5 Powerful Marketing Activities: Lessons From Successful Brands

Marketing activities are actions an idiosyncratic oregon enactment undertakes to execute circumstantial selling outcomes.

There are astir apt arsenic galore selling activities arsenic determination are selling goals. It’s hard to measure these activities “as they are” due to the fact that their effectiveness depends connected however they’re applied and to which market.

Yet determination are immoderate activities that look to basal retired from the remainder by bringing large results for galore companies and lasting the trial of time.

In this article, I’ll amusement you 5 specified selling activities and 5 companies that tested them successful real-life conditions. Since each of those activities tin beryllium an nonfiction connected its ain (or a book), I’ll beryllium focusing connected explaining wherefore they are worthy your time.

Here they are:

• Finding product-market fit
• Influencing connection of mouth
• Developing a contented selling machine
• Building a community
• Conducting marketplace research

Finding product-market acceptable (PMF) means making definite a merchandise tin fulfill an existing request successful a marketplace with precocious potential. Basically, a telltale motion of achieving PMF is erstwhile radical are consenting to bargain your product, actively usage it, and urge it to others.

Some whitethorn deliberation that PMF is extracurricular of marketing’s scope oregon that it’s irrelevant to selling performance. But that cannot beryllium further from the truth. There are 2 reasons:

1. Without marketplace research, it’s improbable a institution tin physique a large merchandise that answers consumers’ needs and wants.
2. Without specified a product, nary selling tactics tin make capable request to enactment the company.

It’s rather evident if you look astatine it from the customer’s constituent of view. A institution tries to merchantability a caller benignant of hydrogen car, but determination are nary hydrogen stations nearby. If that’s the case, what benignant of selling tin person a lawsuit to bargain that car? That product just won’t fit the market.

That is wherefore achieving PMF matters the most. Without it, you can’t physique sustainable growth, and scaling thing simply won’t marque sense. You’ll conscionable discarded your clip and money.

In different words, a PMF is to a concern what foundations are to a house. 

There are fundamentally five steps to achieving PMF. The halfway constituent of that five-step process is gathering a minimum viable merchandise (MVP).

An MVP is simply a “product development” signifier successful which you trial whether the halfway functionality of your merchandise tin fulfill the marketplace request by interacting with real users.

That’s however Spotify started—a concern valued astatine $54 cardinal today.

Instead of going for a “big bang” motorboat with a cleanable merchandise that has each the features radical imagination of, Spotify creators decided to physique an MVP and trial it akin to however a idiosyncratic tests a hypothesis.

This is besides however this metaphorical drafting came to life, capturing the acquisition from that process.

So here’s however to physique an MVP:

Translation: An MVP (or the “earliest testable/usable/lovable product,” arsenic the illustrator of this representation prefers to telephone it) is astir offering the earliest mentation of a merchandise that tin fulfill users’ needs and iteratively moving your mode up to thing great.

This is opposed to delivering thing large 1 portion astatine a time.

In Spotify’s case, here’s however the metaphorical skateboard looked like:

This MVP was designed to trial the thought of streaming euphony and its show with user technology.

The squad didn’t adjacent tally analyzable marketplace probe to trial those aspects. Initially, squad members conscionable needed immoderate feedback from household and friends. Afterward, they took that MVP to grounds labels and convinced them to enactment euphony connected the platform.

Takeaway

Find the merchandise marketplace earlier scaling immoderate different operations. And that includes marketing. The marketplace ever wins, and you tin prevention yourself a batch of clip and wealth learning what it “wants” arsenic soon arsenic possible—just arsenic Spotify did.

Inspiring connection of rima refers to word-of-mouth selling (WOMM), i.e., the process of influencing and encouraging earthy discussions astir a product, service, oregon company. To enactment it simply, influencing connection of rima is astir giving radical a crushed to talk.

Just truthful we’re connected the aforesaid page, connection of rima is not immoderate old-fashioned selling theory. We’re talking astir recent studies proving the effect recommendations from friends and household person connected user behavior.

Also, let’s not hide that the integer epoch has fixed america new, measurable forms of connection of mouth:

• Conversations and shares connected societal media
• User reviews connected sites similar G2, Capterra, etc
• User-generated contented astir brands and their products (e.g., photos connected Instagram with a branded hashtag)

Word of rima is simply a almighty selling transmission that whitethorn beryllium elusive. Yet it’s not wholly retired of control. Because portion marketers can’t power what radical accidental astir their brands, they tin animate brand-related conversations and adjacent recommendations.

It boils down to delighting users with the merchandise and spreading affirmative experiences.

And it’s worthy it. Many companies person utilized that transmission to turn and prolong their business: Tesla, Github, Evernote, Uber, etc. There are excessively galore to mention. In fact, affirmative connection of rima is 1 of the signs of achieving PMF, arsenic discussed successful the conception above.

Fortunately, we tin talk from our ain acquisition here. Ahrefs is an eight-figure ARR company, and connection of rima is 1 of our apical 3 lawsuit acquisition channels.

So however bash we power connection of mouth? The astir important constituent is the product. For galore people, Ahrefs is the go-to toolset for SEO. Some similar it capable to accidental things such as:

That’s wherefore we ne'er halt improving Ahrefs. People spot that and admit our effort capable to urge our tools to others:

You amended calm down with these 🔥 updates oregon I’m gonna person to urge you much than I already do

— Patrick Herbert (@PatrickHerbert0) December 1, 2021

And if you’ve got a analyzable merchandise similar ours, you besides request to enactment a batch of effort into educating your audience. And that’s what we bash with articles and videos connected this blog, connected our YouTube channel, and successful our Academy. These types of contented are besides a tried-and-tested mode to animate immoderate connection of mouth:

— Ashley Ashbee (@ashley_ashbee) November 8, 2021

This brings america to creating positive experiences via marketing. They captivate your customers and followers and assistance guarantee those experiences volition beryllium shared.

One illustration of this is handing radical free swag:

Hey @ahrefs @maysoonhere & @timsoulo! Thanks for optimizing my Friday, my t‑shirt postulation and my coffee. Incredible packaging. It arrived successful the acold north. Worn with pride! pic.twitter.com/Cs3QSzbZzV

— Massive Kontent (@MassiveKontent) March 22, 2019

Gestures similar this tin aboriginal beryllium noticed by important blogs successful a peculiar niche and mentioned successful societal media conversations:

@ahrefs t‑shirts. They conscionable accidental tshirt connected the front, but anyone who knows ahrefs volition admit it. They lone mode to get 1 is to triumph it, usually by being knowledgeable astir their taxable (SEO). Having 1 reps their marque *subtly* but besides marks you arsenic experienced. Brilliant. pic.twitter.com/ybMso3CV7b

— Kris Roadruck (@KrisRoadruck) January 24, 2021

Also, doing thing important oregon highly regarded by the people assemblage tin dispersed quite fast:

We’ll beryllium reallocating our paid postulation fund (~$200k💰) for December distant from the Google/Facebook—and into sponsoring the industry’s champion creators and thought leaders.

— Ahrefs (@ahrefs) November 24, 2021

Takeaway

Word of rima has been the cardinal to occurrence for galore companies. And it’s not a coincidence. Recommendations from customers person their value successful gold, and the lone “costs” are improving your product, educating your assemblage astir it, and leaving a hint of affirmative experiences.

All marketers look the aforesaid challenge: however to pull radical and person them to customers. Of course, determination is nary metallic slug for that. But if there’s 1 benignant of selling that comes close, it’s contented marketing.

This is due to the fact that contented selling tin bash these three things, among others:

1. Drive the full marketing funnel
2. Bring compounding results
3. Reinforce itself

Let’s interruption it down utilizing Ahrefs’ contented selling instrumentality arsenic an example.

By driving the full selling funnel, we find that our content, successful the signifier of blog posts, videos, cheat sheets, etc., tin service galore antithetic purposes erstwhile it comes to communicating with a people audience.

For example, a blog nonfiction tin make consciousness by pulling radical from a SERP to Ahrefs’ blog.

Another portion of content, e.g., a video, may show a step-by-step process of solving an SEO problem, frankincense making radical much funny successful Ahrefs’ merchandise and yet consenting to try it.

And it gets adjacent better. Often, a azygous portion of contented tin service antithetic stages of the funnel:

Arguably, the astir almighty happening astir specified contented is its imaginable to propulsion radical from hunt engines similar Google. This tin construe into immense amounts of integrated postulation and, of course, sizeable concern potential.

Since integrated hunt is simply a important marketing channel for america and for galore different businesses, let’s see how it works for Ahrefs successful a nutshell:

1. We make SEO content based connected hunt request and the concern worth of a peculiar topic.
2. Someone searches for a solution to an SEO oregon selling occupation via a hunt motor similar Google.
3. If our contented ranks precocious enough, they read/watch our contented that shows however to lick the occupation done our product.
4. If the contented is convincing, it whitethorn marque them privation to effort our product.

Search request and concern worth mentioned successful the archetypal constituent are perfectly captious to the occurrence of the full operation. Without them, not capable radical volition find our marque done content, and we won’t beryllium capable to diagnostic our merchandise adequately.

This brings america to results, oregon rather, the compounding results of contented marketing. Through the systematic publishing of content, our blog articles make an estimated 326.7K visits per month—and that’s from integrated hunt alone.

Every caller nonfiction we people adds to that result. And so, an nonfiction posted 2 weeks agone volition bring caller traffic, adding to the postulation generated by a blog station we published years ago.

For example, this nonfiction astir top Google searches was published successful 2017 and inactive generates traffic.

The 3rd peculiar payment of contented selling is it has the quality to reinforce itself. Meaning, it is easier to get results the much you bash it due to the fact that each further enactment you instrumentality adds to the momentum.

Marketers telephone it the flywheel effect. The archetypal propulsion is the hardest. But arsenic the “wheel” builds momentum, that aforesaid propulsion volition marque the instrumentality rotation a batch faster (i.e., deliberation astir however a crockery spinner works).

To illustrate, this is what happens erstwhile you put successful semipermanent contented marketing:

1. If your contented is good, people volition urge it, bringing successful much readers. Chances are, the aforesaid radical volition travel backmost to your blog to work your adjacent article.
2. Now your readership is growing. Each caller station has a greater imaginable audience than the erstwhile 1 due to the fact that it borrows from the readership of past articles and pulls caller readers from SERPs.
3. A caller happening happens. Someone links to your contented on their website. Now you’re getting backlinks, which are, arguably, the main ranking factor. As a result, your contented ranks higher connected SERPs, frankincense bringing much visitors and gathering your authorization connected the taxable (another important ranking factor).
4. As contented gains links and ranks higher, it gets adjacent much links, arsenic much radical are consenting to nexus to a leafage with a higher ranking.
5. Now you tin nexus from your aged contented to your caller content, passing connected nexus equity. Your contented past ranks higher and gets much readers. Those readers volition bring caller readers and caller links. The rhythm continues, and the flywheel gains momentum. Let’s not forget. New visitors mean caller imaginable customers.

Of course, it’s easier said than done. But this is however contented selling contributed to making Ahrefs what it is today. If you privation to larn much astir gathering a contented selling instrumentality similar ours, cheque retired these guides:

• How to Create a Winning Content Strategy 
• How to Scale Content Creation 🚀🌙 

Takeaway

Content selling is powerful. It tin adjacent relation arsenic a standalone, self-sufficient selling tactic. Content allows you to pull caller customers, nurture your leads, and amended your customers—sometimes adjacent with the aforesaid portion of content. And it works champion erstwhile you bash it with integrated hunt in mind.

If you ever wondered however overmuch a assemblage built astir a marque and its products could beryllium worthy to a business, Adobe answered that successful 2012 by acquiring Behance for astir $150 million.

That is however overmuch Adobe, the creator of Photoshop, paid to “transplant” a level that had gathered 1 cardinal progressive users and generated 90 cardinal task views monthly.

So what benignant of benefits could a assemblage similar Behance perchance connection to this bundle giant?

Number one: activating and retaining users. Let’s springiness the level to Heidi Voltmer, Adobe’s past merchandise selling director, to explain why the company was successful request of a solution similar Behance:

We person tools, we person services, and if you’ve got each those things, you besides request inspiration, you request to get that spark. … By bringing successful Behance, we’re rounding retired our offering and making this a one-stop destination for originative professionals.

Inspiring radical to usage a merchandise (i.e., activating and past retaining users) is simply a communal occupation relating to productivity tools, and Adobe’s products were nary exception.

Adobe had the champion graphic plan tools successful people but inactive lacked thing that would marque radical usage those tools much often and effectively.

A idiosyncratic assemblage is simply a large solution for that. Each caller task uploaded to the level tin animate aggregate radical to usage Adobe’s products and promote them to upload their ain work. This, successful turn, enriches the level with much user-generated contented and perchance inspires different radical of people.

And we’re talking present astir an endless stream of user-generated content:

Number two: branding. Since Adobe present owns the platform, it tin insert its logo and transportation its products successful strategical places. Here are a fewer examples, starting from the invited email:

While creating an relationship connected Behance is free, Adobe tries to enactment users connected a conversion way ASAP. By clicking connected the nexus successful the representation above, users are directed to a landing leafage wherever they tin make a portfolio leafage that comes escaped with Adobe’s Creative Cloud paid solution:

Then, connected the Behance level itself, there’s a full batch of Adobe’s branding:

When we enactment it unneurotic with conscionable the integrated postulation this level presently gets, we fishy that Behance is worthy adjacent much than what Adobe paid for it.

If you look astatine different branded communities, you volition find different benefits of gathering them. Behance is an illustration of a assemblage focused connected showcasing work. But erstwhile a assemblage is focused connected conversations and sharing ideas astir a product, this allows the brand to:

• Get quality feedback on caller products and features.
• Gain an additional selling channel. Brands tin link with users straight connected these platforms, and the messages tin spell beyond the level to spark connection of rima elsewhere (social media, forums, workplaces, etc.).
• Offer added value to the merchandise oregon service. For example, if a idiosyncratic has a problem, a request, oregon an idea, they tin get feedback from different users successful the community. 

Takeaway

For Adobe, a assemblage connected to its marque was worthy $150 million. And it’s not the lone institution that has invested heavy successful this selling asset. A branded assemblage tin beryllium a root of galore benefits. These see giving a institution the quality to monetize traffic, get invaluable feedback, and summation a new, nonstop selling channel.

Market probe is the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting accusation astir a fixed market. This is however marketers root important information for their selling strategy, e.g., insights astir imaginable customers, the competition, and the manufacture trends.

The value of marketplace probe is hard to overestimate. Data is power, and it’s nary antithetic erstwhile it comes to marketing.

In fact, I’ll enactment it this way: Data should beryllium the starting constituent of immoderate decision-making. And if you don’t person capable information to marque a move, your adjacent determination should beryllium to get data.

Here are immoderate fashionable methods to execute that:

• Interviews – Conduct face-to-face discussions with your users, imaginable customers, and different radical with penetration into your marketplace (e.g., distributors).
• Surveys – One of the astir fashionable and cost-effective marketplace probe methods often done online. Surveys impact polling connected things similar diagnostic desirability and idiosyncratic satisfaction.
• Competitive investigation – By analyzing your competitors, you tin rapidly find retired what works successful your marketplace and what doesn’t. Also, competitors marque a large benchmark.
• Commercial information – Think marketplace reports and manufacture insights. You tin larn things similar the size of your market, marketplace trends, and insights from radical progressive successful your industry.

We spell into further item astir the supra and the tools/resources you tin usage successful our guide connected marketplace research.

When it comes to companies that beryllium their occurrence to marketplace research, LEGO is simply a genuinely noteworthy example. In 1 of its probe studies, the institution recovered that only 9% of its users are female. LEGO understood that it had addressed that marketplace conception incorrect for decades.

But since a occupation is an accidental successful disguise, LEGO acceptable retired to observe however it could attack that underserved marketplace better.

It rolled retired a monolithic survey involving 3,500 girls and their mothers to recognize the girls’ playing habits. It took LEGO 4 years to implicit the study.

It recovered retired that girls admit a antithetic benignant of playing experience. Namely, antithetic kinds of scenarios (e.g., hairsbreadth salons alternatively of constabulary stations), much vibrant colors, and much expressive figurines than the LEGO classics. And truthful LEGO Friends was calved in 2012.

Despite immoderate criticism for the alleged reinforcing of sex stereotypes, the caller merchandise enactment became an instant hit. Today, LEGO Friends remains 1 of the biggest LEGO successes to date.

In the twelvemonth the acceptable launched, the company’s nett net roseate 35%. And successful the pursuing years, Friends became 1 of the apical 5 selling LEGO themes. 

Takeaway

Whether you’re trying to hole a occupation successful your selling oregon looking for caller opportunities successful the market, chances are your answers are already retired there. But you won’t find them until you scope for marketplace probe methods—a acquisition we tin larn from LEGO.

It’s worthy noting that marketplace probe doesn’t person to beryllium a huge, costly project. It tin besides beryllium done successful a cost-effective, agile way.

Recommended reading: Market Research: What It Is and How to Do It

Final thoughts

I anticipation these 5 abbreviated examples inspired you to refine your selling strategy. Seeing truthful galore companies investing successful these activities with large results, I deliberation marketers should either effort them astatine immoderate constituent oregon person a truly well-argued lawsuit for not doing them.

Naturally, these are not the lone effectual selling activities retired there. Here are a fewer much resources that diagnostic different selling ideas and tactics you tin gully inspiration from:

• Demand Generation 101: 5 Strategies That Work 
• 10 Lead Generation Tactics That Work (With Examples) 
• 17 Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses 
• 18 Main Types of Marketing (Examples Included)