Every business approaches marketing in different ways. While some are more effective than others, chances are you have used a combination of methods. There are three common approaches to marketing that many businesses find effective. These include organic, paid, and earned methods. You might find one better suited to your company’s marketing strategy overall or one that meets specific goals. These methods can overlap and build on each other, which is recommended. This post is a brief overview of these marketing strategies and how they can benefit your business.
ORGANIC
Organic marketing refers to exposure through the means of your own content. This is also known as “owned” marketing. Examples of organic marketing include your website, blogs, videos, and even the content on your social media profiles. If your content is informative, compelling, and is well targeted to your specific audience, the result is organic growth. A major benefit to organic growth is that your content helps propel your success so that you do not have to rely as much on other avenues. However, a potential downside to organic marketing efforts is that the results are not usually as dramatic.
PAID
If you hesitate to embrace paid marketing because of not wanting to appear inauthentic, that’s understandable. The good news is that you can use paid marketing strategies and still be successful at reaching your target market. Paid marketing includes methods like display ads, social media ads, pay-per-click/view, etc. In general, anything that involves paying to reach an audience falls under the paid marketing category. The biggest drawback to paid marketing approaches is that it does involve spending money on ads. There is also a certain amount of risk with running paid ads. However, you also can target a specific audience more easily than other mediums.
EARNED
The third prong approach is earned marketing. Earned marketing includes all content about your business that you did not either create yourself or pay for. Social media mentions, product reviews, and media publicity are all examples of earned content. In many ways, earned marketing incorporates the best of organic and paid approaches. Word-of-mouth, like-minded endorsements, and social shares boost the reach of your organic, owned content while also exposing your brand to your target audience. Product reviews, for example, can go a long way in drawing customers to your store and website because they increase your credibility. In the modern age of social media, most people will trust a friend or even a social influencer more than an ad they see. Take advantage of this and see how you can leverage earned marketing efforts to meet your business goals.
There is not a one size fits all approach to marketing that meets everyone’s needs, incorporating these three aspects will help propel your business to the next level. To learn more about how our team at Rose & Gold can help you navigate these approaches, email hello@roseandgold.com or call us at (413) 224-3363.
