Top 7 Most Important Marketing Channels in 2021

Enjoying producing content for your business? That’s great. However, you should also put as much thoughts into marketing this content. It’s a colossal waste to put your efforts, energy and time into content that no one sees.

The proper marketing channels will give your content the attention it deserves. They will merely magnify your reach, resonance and revenue as you satisfy your customers’ needs.

Thus, it’s vital to learn about the most important channels of the year in order to ease the communication between you and your target audience..

What are Marketing Channels?

Marketing channels are the tools that businesses use to reach out to the target customers in order to sell their products or services.

They vary from traditional strategies to digital platforms or even a mixture of both for the sake of a marketing plan or specific campaign.

The key difference is that most digital marketing channels don’t require any kind of payment. In contrast to traditional channels, business owners used to pay money for promotions, advertising and sponsorships.

Thanks to social media marketing channels, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Quora and many more, you only need a computer connected to the Internet to nail your marketing plan.

In fact, social media is only one example of the digital marketing channels, as they include:

• Owned Digital Channels such as Email marketing and website.
• Organic Search Engines such as Google Search, Bing and Yahoo!.
• Other Digital Marketing Channels such as Influencer marketing.

Which Marketing Channel Should You Use?

It really depends on your product and target audience. Some channels are more valuable in specific fields and completely useless in others.

Take some time to study the appropriate channels for your business. To be in the pipeline of the marketplace, keep adjusting your plan or even move to new marketing channels based on your audience feedback.

Nevertheless, some channels are generally more recommend and common in 2021; the following is a sneak peek of the top 7.

1.     Word of Mouth Marketing Channel

Despite not belonging to the digital marketing channels, word of mouth will always be integral for any business. No matter how technologically advanced your company is, customers’ recommendations add credibility to your services.

Customers are more likely to trust each other’s opinions than TV. or social media ads. It’s noticeable nowadays that many people give online reviews a great deal before making a purchase.

So, it doesn’t have to be actual conversations between friends. Still, it would be best to encourage this behavior among your customers by simply offering high-quality services.

2.     Influencer Marketing

Similar to reviews, case studies and testimonials, influencer marketing depends on other customers’ opinions.

It’s derived from a social phenomenon known as social proof, where individuals get influenced by similar customers’ points of view.

Influencer marketing is a relatively new channel in which social media influencers create content relevant to their interest to promote your services to their followers.

Like user-generated content, which could be a form of word-of-mouth marketing, it thrived mainly because consumers nowadays are less fond of traditional advertising. 93% of marketers are already using influencer marketing, as Martech Advisor stated.

It’s a straight forward way to generate brand awareness and reach your target audience if you used the correct type of influencer marketing, which are:

• Sponsored content
• Reviews
• Competitions and giveaways
• Product and content collaborations
• “Takeovers” on your platforms
• Long-term ambassadors

Most of the time, you’ll pay the influencers in exchange of their promotion. Though, less popular influencers are okay with giveaways and gifts instead of money.

3.     Social Media Marketing

According to Statista in 2019, traffic, lead generation and customer loyalty are the reasons why marketers value social networks in their businesses.

Social media is the best marketing tool for new and small businesses. If you are consistent and well-planned enough, it will generate sales through raising awareness about your brand and cultivating a relationship with your customers.

It’s better to pick a couple of platforms that are aligned with your product. For example, Instagram is known for clothing brands, while Twitter is mostly focused on news.

Therefore, your marketing strategy will help you reach the target audience, whereas consistency is the linchpin to grow a network of loyal customers.

Also, check DigiUTM’s article on Marketing on Social Media.

4. Content Marketing

HubSpot claims that 70% of marketers invest in content marketing as of 2020.

“Your top of the funnel content must be intellectually divorced from your product but emotionally wed to it.” Marketing Leader and Advisor to SaaS Startups, Joe Chernov said.

Content marketing is the procedure of producing and promoting content to your target audience. The types of content marketing include:

• Videos
• Images
• GIFs
• Infographics
• Ebooks
• Blog posts
• Case studies
• Podcasts

Podcasts especially have been gaining more popularity over the last few years. They foster a sense of connection between the host and the listeners. They’re more natural than the usual ads, and share a human side.

There were more than 30 million podcast episodes in April 2020, according to Podcast Insights via iTunes.

Besides the unique interactions, listeners don’t have to completely free themselves to get your message, unlike the other forms of content.

Give it a try through Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Anghami and Spotify.

Content marketing has proved useful, but it still needs to be SE-optimized in order to reach the target audience.

5. Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is defined as the procedure of ranking your content as high as possible in the search results.

There’re several search engines but Google has always stayed at the top.

Search engines are the best marketing channel to promote your business. They are the initial method of getting to know new products and services as increasing the conversion rate.

To exemplify, when internet users search for answers to a certain problem, they may sign up for free trials if they find what they need.

Hence, optimizing your blog, YouTube channel, Google Maps, My Business profile, and podcast episodes will definitely increase your traffic and reach.

It’s recommended to follow the pillar-cluster model strategy in your website through creating a single pillar page and cluster pages.

The single pillar page will offer an overview of the topic, while the cluster pages will include hyperlinks of the subtopics. Consequently, Google will receive a signal that your pillar page has authority on the topic.

Same for the hyperlinks, they’ll enhance your authority and, therefore, your website’s organic traffic. Ultimately, both pages will positively impact your rank and each other, if you accurately implement the SEO keywords.

6. Email Marketing

Against all the odds, the email didn’t die, and it doesn’t seem it’ll do any soon, Duh!

According to Statista, global email usage will grow to 4.48 billion users in 2024, with a 580 million increase from 2018.

Surprisingly, email marketing is still as effective as it ever was on the ROI. It’s totally in your hands to control without caring about any third-party or sophisticated algorithms, unlike social media.

An email campaign could be the cheapest of all the marketing channels. Yet, there’re some tactics you need to follow in order to guarantee success, including:

1. Welcoming new subscribers
2. Sending follow-up emails
3. Asking for reviews and gather feedback
4. Promoting new products and services
5. Sharing offers and discounts

Moreover, try to personalize your messages to connect with your customers on a deeper level.

Yes Marketing in 2017 published that consumers are 50% more likely to open emails with personalized subject lines, which unfortunately counts for only 2% of the total emails sent by companies.

On the long run, these efforts will be translated into leads and sales as long as you keep your audience engaged and satisfied.

“Content is King but engagement is Queen, and the lady rules the house!”  Premier Facebook Marketing Expert, Mari Smith said.

Also, check DigiUTM’s article on Email Marketing.

7. Video Marketing

Videos, such as promotional and brand storytelling, are the most common among all other marketing channels in 2020, as HubSpot asserted in 2020.

Needless to say, videos are the most engaging marketing tool in the modern era.

Live-Videos, specifically, foster conversations with your audience and improve the ROI. There’re many ways to compose a video ranging from text only, images only, or demonstration videos.

The added bonus is that you can incorporate videos in the other marketing channels such as email and social media.

Eventually, each one of these marketing channels has its own benefit and usage. It’s advised to use a multi-channel approach in order to reach as many audiences as you can.

Nevertheless, before deciding on your marketing channels, a detailed marketing strategy should be your first step on the way.

Before you go, please check DigiuTM’s article titled “10 Reasons Why Companies Fail to Generate Leads”. Hopefully, you’ll find it a great aid on the way.

And as Leah Schothorst, Social Media Strategist at CoSchedule said once, “Don’t be paralyzed; just get started.”