10 Types of Marketing to Get Your Business Noticed

Marketing is the bridge connecting your organization with its target audience, driving sales and brand recognition. In today's dynamic, tech-driven world, you may need more than a one-size-fits-all approach. Many companies now incorporate various types of marketing in their campaigns, including direct mail, social media, and podcasts, to get the word out about their products and services.

Equip yourself with the knowledge to use marketing to target individuals or businesses effectively. Explore a diverse toolbox of marketing methods and learn how to craft a marketing plan tailored to your unique needs.

What is marketing?

Marketing involves making consumers aware of products or services and promoting them. Think of consumers as the entities who pay for (consume) your company's goods or services. In marketing, consumers can be individuals or businesses. 

The American Marketing Association's definition of marketing centers around four activities, commonly called the four Ps: product, price, promotion, and place. Take a closer look at each component:

• Product: Marketing a product (or service) should meet a consumer's needs and undergo a natural life cycle. The life cycle includes an introductory phase, a growth phase, a maturity phase, and a decline phase.

• Price: When setting the price for your product or service, consider its real value and the consumer's perception of it. In addition, consider your competitors' prices, your supply costs, and potential discounts.

• Promotion: To promote your product or service, decide your marketing methods.

• Place: When introducing a product or service, determine where to market it to reach as many consumers as possible, where to sell it, and how to deliver it.

The 4 Ps of Marketing: What They Are and How to Use Them

Why is marketing important?

Marketing is important because it helps you meet your customers' needs and communicate your solutions to them. Having a well-crafted marketing plan offers a variety of important benefits for your business:

• It helps you build your business brand.

• It helps you identify and target the right markets.

• It helps you attract customers by showing them the value of your product or service.

• It helps you make sales by keeping customers engaged.

• It helps you stand out as an expert in your industry.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C marketing?

Companies can market their products or services to two different entities: businesses and consumers. B2B stands for business to business (where companies market to other businesses), and B2C stands for business to consumer (where companies market to individual consumers). 

Some differences between the two types of marketing include the following:

• Purchasing decision: Companies tend to make purchases based on practicality, while consumers often make purchases based on emotion. 

• Customer engagement: B2B marketing uses more traditional methods—like trade shows and sales calls—than B2C marketing, which relies more on digital strategies like social media and influencer marketing.

• Customer service: Businesses that sell to companies usually have a more extensive support team to address customer concerns and complaints, and businesses that sell to consumers rely more on self-service customer support systems. 

10 types of marketing for promoting your business

You can choose from various marketing methods and strategies to help you promote your business. Consider the following 10 types of marketing, including traditional and modern methods. 

1. Content marketing

Content marketing involves using written and visual forms of communication to promote your business, product, or service. Some examples include blog articles, white papers, advertisements, infographics, memes, and videos. Content marketing can inform, engage, and entertain your market audience.

2. Direct mail

Direct mail involves marketing to current or potential customers through the mail. Direct mail can include brochures, postcards, magazine inserts, and sales letters. Direct mail can help you reach customers that might not be accessible through digital marketing methods, and it can help you make a personal connection with customers.

3. Email marketing

Email marketing is a smart and effective strategy for getting the word out to a large audience of regular and potential customers. You can inform recipients about new products and services or upcoming sales and promotions. To build an email list, you can ask customers to provide their email addresses for access to your online store or discounts on goods or services. 

Read more: What Is Email Marketing?

4. Influencer marketing

Some social media users have acquired massive followings due to knowledge, expertise, or celebrity status. They influence their followers and can use it to promote your business, products, or services. Influencer marketing can reach a particular audience, expand your brand awareness, and help with customer acquisition. 

5. Pay-per-click (PPC)

When internet users look for something to buy online, they might see one of your company's pay-per-click ads alongside search results. If they click on it, you'll pay a fee, which is why it's called a pay-per-click ad. 

The costs of pay-per-click ads vary depending on your keywords and their competitiveness. The benefits of PPC ads include easy measurement and tracking, quick setup, and good compatibility with SEO.

6. Podcast, radio, and television ads

Using paid mediums like podcasts, radio, or television for marketing can offer a great return on investment. You can easily target these ads to specific audiences. 

7. Press releases

When you want to share important information with a large audience, you can create a press release, which is a written statement given to the media. You can use a press release to announce an upcoming promotional event, introduce a new product line, or inform the public about a new business acquisition. Press releases can help you build rapport with the media, expand your company's reach, and raise your brand's credibility. 

8. SEO marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) marketing involves optimizing the content on your website to make your company, products, and services more visible in online searches. This type of marketing helps improve website traffic and boost your market outreach.  

9. Social media marketing 

You can get your marketing message out to more customers by using social media platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. On social media, you can reach current and potential customers around the world in an instant. Social media marketing can help you expand brand awareness, engage your audience, and bring traffic to your online store or website. 

10. Word-of-mouth marketing

You may want to try word-of-mouth marketing when your marketing budget isn't as large as you'd like. This type of marketing involves the spread of information about your business in an informal way, like conversation, referrals, and online reviews. The benefits of word-of-mouth marketing include the following: 

• Budget-friendliness: Businesses like it since it requires zero financial investment.

• Credibility: People tend to trust the word of friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

• Efficiency: People tend to share information with like-minded individuals.

How to make a marketing plan for your business

A marketing plan can benefit your business by helping you set realistic and measurable goals, identify where to target your marketing efforts, and stay on task as you implement the plan. To create a marketing plan, follow these steps: 

• Evaluate your competition. Exploring how similar businesses market products or services can help you market yours. 

• Define your target market. Write down a description of your target market based on age, gender, education level, annual income, residence, and any other demographics you want to include. 

• Map out a budget. Decide how much money (and time) you can spend on marketing.

• Identify how you'll promote your product or service. With your budget in mind, think about what you want your customers to know and what types of marketing you'll use. 

• Assess and adapt. Assess your marketing plan regularly and adapt if needed.

Getting started with Coursera

By leveraging diverse marketing strategies, you can effectively promote your business, engage your target audience, and achieve your marketing goals. Depending on your goals and target audience, you might use one, some, or all of the various types to reach your customers. 

Regardless of your marketing type, marketing analytics help you determine the success of your various marketing efforts. Consider earning Meta's Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate on Coursera to learn how to use marketing analytics. This self-paced course provides information on analyzing marketing data with programs like Python and SQL, creating a marketing strategy, different statistical methods you can use, and more. When you've completed the course, you'll get a Professional Certificate you can share or post on your office wall.