10 Marketing Strategies That Will Help You Think Outside the Box

Do you ever get jealous of viral marketing campaigns? At one time or another, haven’t we all asked ourselves: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The trick is thinking outside of the box.

Not sure where to start? Let’s look at ten different marketing strategies to get you started.

Cliché Twist-Up

Everyone instantly recognizes a cliché. Using cliches in your marketing is a good way to get an immediate emotional response from a potential customer. Nike has built an empire on simple cliché twists.

User-Generated Content

Andy Warhol was right. We’re all getting our 15 minutes of fame thanks to User-Generated Content (UGC). Who doesn’t love to see their tweet or post — or picture of their dog? — picked up or promoted on social media? UGC is one of the best marketing tools you can use, so use it everywhere you can.

Social Media

We need our social media fix. By placing social media feeds on your site, you’re letting potential customers know that yours is a business active on social media. Put feeds or widgets directly on your site for maximum effect.

Memes & GIFS

Everyone loves memes and GIFs — but more importantly, they love to share them. Have fun and add a few to your social media posts to help them gain traction.

Social Activism

Being an active, present element of your community is essential, especially for millennial shoppers. Donate time, services, or products to local nonprofits to help others and generate a little positive outside-the-box exposure.

Hash It Up

Getting creative with your hashtags on social media can help you increase your reach, locate your target audience, and develop your brand message and voice.

Photo Caption Contests

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption contest remains popular decades after it first appeared. Why? People see things differently. That unique perspective can often be hilarious, sparking viral social media activity. For extra incentive, offer winners a discount or other prizes for their efforts.

Video Marketing

Creating instructional videos that include step-by-step tutorials showing potential customers how to use your service or product can effectively increase sales.

Quizzes

Running campaigns that include quizzes linked to your service or product is a fun, highly-shareable way to begin relationship-building with your ideal audience.

Email Marketing

Recycling website content into a newsletter, teasing with the offer for more information on an upcoming announcement, and using emojis in your subject lines are all easy ways to use outside-the-box creative strategies in your email marketing.

Often the best, most effective creative marketing campaigns begin with a straightforward idea. Take some time to consider your unique branding and how you can create something that will resonate with your ideal audience.