Look back for a second. What was the last website you visited? Why did you visit that website? Was it because you clicked on a pop-up ad or a banner? Or was it because it was the first one that popped up on Google? It might have been because your favorite influencer prompted you to check out a brand or a product. If you are familiar with all these situations, you are familiar with marketing tactics used by companies. But, this is not all. Marketing tactics are not just about influencers or pop-up ads. Read on to find out why!
Marketing Tactics Definition
When we look around or browse the internet, maybe even just for a couple of minutes, we come across various advertisements. Some might not be very obvious advertisements - in the sense that they grab your attention, but you do not consciously perceive them as advertisements. This is a type of marketing tactic used by brands.
Marketing tactics include, but are not confined to, brand communications efforts. They may consist of various forms of promotion that can help increase the brand's popularity.
Marketing tactics are the actions a brand follows to promote its products or services to the target audience and achieve its goals.
Brands use numerous tricks and techniques to capture a potential or existing customer's attention. The techniques will differ depending on the brand's goals, financial status, and target audience. Curious to know what they are? Let's find out.
What is the difference between marketing tactics and marketing strategy?
Marketing tactics should not be confused with marketing strategy. They are not synonymous.
A marketing strategy is a plan that is determined to achieve a goal. It involves segmenting and targeting customers and positioning the product on the market. This is the planning phase.
Marketing tactics carry out the planned strategies to achieve the goal. This is the action phase.
Types of Marketing Tactics
Not all brands can use the same marketing tactics, even if they belong to the same industry. This is because some brands may have financial restrictions, while others may have a different target audience. The marketing tactics a company uses will also differ based on what they are trying to achieve.
Of the many types of marketing tactics, given below are some of the commonly used tactics among companies:
Types of Marketing Tactics: Paid Marketing
This is a marketing tactic where the company pays a third party to promote its products or services. Paid marketing tactics include:
1. Search Marketing - companies pay search engines so that their advertisements are ranked higher up among other advertisements. This will mean that the advertisement will be displayed on the top of the search engine result page (SERP), attracting more people.
2. Display Marketing - every banner and pop-up ad you see of brands is an example of paid display marketing.
3. Social Media Marketing - paying to have your brand's advertisements appear on social media platforms.
4. Influencer Marketing - brands pay influencers with a huge follower base to promote their products.
5. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) - the brand pays the publisher every time a user clicks on their advertisement.
Paid marketing is a type of digital marketing tactic.
Types of Marketing Tactics: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO focuses on improving the quality of a website. It is a way to ensure more traffic to the website or web page by using the right keywords and content. SEO brings up the rank of a website, making it more accessible and visible to users.
SEO should not be confused with Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Although often used synonymously, they are different. While SEO focuses on organically improving the ranking of a website to improve its visibility, SEM is a paid marketing method to increase the website's ranking.
Types of Marketing Tactics: Affiliate
In affiliate marketing, a brand pays a third party to bring in more leads and views. The third party then finds ways to bring in more website traffic. Affiliate marketers get paid every time a user purchases something from the website. The brands can track the number of new users or customers that visit their site through the affiliate marketer; users visit the site using a unique link or apply for discounts using a special code.
The three types of affiliate marketing include unattached, involved, and related affiliate marketing.
Types of Marketing Tactics: Email
Email marketing is another prevalent form of marketing practiced by companies. Companies list their loyal and potential customers with their email addresses and send notifications about upcoming offers and discounts. Email marketing is also used to benefit their loyal customer base with notifications of early access offers, etc.
Types of Marketing Tactics: Partnership
The strategic association between brands (two or more) to achieve their respective goals is known as a partnership. This marketing tactic has many advantages for all involved parties, such as increased revenue and brand awareness.
One of the unique features of a partnership is that the reputation of one of the brands can influence the other. This can affect the partnered companies both positively and negatively. Therefore, brands need to understand their partner brand(s) very well and ensure that the brands' values align with each other. But if done correctly, partnerships can attract a vast audience.
Characteristics of Marketing Tactics
As marketing tactics are used to promote a brand's products, it is vital to ensure that the marketing tactic used is the right one. It should yield the desired result. The chosen marketing tactic should have the following characteristics:
1. Fit for the target audience - Knowing your audience and their behavior is essential as it will help you formulate and choose the appropriate marketing tactic to capture the audience's attention better.
2. Fit for the purpose - it is crucial to know the marketing campaign's aim to ensure that the correct marketing tactic is implemented.
3. Innovative - If a brand's communications are not out of the ordinary or do not stand out, they might fail to catch the audience's attention.
4. Measurable - it is easier when companies use marketing tactics that can help them measure their progress and identify how far or close they are to reaching their goal.
Digital Marketing Tactics
Digital marketing tactics are digital methods used by marketers to promote a brand. They help brands reach their customers by providing them with information about the brand, its products, and its services. It also allows them to interact with their customers and answer their questions.
Different marketing tactics can help a brand reach its audience. Digital marketing tactics include both paid and organic promotional methods.
Digital Marketing Tactics: Inorganic or Paid
Paid digital marketing tactics are also called inorganic marketing techniques. This means that these techniques bring in inorganic traffic to a website or web page. Websites can gain inorganic traffic by paying third parties that use techniques to nudge customers to visit your website.
Listed below are common paid digital marketing tactics:
Digital Marketing Tactics: Organic or Unpaid
Unpaid marketing tactics are also called organic marketing tactics as it brings organic user interaction to the website. Users who visit a website or webpage and want further information about the brand are considered organic views. This is when a person looks up a particular website rather than accidentally viewing the page because of a pop-up ad, banner ad, or other paid promotions.
Some of the commonly used organic digital marketing tactics include:
Examples of Marketing Tactics
If a company is successful, it must have implemented the right marketing tactics that captured its audience's interest. Let's look at some of the marketing techniques used by brands we are all familiar with.
Marketing Tactics Example: Puma
Puma, the sports brand, is an example of a brand that uses a combination of social media platforms and influencer marketing to promote its products. Puma pays fitness influencers to wear their merchandise while filming a fitness video. This way, followers of the influencer will be made aware of the latest products launched by Puma. Followers are likelier to buy from their favorite influencer's brand, increasing Puma's sales.
Marketing Tactics Example: Paula's Choice
Paula's choice is a cosmetic brand that uses many types of digital marketing tactics, both paid and unpaid, to promote its products. The brand has a digital presence through its social media handles and websites. Paula's choice's products can be seen used by influencers on social media platforms like Instagram. The brand also publishes expert advice on many skin care queries its users or potential users might have, resulting in organic views. These techniques have made the brand very popular among skincare enthusiasts.
Marketing Tactics Example: Marriott
This very successful hotel chain uses email marketing tactics and has been very successful with it so far. They send their guests personalized emails reviewing the customer's year with Marriott. The email provides an overview of the number of nights the guest has stayed and the number of countries they have visited. It also includes information on earned and redeemed loyalty points, the number of properties the guest visited, and the sub-brands the guest has stayed in. They also included an overview of the overall community data of Marriott members. This gives their guests a sense of belonging, encouraging them to remain loyal to the brand.
As we have seen, marketing tactics play a significant role in brand awareness and product promotion. However, tactics can also be tricky to implement as the brand might not see the desired results if ineffective tactics are used. Now, think about some of your favorite brands, and try to understand the marketing tactics they have used over the years. It might also be interesting for you to try and figure out what marketing tactics have caught your attention.
Marketing Tactics - Key takeaways
- Marketing tactics are the actions a brand follows to promote its products or services to the target audience and achieve its goals.
- Commonly used marketing tactics include paid digital marketing, SEO, affiliate marketing, email marketing, and partnership marketing.
- The strategic association between brands (two or more) to achieve their respective goals is known as a partnership.
- The characteristics of marketing tactics include: fit for the target audience, fit for the purpose, innovative, and measurable.
- Digital marketing tactics can be both organic and inorganic.
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