by Riley Cook & Amelia Taylor, Branndet Marketing Group
Marketing for businesses is the process of promoting products or services to attract customers, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive sales. It involves multiple strategies, from advertising to link building. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to marketing a business and driving sales because there are several factors to consider—competition, your team, demand, and of course, your audience.
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Who is your audience, and is there a demand for your product or service within that niche? One of the benefits of working with agencies such as Branndet Marketing Group is that their team conducts a thorough analysis of your business and advises which service is best for your business at that moment. For example, a small business may not benefit from public relations because the average journalist is unlikely to get approval to write about a brand that is not already popular among the general public.
There is a plethora of publicists who are essentially ambulance chasers. In other words, they prey on small to medium-sized businesses to pay them a monthly fee in exchange for organic traffic from publicity. This is harmful to business owners because their marketing budget is consumed by dishonest “professionals.” Since the primary focus of a business owner is to make money, they are often willing to trust these individuals.
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Ultimately, the results are minimal or nonexistent. Platforms such as Qwoted, Haro, and Cision are great, and most publicists utilize these platforms to garner publicity for their clients. However, it’s not as simple as drafting a press release and mass emailing it. What many PR firms lack are relationships. Branndet Marketing Group is a subsidiary of She’s SINGLE Magazine, both owned by ASIAS Brands. With that being said, the relationships built through the publication with other journalists, celebrities, influencers, and more are utilized to benefit the clients of BMG.
So, clients can rest assured that the relationships are established and publicity in almost any capacity is guaranteed. However, because these relationships must be mutually beneficial, Branndet’s experts won’t allow a small business to receive their publicity package if providing coverage for that business will not benefit the media outlet. This saves the client money and the journalist their time.
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The average business cannot see success without marketing, as entrepreneurship is being heavily pushed to the masses, making the competition even steeper. But luckily for many serious business owners, the average person will not stick it out past six months. Lack of education, patience, and a clear business plan will always lead to the downfall of any company—big or small. With businesses flooding apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, now is a great time to reintroduce traditional marketing.
Run ads in print magazines that guarantee digital and online marketing as well. She’s SINGLE Magazine offers what’s known as branded content campaigns, which include both print and digital (online) marketing. Ads run in their print issue—which is on newsstands for three months—are simultaneously run on the website. Online readers who are also subscribed to receive the print issue will see the same ads at least 3-7 times, heavily influencing their purchase decisions. The more a potential customer sees your ad, the more likely they are to purchase from you.
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Self-service ad platforms like social media are not beneficial to the average business owner because there is no one to help ensure that your goals are met. It’s like holding money over the stove and letting it burn slowly. You want to focus on working with ad agencies that have real people who specialize in your niche and who take pride in seeing their clients get results.
There are now two popular marketing tactics being adopted by businesses via TikTok and Instagram:
SHAME-BASED MARKETING –
This is a marketing tactic that seeks to provoke feelings of shame, guilt, and inadequacy in consumers to drive them toward purchasing a product or service. Phrases like, "Oh see that person right there, they follow us but have never purchased anything from our store," or beauty ads that highlight "flaws" such as wrinkles, cellulite, or acne, fall into this category. This type of emotional manipulation makes consumers feel bad about themselves or their current situation.
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Since emotions play a large role in how we consume, this can be effective, but for all the wrong reasons. A customer might make a one-time purchase to alleviate their guilt, but once that dopamine rush settles, they may return the product, leave a bad review, or discontinue its use once their mood changes. Two alternatives to shame-based marketing are empowering marketing, which focuses on positive messages that inspire confidence and self-worth, and authentic marketing campaigns that celebrate diversity, normality, and individuality, helping customers feel seen and appreciated for who they are.
RAGE BAIT MARKETING –
High-end luxury brands have become notorious for this, but is it a marketing tactic to sell goods or to turn off a particular demographic from shopping for their items? Rage bait marketing is a controversial tactic that intentionally provokes strong emotional reactions, particularly anger and outrage, to generate attention, engagement, and virality for a brand or product. Smaller brands should never attempt this—it’s almost impossible to come back from it.
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While the goal is to drive traffic, shares, comments, and brand visibility, this often lacks in sales, which defeats the purpose. Bumble recently experienced this with their billboard on celibacy, as did Balenciaga with their campaign featuring children in dominatrix attire. This can lead to boycotts, long-term losses, and ethical concerns. Instead, focus on positive emotion marketing—the better you make a person feel, the more likely they are to continue doing business with you.
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To market effectively, start small. Instead of marketing your entire business, begin with one service or product. For example, if you have a beauty brand and sell a product that helps relieve dry, chapped lips, center your marketing efforts around that one product for the fall.
In the summer, push for a setting spray that is simply amazing and will help reduce makeup transfer. Most consumers aren't initially shopping for the brand—they are shopping for an item they like or one that has been suggested to them via word-of-mouth. For more information on word-of-mouth marketing, check out my other article here.