Choosing The Right Marketing Channels For Your Audience

Crash CourseMarketing

Mar 6

Written By Lisa Oates

**What are marketing channels and how do you know which ones to use for your audience?**

A marketing channel is simply one of several different tools, platforms, and touch points that you can use to communicate with a market segment and guide them along a customer journey.
Examples of marketing channels include:
Video streaming (i.e. YouTube or Vimeo)
Podcasting
Website, Blogging, and SEO
Paid Ads (i.e. Google, social, display)
Social Media
Print
Traditional Editorial (i.e. magazines)
Email
Digital Content Downloads (i.e. eBooks)
Sponsorships & Trade Shows
Networking Events
Keynotes
Online Courses
Guest Contributions in Popular Publications
Influencer Marketing
… and more

How to Choose the Right Marketing Channel for Your Audience

Know Your Audience
First things first, you need to know your audience. This can be tricky, but with time and the right tracking methods in place, you should be able to learn and understand who they are, what they care about, their purchase behaviors, and where they spend their time (both online and offline).
The key to choosing the right marketing channel for your audience is understand where they consume content, look for options in their buying journey, and when they are in the “buying” mood. You want to catch them in all parts of the marketing funnel and encourage them on their customer journey. To increase touch points with your audience, you need to know and understand them.
Know Your Channel Options
Once you have a better understanding of your audience, you can begin to see where they spend their time and how they like to consume content. Compare that to the marketing channels available to you. Select the ones that will give you the highest chance of reaching them consistently with your message. And consider which channels might help you stand out from a crowded market!
For example: if you have an audience that enjoys being entertained with short videos, marketing channels that might work well for you are YouTube (which not only gives you the chance to post video shorts, but is also owned by Google and gives you great searchability!), Vimeo, social media (reels and stories, especially!), and paid digital advertising.
Depending on your audience’s interests and the product you are selling, you could also consider advertising on larger streaming platforms like Amazon Prime or YouTube TV, or smaller, lesser known streaming sites like RedBull TV.
Get Creative & Consider Alternatives
If you stop there — with simply knowing your audience and choosing obvious marketing channels for delivering your message to them — you may hinder your ability to reach new people that fit your niche and/or increase your footprint. It’s time to get creative and think about alternative marketing channels.
Get in front of a whiteboard or blank Google Doc and start listing every possible place you can think of where you and/or your audience might spend even a remote amount of time.
Examples: grocery store, school car line, church, night classes at the local community college, the rec league basketball gym, the downtown coffee shop, their front porch, etc.
With that list in front of you, write down possible ways to get your message in front of them during their time spent in those locations.
Examples: newspaper, billboard, podcast or podcast ad, posters, lighted floor display, apparel, ticket stubs, announcements over the intercom, hearing about an event from a friend, a text, etc.
Determine What’s Feasible (& Sometimes What’s Crazy), And Then Go For It
You now have an understanding of your audience, obvious marketing channels, and even some really outside-of-the-box channels. Document them all and circle or highlight the ones that seem most feasible with your current budget, capacity, and timeline. I recommend marketing through several channels at a time, but always doing so with excellence to reach your actual target audience. If you market a bland message through a channel that doesn’t “hit” right for your target audience, it’s a waste of time. If you can’t do it with excellence right now, table it for later.
Focus in on what will work really well. Go for obvious marketing channels and throw in one or two crazy channels and see what works.
Track Progress
Track progress, engagements, and sales! If you don’t know what works, it is difficult to make decisions and adjustments. Most digital marketing channels have ways to measure progress and engagement. Even if you have to build a spreadsheet and manually update it once a month, it is worth knowing how your marketing is trending and analyzing the results. Oh, to see the fruits of your labor!
Examples: clicks, views, length of time on page, amount spent, number of downloads, sales, revenue, budget, shares, etc.
Make Adjustments
Just because you started with a marketing channel doesn’t mean you have to continue using it, or at least to the level you used it before. Using social media because everyone else is doing it is not a reason to do so. If it isn’t getting you any engagement, consider changing your strategy or nixing it altogether. Tracking progress over time (step 5) will help you make these decisions. Give every channel a good amount of time to see if it’s worth using. I recommend at least 6 months to a year for most channels.
Diversifying your marketing channels is helpful when things break or algorithms and trends change. If social media shuts down, where else are you marketing your business? If consumer trends shift, be prepared with a diverse list of marketing channels. Understand how to best use each channel, and maximize them. Just having a social profile won’t cut it. Just posting one blog a month won’t cut it. Just running the same ad for 3 months won’t cut it.
You need to pay attention, analyze, and adjust. Choose the right marketing channels that will get your message in front of your audience, and in such a way that they will notice you and take action.