The 5 Most Creative Marketing Ideas

Marketers are always trying to harness their inner creativity. To stand out from the crowd we're told to "think outside the box", and "get ahead of the curve". But what does that really mean in practice, and what kind of ideas are exciting the most creative marketers around?

In this blog, we'll take a look at 5 marketing ideas that are innovative, fresh and - most importantly - easy to implement. They may not all be relevant to your niche, but there should be something here to set your creative juices flowing.

Our top 5 tips to make your content marketing creative

1. It's time to get personal

These days, people don't just consume products. They buy into the story behind the product, the concepts which lie behind its existence, and which drive the people who created it.

Ecologically conscious people want to know how products or services protect the biosphere or deal with climate change. Those motivated by social justice want to hear about the feminist or anti-racist ideals animating the companies they buy from. And everyone appreciates a well told biography which explains the personalities behind the business.

So don't be afraid to tell that story, whether it's via video or an eBook. Get personal, show off your passion, and build an authentic profile which connects with customers on a deeper level.

2. Connect with visitors on an individual level

Advances in automation mean that it's increasingly possible for websites to treat every site visitor as an individual - approaching the level of service you'd expect from a high-end boutique.

By mining your contacts database, you can build profiles for each customer, and deliver tailored content to their email inbox which doesn't just greet them by their first name, but also takes into account their unique interests and purchasing history.

You can use targeted ads in new ways to entice customers back for a second helping. And it's even possible to connect with smaller numbers of high value contacts via 1:1 video - something which often has the highest conversion rate of all.

3. Smarten up your website design

Customer relationships are not the only things becoming smarter. At the cutting edge of content marketing, creative professionals are also exploring new ways to refine the way they present their content, with the aim of maximising their conversions.

So-called "smart traffic" is one way to do so. This increasingly affordable technique uses third party services that harness AI to assess how well landing pages or other content are performing. These pages can then be altered in real time in response to user behaviour - essentially a highly efficient form of A/B testing.

4. Turn your website into a mapbook

Heatmapping is another advanced technique which is drawing plenty of attention among savvy marketers, and with good reason. This concept involves using tracking cookies to map how users interact with websites. They can generate virtual atlases showing which parts of the site attract the most attention, and which parts seem to be off the map entirely.

When you know this data, you can use it to improve poorly performing input forms, purchasing portals, or blogs. And you can also find ways to optimise your whole site to make it easier to navigate for the average visitor. Without it, you'll be navigating via guesswork - never a good position for online businesses.

5. Get graphical for great results

It's a cliché? that customers respond best to beautifully designed, visually appealing content. Ever since companies have used logos and celebrities to promote their products, we've known this basic truth. But until recently, smaller online companies have found their graphical options fairly limited.

Thanks to online marketplaces like Freelancer.com and Upwork, there's a large offering of creative professionals who will be happy to help. And upmarket alternatives like Toptal are even slicker, putting exceptional graphical skills within everyone's reach. So why not take advantage?

Maximise your creativity to give sales a boost

It's never a good idea to rest on your laurels. Even if you've struck gold recently and your sales are steady, it's always advisable to think about new marketing ideas and to embrace path-breaking techniques. Hopefully this blog has introduced a few concepts that you haven't considered, and which could make a huge difference to the way you work in the future.

Moreover, if you need expert writers to put these ideas into practice, don't hesitate to get in touch with greatcontent, where creativity is never in short supply.

Text: Sam Urquhart
Image: Martino Pietropoli on unsplash.com