The coronavirus pandemic put a halt to much of our social life. Many jobs were lost, and businesses had to close down. The future of online marketing looked bleak. Then the pandemic slowly started to give way, and people started to go back to work. With business having to adapt, marketers had to adapt with them.

The result was an interesting period to follow. On one hand, we had the luxury of time to spend online. On the other, businesses had to rely on digital marketing to capture new customers. In the middle of this period, a marketing term called “click-farming” emerged. Essentially, click-farming means purchasing online advertising with the intent to receive monetary benefits without providing any value. In simple terms, it’s buying traffic with AdWords or similar services.

This is illegal, and it is definitely not necessary. In fact, you should be setting up a lead generation machine: a combination of marketing events and digital marketing tools that attract, engage and convert interested customers into leads.

You should always be looking for ways to improve your marketing strategy. Never be satisfied with the status quo. The pandemic has shown us the importance of rethinking our approach, and the value of digital marketing in general.

Reinvent Your Approach To Online Marketing

The first and most important step to take is to reinvent your approach to online marketing. During the pandemic, businesses had to adapt quickly to ensure they can continue to survive. Your approach to marketing should have changed accordingly. Instead of just focusing on driving traffic to your website, you should have been looking for new ways to engage with your audience.

The “funnel” marketing approach, which sees the customer journey as a series of defined stages, such as awareness, interest, and action, may have limited value when applied to digital marketing. The idea is to set up a series of events, whether online or offline, that will encourage people to convert to leads. Having a defined funnel means you can measure the impact of each event and engagement with the goal of progressively building a marketing list.

While this may sound like a complex task, you can actually use tools to make it easier. With tools like Retention Curve, you can segment your email list, and send targeted, individually tailored emails to grow your business.

Consider Reaching New Audiences

When you have a clearly defined funnel, you may discover that some portion of your audience is not interested in what your business has to offer. This is where diversifying your audience, and reaching new customers, comes in handy.

Theoretically, you should not need to limit yourself to one type of audience when developing your marketing strategy. After all, your goal is to grow your business, and expand your reach, not just satisfy your current customers. One of the primary ways to do this is to create content for different platforms. When someone discovers your content, whether it’s on social media or on a blog, and decides to click on one of your offerings, you have the opportunity to speak with them, and show them more about your business.

Blogs can be a great place for content marketing. Not only do they provide you with the opportunity to connect with potential customers on a personal level. They also allow you to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, and create trust with your audience. If someone decides to click on your offering, and read your blog post, you have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, and grow your business.

The Importance Of Brand Awareness

Many businesses incorrectly think that customers will just magically know who they are, and what they sell, without any effort on their part. This could not be further from the truth. Marketers must constantly be thinking of new ways to brand themselves, and increase awareness of their businesses.

One effective way to do this is through social media. Building a strong presence on social media is extremely important. With more than 70% of people using social media to learn about a brand or product, it is clear that brands must be present, and active, on social media if they want to be found.

You can also use social media to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, and gain credibility with your audience. If someone decides to follow your advice, or use your service, you have the opportunity to increase your business.

The Rise Of Online Marketplaces For CFGs

Fashion, food, and drinks are some of the most popular verticals on TikTok. That is largely because of the platform’s audience. On TikTok, people are looking for entertainment, and, more importantly, they are looking for inspiration. If you can provide them with content that relates to their passions, and establish yourself as an expert in your industry, you can drive significant value to your business.

TikTok’s algorithm favors content that is useful, and engaging. If your content is extremely valuable, or interesting, or both, people may decide to follow you, or subscribe to your newsletter, or enter their email, etc., etc.

If someone chooses to engage with your content, and decides to subscribe to your newsletter, you are providing them with extremely valuable content, relevant to their interests. This is how you create value, online. People will often pay for content that is valuable to them.

How To Market Your CFG Online

With all of this in mind, let us take a look at how to market your clothing, festival, and food & beverage-related content online.

Marketing Events

As I mentioned above, a defined funnel means you can measure the impact of each event leading up to the sale. The question is: what types of events should you be putting on your agenda?

The most effective digital marketing strategies are usually the ones that include a variety of events. The reason is simple. It is much easier to gain a dedicated audience, of several hundred or thousands of people, if you have a series of engaging events lined up.

Include a variety of events. This is important because audiences usually like to engage with content that is varied. People will often sign up for your email list, or follow you on social media, if you are regularly putting out content that is both entertaining, and informative. Your content will be much more valuable, and much more likely to be well-received, if you are consistently offering a variety of interesting topics.

Marketing To The Right Audience

Your next step is to figure out who your ideal customer is, and how to speak with them. You should have a clear idea of what sets you apart from the competition, and what you offer that is unique. With this in mind, you can create buyer personas, and develop personas for different groups of customers. This will help you pinpoint the right audiences, and craft the right messages, for each of them. When done well, this can be extremely effective. As we’ve established, reaching new audiences, and appealing to different groups of people, is critical to the growth of any business. You should be looking to grow your brand, and establish yourself as an industry expert, through multiple platforms, and through different types of content.

Content Is King (Or Queen)

As mentioned above, you should always be looking to create content that is valuable, and that will engage with your target audience. The most effective strategies are usually those that combine marketing, sales, and content.

What does that mean in practice? Let’s take a look.

Video Content Is The Most Effective Kind

This is especially effective, if you can use videos to engage with your audience. Videos allow you to explain things in a more straightforward, and less-intrusive way. People love to learn via video. They like being shown things step-by-step, with clear explanations. This probably explains why video content is so effective on platforms like YouTube. Look at how TikTok users interact with live videos. Everyone feels like they can ask questions, and get answers, in real-time.

If you are new to video content, start with explaining things in writing. Develop short videos, where you simply talk about what you do, and how it all works. Building an online following, and establishing trust with your audience, is a key to the success of any business. Videos also allow you to demonstrate the value of your business. People like to see behind-the-scenes shots of companies they deal with. Video content is a great opportunity to do this. If someone decides to click on your video, and decide to read your content, either on your website, or in your newsletter, you have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, and gain some new customers.