loyalty, and encourages meaningful interactions. By consistently delivering high-quality content, businesses can position themselves as valuable resources in the eyes of their audience, driving organic traffic, and nurturing lasting customer relationships.

Social Media Marketing  

Social Media Marketing leverages the true power of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect, engage, and interact with a targeted audience. By sharing compelling content, encouraging conversations, and building a community, businesses can amplify their brand presence and influence. According to Statista, up to £3.6 billion is spent annually on Social Media Advertising in the UK. Recent projections indicate that by 2026, over 25 percent of UK businesses' total marketing budgets will be dedicated to social media.

This strategy facilitates direct communication with customers, allows for real-time feedback, and enables the promotion of products or services to a wide and diverse audience. Through strategic posting, hashtag usage, and paid advertising, Social Media Marketing not only improves brand awareness but also cultivates brand loyalty and drives website traffic, ultimately contributing to business growth.

Video Marketing  

Video Marketing has emerged as a captivating strategy in the modern digital era. With its ability to convey messages in a visually compelling manner, video content resonates deeply with audiences. Whether through storytelling, tutorials, or product demonstrations, videos engage viewers, fostering emotional connections and driving brand awareness.  

Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and social media channels provide fertile ground for sharing videos, allowing businesses to reach diverse demographics. As attention spans shorten, concise and impactful video content has become crucial for conveying information efficiently and leaving a lasting impression, making Video Marketing an indispensable tool for modern businesses.

Email Marketing  

Email Marketing remains an essential cornerstone of successful digital outreach. It offers a direct line of communication with your audience, delivering tailored messages and valuable content straight to their inboxes. With the potential for segmentation and personalisation, email campaigns can be finely tuned to resonate with different customer segments.  

From product updates to exclusive offers, emails promote customer relationships, nurture brand loyalty, and drive conversions. However, it's crucial to strike a balance between informative content and avoiding overwhelming the recipients. By crafting compelling subject lines and providing relevant content, Email Marketing continues to be a potent tool for engaging customers and achieving business objectives.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)  

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a pivotal Digital Marketing strategy aimed at enhancing a website's visibility on search engines like Google. By optimising various elements such as keywords, content, and meta tags, SEO helps websites rank higher in search results.  

This increased visibility drives organic traffic, as users are more likely to click on top-ranking results. SEO also improves user experience by ensuring websites load quickly and are easy to navigate. By staying abreast of search engine algorithms and industry trends, businesses can create a solid SEO strategy that boosts online presence, increases brand credibility, and ultimately drives growth and conversions.

Mobile Marketing  

Mobile Marketing is a crucial strategy in today's digital landscape, catering to the growing number of users glued to their smartphones. It involves tailoring your content, ads, and experiences to mobile devices, ensuring seamless navigation and engagement. 

Mobile Marketing includes responsive web design, mobile apps, SMS Marketing, and location-based services. With the convenience of reaching users anywhere, anytime, Mobile Marketing maximises your brand's visibility and engagement potential. By providing a user-friendly mobile experience, businesses can effectively connect with their audience, drive conversions, and enhance customer satisfaction in a mobile-centric world.

Inbound Marketing 

Inbound Marketing focuses on attracting customers rather than interrupting them. Inbound leads have a higher conversion rate and are less costly to acquire. While some Inbound Marketing tactics occur offline, most are digital, as they enable consumers to research online during their buyer's journey. 

Inbound marketing is built on three pillars: 

a) Attract

b) Engage

c) Delight. 

The primary goal is to create valuable content and experiences that resonate with your audience and draw them to your business. This form of marketing includes Blog, Podcast, Case study, ebook etc.

Voice Marketing 

Voice Marketing refers to two strategies:

a) Optimising the website for voice search by incorporating the right keywords.

b) Creating initiatives that leverage smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, to add value to your audience and answer their questions.

Explore creative opportunities by developing a Google Home action or an Alexa skill. For example, Uber created an Alexa skill that enables users to request a ride with a voice command. 

Likewise, TED introduced a feature allowing Alexa users to search for and play TED talks based on tone, topic, or speaker.

Native Marketing 

Native Marketing involves brands tailoring their content and ads to seamlessly integrate with the feel, look, and function of the platform on which they are published.

A popular example of Native Marketing is Netflix partnering with Spotify to promote "Stranger Things." Users could enable a "Stranger Things" mode that assigned them a playlist based on a character. This not only promoted the show through the show-themed art and logos, but also resonated with listeners by aligning the playlist tracks with their personal interests.

To leverage native marketing, it's essential to contact media publications or use a native advertising network to facilitate Ad placement.

Conversational Marketing 

Conversational Marketing involves engaging in 1-on-1 conversations with your audience, providing a natural way to connect with customers and reducing friction in the buying process.

These interactions can occur across various channels like live chat, phone calls, texts, Facebook Messenger, email, Slack, and more. To begin, identify the channels where your audience is most active.

Managing multiple channels can be challenging, potentially leading to slow response times, miscommunication, or productivity loss. Therefore, using conversational marketing tools, such as a unified inbox, can help streamline your efforts.

Unlock your Marketing potential with our expert-led Marketing Training. Join now and pave your way to Marketing excellence!

Traditional Marketing  

Traditional Marketing methods have been pillars of the business world for decades. Print advertising, seen in newspapers and magazines, offers targeted exposure to specific demographics. Broadcast advertising, spanning television and radio, holds the power to reach broad audiences with impactful visuals and messages.  

Here are some prominent Traditional Marketing types:

Outbound Marketing 

Outbound Marketing involves unsolicited promotional activities like email blasts to purchased lists, cold calling, and print advertisements. It's termed “outbound” because it involves sending messages to consumers to generate awareness of your products or services without considering whether they are interested or not.

Event Marketing  

Event Marketing is a dynamic strategy that engages audiences through carefully orchestrated events, both physical and virtual. By creating memorable experiences, brands can promote direct connections with their target demographic. These events can range from product launches, workshops, seminars, trade shows, and webinars.  

Event Marketing enables businesses to showcase their offerings in a hands-on, interactive setting, allowing attendees to experience the brand's values firsthand. This strategy not only generates immediate interest and buzz but also establishes a lasting impression that lingers in attendees' minds, leading to increased brand loyalty, word-of-mouth promotion, and a heightened sense of community among customers.

Experiential Marketing  

Experiential Marketing is among the most dynamic marketing types that immerses customers in unique and memorable brand interactions. By creating hands-on experiences, events, or installations, businesses forge genuine connections with their target audience. This Marketing approach goes beyond traditional advertising, engaging multiple senses and evoking emotions.  

Experiential Marketing not only showcases products or services but also tells a compelling brand story, leaving a lasting impression. By encouraging active participation and promoting emotional connections, companies can deepen customer loyalty, amplify brand recall, and generate word-of-mouth buzz, ultimately translating into increased customer engagement and business success.

Guerrilla Marketing  

Guerrilla Marketing is a Marketing approach that thrives on creativity and surprise. Breaking away from traditional strategies captures attention and sparks conversations in unexpected ways.

This low-cost, high-impact method leverages imaginative campaigns, flash mobs, or interactive installations to leave a memorable imprint on the audience's mind. Guerrilla Marketing encourages engagement and buzz, as it disrupts the ordinary and prompts people to share their unique experiences, generating organic promotion that resonates long after the initial encounter.

Brand Marketing 

Brand marketing involves all the activities aimed at shaping a brand's public perception and creating an emotional connection with the target audience. This includes creativity, humour, storytelling, and inspiration. The objective is to be thought-provoking and spark meaningful conversations, ensuring your brand is remembered positively.

To start brand marketing, it’s vital to understand your buyer persona and monitor what resonates with them. Consider your market position and what sets you apart from competitors which will help define your values and inform your storytelling campaigns.

Elevate your marketing prowess with our Mobile Marketing Course and harness the potential of mobile to fuel your business growth

Influencer and Advocacy Marketing

Influencer marketing and brand advocacy can join hands to enhance your brand message and reach. However, this requires careful balance as selecting influencers involves prioritising those who align with your brand values, goals, and target audience. Avoid choosing influencers solely based on follower count or engagement rate.

The main forms of this marketing are:

Influencer Marketing  

Influencer Marketing is a dynamic strategy that capitalises on the authority and reach of social media influencers. These individuals have cultivated dedicated followings, and their endorsements can significantly impact consumer behaviour.  

By collaborating with influencers relevant to your industry, you can tap into their credibility and connect with your target audience in an authentic way. This Marketing approach humanises your brand, builds trust, and drives engagement. From product reviews to creative content, Influencer Marketing effectively leverages the power of word-of-mouth in the digital age, helping you expand your brand's visibility and ultimately boost sales. 

Word-of-mouth Marketing  

Word-of-mouth Marketing is a potent and organic promotional strategy that harnesses the power of personal recommendations. It relies on satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences with friends, family, and acquaintances. These authentic endorsements hold substantial influence, as people are more likely to trust the opinions of those they know.  

By consistently delivering exceptional products or services, encouraging customer reviews, and fostering a strong customer community, businesses can cultivate Word-of-mouth Marketing. This marketing approach not only enhances brand credibility but also generates a network of loyal advocates who actively amplify your message, contributing to increased brand awareness and customer acquisition.

Buzz Marketing

Buzz Marketing is a viral strategy that leverages interactive events and community influencers to create word-of-mouth marketing and excitement for an upcoming product or service. This approach taps into psychological effects such as FOMO (Fear of missing out) and the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, where consumers start noticing a product everywhere after their initial encounter with it.

To elevate the effectiveness of Buzz Marketing, it's important to engage with influencers early and create a plan to generate excitement around your brand. Additionally, you can use social listening software to monitor and track audience responses, ensuring that your efforts are impactful.

Elevate your marketing prowess with our Content Marketing Course and harness the art of engaging storytelling for business success!

Partnership and Performance-Based Marketing

Performance Marketing includes every marketing strategy where the brand pays for a tangible outcome instead of potential results. 

Performance marketing is data-driven, which means brands only pay partners when buyers take predefined actions. These actions are tracked and measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Partnership marketing is a collaborative approach where two or more businesses join forces to achieve marketing and business goals. Typically, these companies offer complementary products or services that do not directly compete with one another.

This marketing takes two popular forms:

Affiliate Marketing  

Affiliate Marketing is a collaborative strategy where businesses partner with individuals or other companies to help promote their products or services. Affiliates earn a commission for each sale, click, or action generated through their marketing efforts. This approach expands a brand's reach without upfront costs as affiliates leverage their own platforms and audiences to drive traffic.  

Successful affiliate programs offer mutually beneficial relationships, providing affiliates with the opportunity to monetise their influence while allowing businesses to tap into new markets and customers. Transparency, tracking tools, and clear communication are essential for building trust and ensuring a prosperous Affiliate Marketing ecosystem. 

Collaborative promotion for mutual benefit  

Collaborative promotion, a key component of Affiliate Marketing, exemplifies the synergy that arises when businesses unite for mutual gain. In this strategy, two or more companies pool resources, audiences, and expertise to amplify their reach and influence.  

By cross-promoting each other's products or services, they tap into new markets and customer bases. This marketing approach not only reduces costs but also leverages the trust and credibility each business has established. Collaborative promotion thrives on shared goals and values, creating a win-win scenario where all the parties involved reap the benefits of extended exposure and increased sales. 

Which type of marketing should you choose? 

Selecting the right Type of Marketing for your business requires a thoughtful approach that aligns with your goals, target audience, and resources. The plethora of options may prove to be overwhelming, but understanding your unique needs can help guide your decision-making.
 

1) Know Your Goals: Begin by clarifying your marketing objectives. Are you aiming to enhance brand awareness, drive sales, engage with your audience, or all of the above? Different Types of Marketing are better suited for specific goals. 

2) Understand Your Audience: Define your audience and their preferences. Are they active on social media, or do they prefer traditional media? Tailor your choice to where your audience spends their time. 

3) Budget Considerations: Assess your budget realistically. Digital Marketing might require less initial investment than traditional methods. Factor in costs like ad spend, content creation, and Marketing tools. 

4) Industry and Competition: Research your industry and competition. What Marketing strategies are commonly used? Can you find a unique angle or platform to stand out? 

5) Integration Potential: Consider integrating multiple strategies for a holistic approach. A blend of social media, content, and Influencer Marketing, for instance, could offer a comprehensive solution. 

6) Resources and Expertise: Evaluate your team's skill set. Some strategies, like SEO and PPC, might require specialised knowledge. You can either train your team or consider outsourcing. 

7) Measurable Outcomes: Opt for strategies that allow you to measure outcomes. Digital Marketing often provides detailed analytics, helping you gauge the effectiveness of your efforts. 

8) Experimentation: Don't be afraid to experiment. You can start with a mix of strategies and refine your marketing approach based on what generates the best results. 

9) Long-term vs Short-term: Consider whether you're looking for immediate results or building a foundation for long-term success. Some strategies, like SEO, take time to yield results, while others, like PPC, can provide quicker visibility. 

10) Flexibility: Keep your strategy flexible. Consumer behaviours and trends evolve, and your marketing approach should adapt accordingly.

Conclusion 

Selecting the right mix of strategies is pivotal for business success in the modern digital era. From digital to traditional, influencer to mobile, each Marketing approach offers a unique avenue to connect, engage, and drive growth. By understanding the aforementioned Types of Marketing and tailoring them to your brand's needs, you can create a comprehensive and effective Marketing strategy. 

Unlock your Digital Marketing potential with our Digital Marketing Course and take your skills to the next level!