Over a century ago, “marketing” was by no means a formal discipline. If you wanted to sell something or promote a product, word-of-mouth and handbills were your only bet. Compared to how the landscape is now, it would feel like you were lost in space, sending messages out into the ether and hoping someone would hear them.

As technology developed, whether print media, radio, television, computers, mobile phones or digital billboards, we were given new forms of marketing and advertising. And there was now a standard—we didn’t have to guess what enticed potential customers anymore. There was a new method to the madness, which is why it’s much easier now to catch wind of the latest arrivals in slot gaming or novel high-tech kitchen gadgets.

Although businesses still use plenty of traditional marketing, like direct mail and outdoor advertising at bus stops, the real return on investment comes from online marketing. So, if you aren’t using these online marketing strategies already, you might want to see how they could kindle meaningful results.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

When looking for something online, the first place people turn to is usually Google. After all, it’s the all-knowing hub that scours the internet for the best results possible. The problem for businesses is that thousands of competitors online will likely beat you out of the first page. With not a lot of people even clicking through to page two, you need a way to rank high on page one so you can get eyes on your content. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) lets you increase your visibility and attract organic traffic to your site by catering to the search engine algorithm.

The beauty of SEO is that there are several strategies to explore—you could develop high-quality content that meets the needs of internet browsers, optimise the technical aspects of your website like mobile-friendliness and page loading speed, incorporate top keywords into your content, and even improve the architecture of your website by using search-engine friendly titles, headings, and more. So long as you work to abide by Google’s constantly updating algorithm, you’re golden.

Social Media Marketing

Over 5 billion people use social media, which means over 60% of the world can be found on platforms like TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, and more. With those sorts of numbers on the table, social media marketing continues to reign as the king of online marketing. The idea behind social media marketing is to use these social platforms to promote your brand and its products. About a decade ago, businesses simply hoped to organically reach potential customers, but today, there are all sorts of dedicated features and tools that help you with precise targeting and maximising your efforts.

The key to this type of marketing is to know these platforms inside and out. While Instagram favours visual content and makes use of stories, reels, and their native Instagram Shopping features, X (formerly Twitter) thrives on brief, snappy text posts and real-time updates. Once you find out where your target audience likes to spend their time, you can start building your brand presence and tailor your approach accordingly. Want to check out some examples? Search for Patagonia on Instagram or Duolingo on X, and you’ll find prime examples of showcasing personality and connecting with a relevant community.

Email Marketing

Email might seem like an outdated form of marketing, but the fact that the average return on investment for email is $36 (£27.4) for every dollar (£0.76) spent in this day and age is saying something. You know those emails you receive about a brand’s latest promotions, special deals for members, or follow-up emails after reconsidering your purchase? All of those are examples of email marketing—a tactic used to reach relevant customers right in their personal inboxes.

With email marketing, however, you have to play the game particularly strategically. The biggest task at hand here is to make sure your customers are intrigued enough by the subject line to open the email in the first place. You’ll have to do two things: make sure you cater to customers’ emotions and offer value. Subject lines need to spark curiosity, have a sense of urgency, and be relevant and personalised. Even better, try to offer something, such as free items with a purchase, a cool story to read, or an interesting guide. Timing is everything too—send out a lunch-related email at lunchtime, and it’ll likely resonate a lot more with the right people.

Content Marketing

Have you ever heard that cliché phrase “Content is king?” It may be overused, but there is a lot of truth to it in the sense that content can generate engagement like no other method can. If you were to curate unique and interesting content and optimise it for search engines, you could hit a lot of business goals related to engagement and retention. That said, content can also be bad, sometimes without you even realising it. Maybe your content doesn’t actually have a goal, or maybe it’s irrelevant to the audience. Perhaps the same content can be found elsewhere online and is done much better than yours.

A valuable tip is to consider who you’re marketing this content to and at which stage of the sales process. Are they at the awareness stage where they’re looking for information? Or are they already at the consideration stage where they’re weighing their options? Study what good content marketing is, and you’ll be producing stellar blog posts, infographics, how-to videos, or even an interactive ebook that drives sales in no time.