By Brett Farmiloe
From utilizing TikTok and UGC to sharing your knowledge with customers, 17 CEOs, marketing managers, and industry experts share their favorite marketing practices to help you grow your business.
Marketing strategies to grow your business
1. Utilize TikTok and user-generated content
"We’re meeting our under-24 audience where they love to live: TikTok. Younger audiences respond well to visual user-generated content. With so much digital media available at their fingertips, we believe they appreciate the authenticity of UGC more than traditional advertising methods, especially in shorter video formats.
"We’ve built our TikTok platform with peer-driven UGC to naturally draw more users to our platform. By sharing highly relevant, valuable content, like study tips and college hacks, we’ve helped more students find our platforms while building an authentic, trustworthy brand."
—Marnix Broer, Studocu
2. Incorporate creative elements into social media
"Your marketing should be fun and engaging. We use memes, trending topics, and other creative elements in our social media marketing campaigns to stand out from the boring B2B communications that are out there. We want our marketing to be memorable and relevant to our audience.
"In recent times, we have used references from Netflix shows and Taylor Swift songs to talk about our product features and create a buzz. Our product positioning is all about "no more boring emails," and we think our marketing strategy reflects that. We are always looking for new ways to innovate and keep our marketing fresh."
—Aquibur Rahman, Mailmodo
3. Create buyer personas
"By now, most merchants understand that there’s power in personalization. True personalization means really understanding your customers. Therefore, drafting a buyer persona is the most fundamental step when it comes to personalized marketing strategies. A buyer persona touches on details like who your target customer is, what their goals are, and likely roadblocks that could keep them from converting. After you have clearly defined these aspects, you will be able to tailor messaging to them in a remarkable way."
—Stephanie Venn-Watson, fatty15
4. Use adaptive content marketing strategies
"Adaptive content marketing is one of the best strategies that our company uses to stand out in a crowded market. This strategy helps us provide engaging and relevant content to our targeted audience. Significantly, we customize our content according to the feedback of our clients to ensure that we deliver content that is tailored to the interests of the audience. In addition, we also use various social media platforms to leverage our content and attract more clients and gain their trust."
—Julian Fernau, FluidFreeRide
5. Emphasize transparency
"Many pet owners are left guessing what might be in their pets' food. However, we are transparent in our marketing about the ingredients in our product. On our website, we list every ingredient in our Optimeal pet food, and their benefits. This empowers our customers to perform research and make the best choice for their pets."
—Lyudmyla Dobrynina, Optimeal
6. Offer an ROI guarantee
"One marketing strategy that has set our company apart is offering an ROI guarantee in our SEO service. It's a bold move in a niche like ours, but it demonstrates our confidence in delivering results.
"How we implement it is through careful calculation. We determine the value of an SEO marketing qualified lead (MQL) and estimate the number needed to meet an agreed ROI threshold. If we fall short, we offer a full refund. This, however, is an invite-only service, as we maintain stringent criteria for qualification. This strategy signals our commitment to our clients' success and sets us apart in a crowded industry."
—Jaya Iyer, Teranga Digital Marketing
7. Pay attention to online reviews
"We stand out because we prioritize our online reviews and reputation. Online reviews and reputation management are crucial, but often overlooked. It's important to understand that what customers say about your brand impacts your reputation. A single negative review, tweet, or Facebook status could significantly impact any or all of your business parameters.
"Remember that you're as good as your reputation. It doesn't matter if you have the best product or services, but if your reputation says otherwise, potential customers will not trust your brand. With this, ensure that you take care of your existing clients because their reviews are the most unbiased testimonials you can provide to your future clients. Provide your customers with prompt service and get back to them as soon as possible.
"It is still possible for a customer to find a fault in your business, but if you answer their questions or respond to their needs, chances are they will give you a decent online review or rating."
—Tristan Harris, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency
8. Reach key accounts through targeted advertising
"We're a small agency, so we can't 'boil the ocean' with ads. Instead, we create targeted lists of a few hundred companies we really want to reach. Then we ensure our ads are delivered only to decision-makers and buying influencers in those target accounts—across LinkedIn ads, other social platforms, and top media websites like Forbes.com and Inc.com. This helps us punch above our weight class; within those targeted accounts we have similar exposure to the giants of our industry. When choosing what to promote, I prefer a mix of news about our company's successes, beautifully designed quotes from clients, and ads detailing our offerings and unique benefits and advantages."
—Ryan Draving, The Moving Company
9. Incentivize word-of-mouth referrals
"Recognizing the value of personal relationships in our industry, we have turned to the power of word-of-mouth referrals to incentivize partners with $100 for every successful referral to our reservation management software. Implementing this strategy was straightforward and is grounded in our community's trust. We clearly communicate the benefits of our software and how it helps streamline the reservation process. This strategy has not only expanded our customer base, but also strengthened our reputation as a trusted provider. Sometimes you don't have to come up with a disruptive marketing idea to actually scale the business."
—Ravi Parikh, RoverPass
10. Leverage collaborations
"A lot of people try to do marketing on their own. And while that can definitely work, it takes a lot longer. Collaborating with other businesses in complementary niches/industries allows you to not only connect and get in front of a new audience, but it also builds trust 10 times faster because it's like a digital word-of-mouth recommendation. If you run a home-based business, it's also a lot more fun to connect and collaborate with others than to spend time at home by yourself recording reels or TikToks."
—Mariah Liszewski, Mariah Magazine, LLC
11. Send personalized video messages
"Instead of sending traditional marketing emails or advertisements, we create short, customized video clips for potential clients, addressing them by name and speaking directly to their needs and interests. This approach has allowed us to stand out in a crowded market and connect with our clients on a more personal level, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive with many clients expressing appreciation for the extra effort and attention to detail."
—Ilija Sekulov, Mailbutler
12. Partner with social media influencers
"By partnering with influencers in my niche, I have been able to reach a wider audience and build credibility for my brand. The key has been finding influencers who align with my brand values and have an engaged following that matches my target market. I collaborate with them to create authentic content that showcases my products or services in a genuine way.
"This strategy has helped me tap into a highly engaged audience and generate increased brand awareness, traffic, and sales for my business. It's important to establish clear goals, negotiate fair compensation, and track the results of each influencer campaign to ensure its effectiveness."
—Samuel Fletcher, SupplyGem
13. Utilize online marketplaces
"I have found that marketplaces like Fiverr are great places to find clients actively looking for services like mine. Customers find me based on their filters and searches, so I'm always speaking to qualified leads who are ready to do business. I don't have to spend money on ads, which helps me stay profitable. The marketplace takes a percentage of every sale, so I'm only paying out when I get customers. It truly is a win-win."
—Alli Hill, Fleurish Freelance
14. Focus on hyper-local targeting
"In my PPC consultancy, one unique strategy that's consistently delivered results is hyper-local targeting. By narrowing my focus to specific neighborhoods or communities, I've been able to craft highly personalized ad messages that resonate deeply with local audiences. This granular approach not only reduces competition and cost-per-click but also fosters a sense of community connection, making my services feel more accessible and tailored to each client's unique locale."
—John Cammidge, J Cammidge
15. Sponsor local events
"Sponsoring local events is a great way to foster meaningful connections within the community. By sponsoring events such as destination-wedding expos, travel fairs, and even charity fundraisers, not only have we increased our brand visibility but it has allowed us to interact with couples face-to-face. The positive word-of-mouth and relationships built from these events has contributed significantly to our growth and credibility in the market."
—Jim Campbell, Honeymoons
16. Embrace experiential marketing
"Businesses can break through the clutter and ultimately succeed in a crowded market by designing engaging and memorable experiences for their target audience. An example of experiential marketing is pop-up stores where businesses erect transient physical venues and provide customers with engaging and customized experiences. Customers can connect with brand ambassadors, interact with items in-person, and then post about their experiences on social media, which will create a buzz and attention."
—Kurt Uhlir, KurtUhlir.com
17. Publish a book
"As the CEO of my company, I authored and self-published a book containing insights about our company and our industry. Available for purchase and as a complimentary gift for top clients, the book has served to bolster our brand visibility, reinforce our authority in the industry, and set our company apart from competitors."
—Vikrant Shaurya, Authors On Mission
About the Author
Post by: Brett Farmiloe
Brett Farmiloe is the founder and CEO of Terkel, a Q&A site that converts insights from small business owners into high-quality articles for brands.
Company: Terkel
Website:
Terkel.io
Connect with me on
LinkedIn.
