If you want to try using some creative marketing tactics to catch attention of your website visitors, here are a few unique ways:
Host a Contest
Come up with a prize that your visitors would truly appreciate. Maybe it’s the new Apple MacBook, or an iPhone, pre-loaded with all your content. Whatever it is, make sure it is something that others would see as valuable enough to compete for. Craft your contest guidelines and blast it out to your email list, and put it on your web page and on Facebook. Announce it on industry websites. Do everything you can to get the word out.
If the contest is truly innovative and fun with a worthwhile prize, people will come flocking to your contest. You will get a lot of exposure, as well as people associating positive emotions with your brand and website.
Try a Publicity Stunt
The founder of RunKeeper, an application that tracks your running statistics for you using your iPhone, was having moderate success with his application until he pulled a publicity stunt. He ran the Boston Marathon as an iPhone, dressed in a full-body iPhone and ran a marathon.
This garnered press from newspapers and television stations all over the world, including The New York Times, and the publicity stunt caused a huge explosion in traffic.
Try to come up with a creative outrageous stunt as a way to promote your business.
The Power of Coupons
When people believe they are getting a discount, they are more likely to buy. Likewise, when people believe they are helping someone else get a good deal, they are more likely to make a referral.
Create a coupon system in your shopping cart. Then liberally give away coupon codes that other websites in your industry can give to their customers. Give away coupon codes to groups, forums, blogs, etc.
If you want to try an even riskier tactic, allow your customers to redeem your competitors’ coupons on your website after they have expired. This allows you to capitalize on your competitors’ publicity as they do all the work to get the coupons out there, but you get the traffic if they are not willing to honor their expired coupons.
These are a few creative tactics for staying on top of the game. Remember that there’s no such thing as a sure formula for success in business. Adapt one of these ideas to your own business, or come up with your own creative ways to get attention from both consumers and the media. Try brainstorming every day for a week and see what you come up with.
