Effective Promotion Methods

2023 was a pivotal year for companies worldwide. Even market leaders had to "tighten their belts" to stay afloat and not lose their positions, not to mention small businesses and entrepreneurs who found themselves without assistance and s was a pivotal year for companies worldwide.

Even market leaders had to "tighten their belts" to stay afloat and not lose their positions, not to mention small businesses and entrepreneurs who found themselves without assistance and support.

This unpleasant experience made it clear – the world will never be the same. Flexibility and trend-following are the main qualities needed by leaders in 2024. Success and prosperity await those who can timely respond to trends and apply them competently. Today, we will provide you with a brief overview of the methods that have become especially popular in the wake of the coronavirus and subsequent economic changes. We hope you can take note of some of these promotion techniques to apply them to your business development.

Let's get started!

How to Promote Your Brand in 2024?

The pandemic and global economic changes have marked a new starting point for companies to change their development vector. Some brands drastically cut marketing expenses, while others, conversely, focused on this direction. Digitization and process automation came to the forefront. "Agile marketing" is emerging as the main trend in the promotion of any business type, according to Deloitte research. Without the ability to adapt and adjust to current changes, you risk going bankrupt. The methods we will discuss today have become popular in the last couple of years and are gaining momentum over time. They include an individual approach to the customer, company "transparency", personal brand promotion, and the use of multiple channels for promotion. We will examine both online and offline techniques in detail.

Online Methods

Offline customer interaction methods have taken a back seat for now. Today, companies prefer using tools to interact with customers online: website management, social media, email newsletters, online ads, etc. This is primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to PwC research, before the pandemic began, less than 20% of customers chose to purchase goods online. With the start of self-isolation, this number grew to 60%. Negotiations and consultations are also conducted online, using chatbots, Zoom, Skype, social media, and email. This is convenient, profitable, and helps even small entrepreneurs start selling faster when entering the market. The techniques listed below have been used for years for promotion, but this time we will tell you about the freshest trends in using familiar tools.

New Tools for Website and Social Media Promotion

The website remains the main engine driving the company forward. Slow loading speed, use of outdated design trends, and inconvenient menus – these things will repel users first and foremost. Therefore, comprehensive website optimization considering modern trends is necessary.

Using chatbots is the real "hit of the season". Chatbots facilitate and speed up communication with the customer by providing instant responses. People value their time, so they need clarifications right "here and now" - they definitely won't wait, so we strongly recommend you add this feature to your sales website. You can either script standard responses or connect one of your employees to handle each incoming request in real time.

Don't forget about the website's appearance, as bright and original elements can initially attract a person who will then become interested in the services. This year, web designers are focusing on bright and vivid shades, using 3D objects (especially if they can be played with, rotated, and examined), and asymmetry in placing information blocks and pictures on the page.

There's also a trend towards complicating color schemes. However, you don't need to completely abandon your brand colors, but remember that this severely limits you. Expand your color palette to bring in vibrancy and novelty.

With the trend towards personalization, it's recommended to use photos showing people in design, which will help "humanize" the brand. This works particularly well for social media, but adding faces and developing a brand character will benefit you in any case.

SEO optimization remains significant. The higher your site’s position in search results, the more clicks you get. The more clicks – the higher the conversion rate.

Boosting your site to high positions in search engines will help you increase link mass, work on site errors, speed up page loading, modernize content, and include keywords in articles. It's essential to focus on the mobile version of the site or develop your app, as 80% of people now search for information and make purchases through smartphones. That's why your website must look presentable on all types of devices. What you post on your platforms also plays a crucial role. This is where content strategy comes in, with trends in its development changing year by year.

Content Marketing Trends

With each passing year, the amount of content on the internet increases. Every organization aims to have its blog and regularly share news. People no longer want to spend time reading long texts, primarily because we consume a lot of information throughout the day and find it difficult to focus on one thing for too long. For this reason, brevity, conciseness, and regular posting have become the main trends in content marketing. It's essential to create high-quality and useful content that people will read or watch to the end. Engaging communication forms, contests, and prize lotteries, as well as brief and expert articles with meaningful takeaway, came into play.

Post more user-generated content (UGC). Any feedback from users fits: comments, reviews, personal stories of people whose lives have become more comfortable and better after purchasing your product. The main advantage of UGC content is that it does not require financial investment. The key is to motivate users to post photos, reviews, and write comments more often.

For example, you can offer subscribers discounts or prizes for posting stories about an item purchased from your store. This is how the clothing brand Ostin operates. The company's Instagram regularly features photos of happy customers who have posted their photos online with the relevant hashtag.

When developing a content plan, pay enough attention to video content, as it is a leading trend in 2024.

What to publish: interviews with experts, educational videos, behind-the-scenes footage from production, videos from festive events, promotions, customer video testimonials, etc.

Also, live streams are gaining popularity, where a person conducts a live broadcast, interacting with the audience or playing a game during the stream. This format opens up many opportunities for promotion, as the person can talk about your product, demonstrate it, and immediately answer any arising questions.

Audio Content

Podcasts and special apps for voice messages remain popular as well.

Contextual Advertising

Advertising that seamlessly integrates into content can yield incredible results for business. Such ads (text, banners, video clips) are tied to the context of the page the user visits. For instance, a woman reading an article on how to deal with acne problems might see an ad for acne treatment products on the page.

Contextual advertising is widely used because it is an old and effective promotion method. However, there are nuances to consider when setting up a campaign in 2024:

Buy ads in mobile apps – people are used to playing games on their smartphones during breaks or while commuting. It's also possible to promote in apps – the main thing is to choose an app whose target audience matches your niche.

Personalized messages – by segmenting your audience and showing customers offers tailored to their interests, you can increase conversion. For example, if you own a beauty salon and want to attract both men and women, you should segment your customer base by demographic characteristics and send women emails about women's haircuts and men about men's. Remember, processing requests from non-target customers can waste your employees' time.

On top of this, Google Ads are introducing tools that reduce the role of manual setup and help automate work. Now, you can focus more on the message and the advertising form, emphasizing the message and creatives. Instead of collecting keywords, it's better to work on writing a unique selling proposition (USP) that can hook the person from the first seconds.

Contextual advertising is also following the trend of video content popularity. In 2024, offers with interactive elements, emails with animated banners, and video ads will get more response. Engagement with them is much higher than with static banners. Remember, it's better to segment your audience in advance and develop separate creatives for each consumer group. This way, the advertising will be more targeted.

In addition to setting up campaigns, you can also use influencer marketing, i.e., collaborating with bloggers.

Promotion Through Personal Brand

Faceless companies no longer inspire trust. For Generation Z and millennials, it's crucial for a brand to have its stance on important political, economic, and social issues. Hence, brands strive to develop their unique tone of voice.

The growing role of the "brand face" is also linked to the popularity of promotion methods such as collaborating with bloggers. People, especially the younger generation, trust specific personalities more than companies, which, in the opinion of the average consumer, are solely interested in profit. This is why trust in bloggers is growing – a person is more likely to buy a product recommended by someone they listen to.

Special attention should be given to blogs with a small but loyal audience that shows a stable level of activity and loyalty. Advertising in such blogs yields high conversion thanks to the "quality of the audience", which is a significant advantage in influencer marketing.

Offline Methods

In this article, we aim to cover all the current promotion techniques that will yield results in 2024. Despite the ongoing trend towards digitization and companies striving to establish communication with clients in the online space, the role of offline methods should not be overlooked. These include outdoor advertising, organizing promotional activities, sponsoring events, etc. Each of these directions has its trends:

Merchandising

Merchandising is not just about beautifully arranging products on shelves. It involves a comprehensive set of solutions that collectively motivate a person to enter a store and make a purchase.

Let's discuss the latest trends in this direction:

Eco-friendly Sales

The trend towards environmental conservation and eco-friendliness is still strong. To follow these trends, it's necessary to implement this approach in your organization. For example, clothing brands actively offer customers the option to return old clothes and receive a discount on their next purchase in their store. This method helps increase customer loyalty and logically stems from the trend of personalization, where people pay attention to how brands react to fashionable trends and how ready they are to share progressive views

For instance, the American fashion brand Nordstrom New York has placed containers for collecting unwanted clothing in its stores, which is then donated to charity instead of being discarded.

Interactivity

Another trend is the incorporation of digital methods into offline sales. This includes digital screens that allow people to check if an item is available in the store, play a game, and win a prize, etc.

A popular method now is integration with social networks. For example, placing insta-boxes in retail locations. People can instantly take photos and either print them out right away or post them to their social networks with the brand's hashtag.

Technology and Convenience

In our tech-driven age, it's crucial for customers to enter a store and quickly make purchases without wasting time. Ensure customer safety so they can freely move between shelves (while maintaining social distance, not ending up in a crowded space), quickly find the needed product, and pay for the purchase.

Self-service checkouts are becoming more popular, where people don't need to stand in long lines and can check out the items themselves without waiting. Such checkouts are not yet present everywhere, especially in small shops, but undoubtedly, it is one of the trends of recent years.

After you have effectively organized the space in your store, it's time to think about choosing locations for outdoor advertising.

Outdoor Advertising

2023 was tough for outdoor advertising, but now the trend is slowly returning. Companies are focusing on design and creative development. It's recommended to create several variants and test them to identify the version that best captures potential customers' attention.

If the budget allows, it's recommended to purchase spaces for broadcasting video clips or animations, again aligning with the trend of popularizing video format and interactivity. Today, screens surround us everywhere, so a bright, illuminated billboard will attract attention faster than a standard paper poster or sign on a building wall (though these methods can still be used!).

This refers not only to street signs and screens but also to indoor advertising. In the latter case, you need to place kiosks, screens, and stands in high-traffic areas (supermarkets, public transport, etc.).

The next step that will help address current sales tasks is organizing promotions and reducing prices.

Organizing Promotional Activities

Preparing and holding promotions, festivals, ceremonial events, and distributing leaflets on the street remains an effective way to draw attention to a retail location.

When working with this tool, the main task is to make people understand the benefit of visiting the store on a specific date. People may be interested in expert presentations, the opportunity to win in a contest, purchase discounted products, attend a workshop, or receive pleasant gifts from the brand.

The choice of promotion form depends on the goal you pursue. If you need to sell a specific product quickly, organize a week of low prices or hire promoters to distribute information about the dates of the promotion.

Distributing branded gifts is something to pay close attention to. Free prizes are a win-win option because people love gifts. Especially if you offer genuinely useful and quality items, information about you will spread even faster. It's important to offer truly useful gifts, not just branded pens or pencils.

The next technique is to participate in organizing large city events.

Sponsoring Major Events

In addition to organizing your own events, you can also act as a sponsor participant in thematic events (festivals, city celebrations, birthdays of famous individuals). The key is to choose the type of event where there will be a large concentration of people belonging to your target audience. For instance, tire sellers can sponsor retro car exhibitions.

For well-established companies that have already gained market recognition, this is an excellent strategy that can expand their sphere of influence, grow their customer base, and solidify leadership positions. Moreover, you're likely to receive additional media coverage, as all major city events are accompanied by news articles.

For business newcomers, sponsorship might seem too costly, but it can also serve as a strategy to introduce potential clients to your organization, its values, the assortment offered, and the promotions being held.

It's essential to give festival guests branded gifts or coupons for participation in promotions. This way, the name and logo of your brand will be imprinted in the visitors' memory more quickly.

We have shared with you promotion methods that will deliver the desired results in terms of sales boost. The key is to apply them wisely.

Conclusion

The years 2022 and 2023 have shown that it's not wise to make long-term predictions. Businesses are trying to solve current problems and "here and now," rather than building long-term plans. Following bitter experience, brands are ready to pivot and shift back to remote working formats if necessary. Companies will become even more flexible and selective in their marketing approaches, investing more consciously and cautiously in promotion and utilizing several methodologies that have proven their effectiveness.

Among the relevant promotion methods in 2024, there are both well-known strategies and new ones that are not fully explored yet, hence rarely used.

Try new things and dare to experiment boldly. We wish you luck!