Digital Journal Blog

Consider Other Channels & Emerging Trends to Expand Your Brands: Think Beyond Search

October 2, 2023
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4 min read

Consider Other Channels & Emerging Trends to Expand Your Brands: Think Beyond Search

Digital Journal Blog

Search engine optimization and Google rankings receive lots of focus in digital marketing. However, succeeding today requires a strategy that looks far beyond just organic and paid search to reach customers in a crowded marketplace. By diving deep into other online channels and emerging technologies, brands can exponentially increase awareness, engagement, conversions and loyalty.

Table of Content

Social Media Marketing
Video Marketing
Audio Platforms
Emerging Technologies
Public Relations
Paid Advertising
Organic Community Building
Conclusion

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok collectively have billions of active users. Each platform has unique demographics, use cases, and expectations. Posting relevant content optimized for visuals, video, and virality can help content organically spread to new audiences.

Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

For example, Facebook remains ideal for driving traffic to blogs and websites through links and shares. Instagram focuses on compelling photo and short video content as well as Stories. Twitter is the platform for up-to-the-minute news, conversations and engagement around trending topics.

LinkedIn, Pinterest & TikTok

LinkedIn facilitates thought leadership, business content and lead generation. Pinterest is highly visual and ideal for retail brands to showcase products. TikTok is the emerging leader in short video clips with creative effects. Tailor content accordingly for each.

Paid Social Media Ads

Paid social media ads also allow precise targeting to reach relevant new demographics and lookalike audiences that are similar to your existing customer base. Retargeting past site visitors through pixels further optimizes conversions. Build an engaged following on 2-3 key social platforms that strongly align with your brand identity, mission and growth goals.

Participate consistently in trending conversations, share behind-the-scenes and humanizing content, and use visually compelling images, graphics and video tailored for each channel. The more value you provide, the more your social community will grow and amplify your content.

Video Marketing

Video consumption is booming across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Discover, Facebook Watch and more. YouTube remains the leader for search and suggested video discovery. Optimizing titles, descriptions and metadata for keywords allows you to tap into viewership from both existing social audiences and organic discoverability through search on YouTube and Google.

Short-form vertical mobile video works tremendously on apps like TikTok, Instagram Reels and Snapchat since content defaults to full screen and audio on. This makes it easy for videos to go viral through shares. YouTube and Facebook favor horizontal desktop formats more optimized for watch time. Episode and series content performs well to keep audiences engaged over time.

Consider repurposing longer-form YouTube videos into shorter clips reshared on TikTok, Reels and other mobile apps. Look at competitors performing well on each platform as inspiration for content formats and presentation styles tailored to each channel. Analyze audience retention analytics to refine your video strategy over time. Video provides limitless creative options to resonate with both existing and new audiences.

Audio Platforms

Podcasting and music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and more have also seen tremendous growth recently. Producing audio content episodes in a podcast format is an amazing way to tap into new audiences. Repurposing high-performing video content into audio-only versions maximizes return on initial production efforts.

Since podcasts are frequently listened to during everyday tasks, the content should be engaging yet able to be followed by ear alone. Focused topic niches with guest interviews perform particularly well. Develop recurring segments, inside stories and consistent structure to build familiarity and loyalty over time.

Distributing your podcast on multiple platforms expands reach, especially if you can land featured placements on popular charts. Promote new episodes across your social channels. Audio content also has great potential for going viral online through shares and suggestions. Listeners love discovering new podcasts to add to their regular rotation.

The rise of voice search has also made audio content optimization increasingly relevant. Smart speakers with AI assistants allow brands to be discovered through voice search queries. Structuring content accordingly improves visibility.

Emerging Technologies

Digital marketing evolves rapidly, so continuously monitoring and testing emerging tech channels is critical. Connected devices like smart speakers, AI chatbots, wearables, VR/AR, auto dashboards and appliances all present new opportunities to reach consumers.

Optimizing content for voice search answers and featured snippets in text search can significantly boost visibility. Shoppable live streams on social platforms enable real-time interactivity and purchases. Augmented reality try-on apps, digital collectibles, and interactive gaming integrations provide engaging branded experiences native to these new platforms.

Rather than an afterthought, emerging technologies require focus on unique use cases. For example, content length expectations and discovery patterns on voice assistants like Alexa differ markedly from Google Search. Developing audio answers for voice tech early will pay dividends as adoption grows. Stay on the cutting edge by continuously analyzing user data and testing results from new platforms.

Public Relations

A strong PR strategy centered on earned media exposure remains powerful today. Pitch relevant industry trend stories, data reports, expert commentary and brand announcements to reporters and leading publications related to your niche.

Become a thought leader in your space through relevant guest articles, interviews, conference panels, and other PR opportunities. This lends third-party credibility as an authoritative brand. PR placements also benefit SEO while expanding visibility.

Monitor trending news keywords and insert your brand into topical conversations when appropriate. Share exclusive data and announcements first with respected journalists to earn coverage. Remember reporters’ needs and provide insightful quotes plus high-quality images and assets to increase odds of a placement. PR skills take time to develop but pay long-term dividends.

Paid Advertising

SEM (search engine marketing), Google Ads, programmatic display and native advertising, connected TV, paid social media campaigns, and retargeting past visitors should complement your organic marketing efforts. Use paid channels as extra fuel on top of your content engine to scale reach exponentially, especially for promotions, lead gen, and lower-funnel conversions.

Retargeting pixels allow you to follow up with those who previously visited your site or interacted with ads but didn’t yet convert. Track conversions closely between channels to attribute appropriately. Coordinate paid campaign timing and messaging with planned organic content amplification. Continuously evaluate performance and optimize spending allocation rigorously. With so much data available, make paid advertising decisions based on transparent ROI.

Organic Community Building

Expanding brand exposure through organic community building fosters loyalty. Provide value by participating actively on niche forums, Facebook Groups, Reddit, Quora, industry publications, influencer channels and anywhere your audience already spends time. Avoid overly self-promotional messaging. Build personal connections and relationships first.

Consider sponsoring and moderating your own branded community spaces online to nurture your audience. Set guidelines that encourage authentic engagement. Highlight user-generated content and recognize valuable contributors. Manage communities diligently, as your brand’s reputation is directly linked. Organic community growth takes consistency over time but builds meaningful advocacy.

Conclusion

A strategy centered just on organic and paid search often fails to achieve full potential reach. You must look far beyond immediate search returns and metrics to creatively engage audiences on the platforms where they actively discover and share new brands.

With so many emerging digital channels and technologies, the possibilities are endless for brands to connect with the right customers at the right times. But spreading efforts too thinly also carries risks. Find the best 2-3 channels that align with your strengths and growth goals. Commit to optimizing for those platforms consistently, continually evaluating performance and evolving your strategies over time.

No marketing panacea guarantees instant virality and success. By diversifying beyond search, though, brands can expand audience, awareness and engagement exponentially through creativity and persistence. The brands winning today are those looking beyond the horizon and embracing fresh opportunities. Will yours?

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