Marketing and the Power of Persistence

What is Marketing?

Marketing is any activity or set of activities such as communicating, advertising, delivering messages in print media, television, person-to-person, audio clip, etc. to a group of people or society at large with an aim to influence their buying objectives and decisions.

Popular Types of Marketing

I. Digital Marketing or Internet Marketing
1. Content Marketing
2. Affiliate Marketing
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Email Marketing
5.Mixed Media Marketing

II. Traditional Marketing or Non-Internet Marketing
1. Direct Sales Marketing
2. Word-of-Mouth Marketing
3. Print Media and Audio Clips Marketing

You may be asking yourself which of the above is the most effective type of marketing to use in order to promote your product and get a higher percentage of sales. Well, the answer simply depends on how you would like to get results and how do you perceive your goals – short-term or long-term goals.

1.     Fast and easy but costly (short-term) – you can use mixed media marketing like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.  If you have a very good and enticing images and videos for your products, most likely, people will click on your ads and you pay per click accordingly.  In this kind or marketing, most advertisers choose to target a very limited audience or narrowed target markets in order not to spend too much on the clicks of uninterested audience.  With these kinds or types of marketing strategies, think of growing a Mushroom. You can grow a bunch of Mushrooms overnight and profit from them immediately. If not harvested correctly and on time, mushrooms die off naturally. 

2.     Slow and steady yet free or can be of low cost (long-term) – you can use content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing and other traditional types of marketing  Authority websites have chosen these kinds of marketing strategies.  By their website contents they have already built their credibility. When we say website content, we mostly refer to articles, images, videos and product links within their websites. Authority websites need not much of active marketing as their credibility themselves market for them and the search engines like to show their contents especially if their “meta” framework and keywords choice are well-engineered.  With these kinds or types of marketing strategies, think of growing a Bamboo. Growing a bamboo will take months. You’ll notice that you already have Bamboo Clusters in a few more months from that single bamboo planted into a fertile soil suitable for growing the plants. You can have the benefit of growing bamboos for a long time. I tell you bamboo clusters are very hard to eliminate!  

Those are metaphors and from these examples, you can familiarize yourself with what kind of marketing strategy to use by trying and testing. Choose the best marketing strategy or combination of marketing strategies to apply in order to make your online business or traditional business thrive in this fast-changing digital era.

The Most Popular Types of Marketing and How to Apply them Effectively

I. Digital Marketing or Internet Marketing

1. Content Marketing

This popular quote, “Content is king and engagement is queen” is very trueWhy did I agree with the quote?  The answer is because I have proven that contents that meet the needs of target audience will somehow get more engagements, too. Content Marketing really works.

2. Affiliate Marketing

We already know what Marketing is, and now let us find out what is an “Affiliate”.

What is an Affiliate?

According to Oxford Dictionary, an affiliate is a person or organization officially attach to a larger body.

Affiliate Marketing is any activity or set of activities such as communicating, advertising, delivering messages in print media, television, person-to-person, audio clip, etc. to a group of people or society at large with an aim to influence their buying objectives and decisions by an affiliate as approved by a larger body or organization he is affiliated with, following and engaging with the terms and conditions agreed upon by both parties.

Marketing products and services as an affiliate is the most popular and is one of the best ways to make money online as an influencer, blogger, marketer, publisher, vlogger, etc. because the products and services to promote are ALL READY to be served or delivered to the customers or buyers.  The affiliate needs only to promote the services or products to target market or target audience. The affiliate earns a percentage or commission from every sale made. 

My husband and I are affiliates of some good and reputable companies. Here are our favorite seven:

1. Involve Asia

2. Fiverr

3. Creative Fabrica

4. Shopee

5. Shopee Mall

6. Lazada

7. iHerb

3. Social Media Marketing

Let us see how the Oxford Dictionary defines, “Social” and “Media”

Social –an informal social gathering, especially one organized by the members of a particular club or group

Media – is defined as the main means of communication regarded collectively.

Social Media Platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest, Quora, Instagram, Tumbler, Twitter are great avenues to find a group of people or community with the same interests or advocacies

Social Media Marketing is a favorite marketing strategy of most influencers who have large numbers of followers.

4. Email Marketing

Email marketing is probably the best strategy to build a long-term business. The funneling system makes it possible to let previous customers buy future products offers again and again.

5. Mixed Media Marketing

Mixed media marketing strategy is most effective when the product or services being promoted is evergreen and the products’ or services’ availability is relevant at all times. For example, if you are selling only one item like a custom-made jewelry you previously bought, mixed media marketing may not be the best solution for you to sell it. Imagine, marketing it on email, youtube, pay-per-click at the same time and then after a few minutes the item has been sold. It will hurt you credibility if you mark something “for sale” now and then after few minutes you mark it “sold” already. The next time you post something like this again, your potential buyers may doubt if the item you are offering is still available or not, the height of their interest will drop if this happens often. Mixed media marketing is the use of two or more different marketing strategies at the same time.

II.  Traditional Marketing or Non-Internet Marketing

1. Direct Sales Marketing

Direct Sales Marketing is usually used by Companies whose products are promoted by the members of their business organization themselves. Examples: Amway, Avon, etc. Although direct sales marketing it categorized as traditional business, many companies have shifted to marketing their products using Internet Marketing, too.

2. Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of Mouth Marketing is equivalent to Viral Marketing in the digital world.  This Marketing strategy is proven effective since the ages.  Have you noticed those free samples of cookies, pizzas, coffee, soaps, perfumes, noodles, etc. inside malls and department stores? They are promoting the products by letting potential customers, taste, feel, smell or own a product for free.  The potential customers will buy or not according to the result of his or her experience, talk about this experience about the product with his neighbors, friends and relatives. This word of mouth marketing strategy goes viral – positively or negatively according to the result of the experience(s) of those who have tried the products.

3.Print Media and Audio Clips Marketing

Print media and audio clips marketing are those we often see in the newspapers, billboards, printed magazines and radios.

The Power of Perseverance

Now that we already know about marketing and the different marketing strategies, it is time to connect to something humane- let us give value to human ingenuity.

Many online businesses are now being run by Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems which make some businesses operate with efficiency and precision and this is one of the many advantages and benefits of living in this digital era.

But do not undermine your talents. Always remind yourself that you are clever and you can achieve your goals with perseverance.

What is perseverance and what can it do to your online business or traditional business?

Perseverance according to the Oxford English Dictionary is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

What is perseverance and what can it do to your online business or traditional business? Perseverance can make your business thrive and succeed. More so, it can polish and develop your inner core more than you could imagine!

Much is being said, It is time to act.

 Perseverance, in my opinion is knowledge in action, improving that knowledge and action, and repeating it again and again until target goals are met.

“The inner thought coming from the heart represents the real motives and desires. These are the cause of action.” - Raymond Holliwell