Breaking Through the Clutter with What Really Works
It’s probably because Google, Facebook and (maybe) LinkedIn are tracking my every move that I get a TON of online marketing thrown my way focusing on driving traffic, encouraging signups, increasing engagement, etc.
I get intrigued by the possibility of some new revolutionary method or kernel of wisdom, click through and then the (re-marketing) magic happens.
After all, who doesn’t want to accomplish any or all of these? Now, more than ever, they’re the life blood of nearly any business that relies on online initiatives, even if only in part, for its success. That’s a big percentage.
The problem is (or more accurately, problems ARE) . . .what actually WORKS seems to change fairly rapidly, and what works for some may not necessarily work for others. Which begs the question . . . Aren’t there any digital pursuits that stand a strong chance of proving fruitful for a good percentage of marketers?
A recent, very insightful article by John Garcia appearing in bizjournals.com (have a look) provides a very interesting (and surprisingly concise) take on this subject.
In Garcia’s estimation, there are 5 specific marketing activities that consistently prove effective. To be clear, he is NOT saying that these are the ONLY five, just that they are five with a strong track record of success that continue to work in an ever-changing online world.
Among these:
Driving traffic with a vanity (and just as important, well-constructed) landing page — Garcia makes a strong case that attempting to drive visitors to a hard to remember URL is a low percentage endeavor. Visitors to virtually any site are not interested in testing their recall. If they like what they see, they’re willing to exchange the customary name and email in exchange for strong perceived value, but they aren’t willing to jump through hoops to play along.
Like, Comment and Share Contests — It’s common knowledge that most social media platforms reward providers of content that fosters engagement. This relatively low-tech endeavor still works because it leverages this information and makes it easy for visitors to participate.
Birthday Email Clubs — Even more low-tech. But they WORK. People like feeling special. Go figure.
Referral Programs — A caveat certainly applies here, as programs that offer little perceived value in exchange for visitors to extend themselves by referring others have little chance of success and great chance of annoyance.
Pop-Ups — This seems about as counter-intuitive as they come. After all, who likes POP-UPS? pretty much no one in the world is who. But Garcia makes a convincing argument that new visitors WILL respond favorably to a tasteful and well-constructed pop-up, providing they are encountering a lot of perceived value with your content.
Again, well worth a read. (have a look)
Jon Lee is a Los Angeles-based marketing, marketing communications and events professional and the former Director of Marketing for the LA Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena. He can be reached at Jon@JonFLee.com
Originally published at jonflee.com on August 25, 2016.
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