Top Marketing Channels for 2024 [+Data]

Social media, e mail, video, audio —at present’s entrepreneurs have extra advertising channels to select from than ever earlier than.

As the previous head of selling for 2 completely different tech corporations, I realized firsthand that an efficient advertising technique should contemplate all these channels and determine the very best investments on your particular firm, product, and goal market.

After all, that is simpler stated than carried out. The advertising channel panorama is consistently rising and evolving, and it’s important to grasp the worth that every channel can present.

The HubSpot crew surveyed over 1,000 world B2B and B2C advertising professionals to discover probably the most used advertising channels.

Beneath, I’ll share the highest advertising channels recognized in that survey. I’ll talk about how I’ve discovered these channels can assist you amplify your attain and drive income whereas prioritizing your present clients.

High B2B Advertising Channels

In accordance with HubSpot’s survey, more than 80% of entrepreneurs really feel that advertising has modified extra within the final three years than within the earlier fifty.

On this ever-changing atmosphere, the number one challenge advertising professionals determine is figuring out which platform (or platforms) they need to spend money on.

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When making these essential selections, I’ve discovered that it’s useful to do some benchmarking towards different professionals within the trade.

Our survey discovered that the highest advertising channels at present’s entrepreneurs use are short-form video (i.e., TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and so on.), influencer advertising, and Search Engine Optimization (search engine optimisation).

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Furthermore, the survey discovered that 41% of B2B entrepreneurs are rising their budgets, enabling them to spend money on new advertising channels.

Particularly, along with the channels described above, B2B entrepreneurs primarily give attention to web site and running a blog channels and e mail newsletters.

In actual fact, nearly one in three entrepreneurs report leveraging e mail advertising to interact with potential clients.

These focused e mail campaigns can run manually and be automated, empowering entrepreneurs to focus their power elsewhere.

Many entrepreneurs are additionally leveraging new instruments that permit them to phase subscribers and personalize their messages, maximizing the impression of those campaigns.

Nevertheless, our information means that short-form movies, influencers, and search engine optimisation are probably the most vital channels to look at.

High B2C Advertising Channels

Many B2C entrepreneurs use platforms much like their B2B counterparts however with a couple of key variations. For B2C professionals, social media and e mail are the highest advertising channels, adopted by web sites and blogs.

Generally, B2C advertising is often targeted on providing pleasurable content material and fast wins, whereas B2B advertising focuses on constructing longer-term relationships with clients. As such, specializing in social media is smart for B2C.

In any case, as of 2023, there are nearly 5 billion social media customers worldwide (greater than 60% of the worldwide inhabitants), making this the best platform to forged a large web and attain a broad client viewers.

HubSpot’s survey provided additional assist for the significance of social media, discovering that B2C manufacturers have been most certainly to spend money on advertising efforts on Fb, Instagram, and YouTube.

The information reveals that LinkedIn is a extra essential platform for B2B manufacturers than B2C, with B2B entrepreneurs considerably extra more likely to report investing on this platform.

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Alongside social media, the survey recognized e mail as a big advertising channel for B2C manufacturers. Generally, this could discuss with a conventional publication.

Nonetheless, e mail will also be used to share B2C content material reminiscent of personalised communications, time-sensitive notifications (like product launches or gross sales), and cart abandonment e mail reminders.

One other vital benefit of e mail is that it’s an owned media channel. No one can dictate when, how, or why you possibly can contact your prospects.

On the similar time, it’s important to do not forget that your clients will unsubscribe for those who oversaturate their inbox with too many emails.

Lastly, the HubSpot report discovered that 36% of B2C marketers use blogs and web sites to attach with clients, serving to these manufacturers generate model consciousness, drive site visitors, convert leads, and, most significantly, set up authority.

Whenever you create your blogs and web site content material with search engine optimisation techniques in thoughts, you’re much more more likely to meet your targets.

It’s because these methods can assist your content material rise to the highest of the SERP (Search Engine Outcomes Web page) when clients make queries associated to what you are promoting content material.

It’s simple to get complacent in relation to advertising channels.

Nevertheless, our survey discovered that more than half of B2C entrepreneurs anticipate their budgets to develop, suggesting that it’s essential to spend money on figuring out the very best new channels on your model — and take the time to construct out your presence on these channels as successfully as potential.

Omnichannel Advertising

In accordance with HubSpot’s survey of selling professionals, greater than 9 out of ten entrepreneurs leverage a couple of advertising channel — and 81% leverage greater than three channels.

In at present’s advertising ecosystem, attempting to work with only one advertising channel or to implement only one technique merely doesn’t work. Omnichannel advertising is the one possibility.

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Certainly, in keeping with CMO and co-founder of NP Digital Neil Patel, “100% of the businesses we labored with that grew targeted on omnichannel advertising and regularly expanded.”

This diversified method helps groups keep agile, adapt to new alternatives, and pivot when particular platforms grow to be oversaturated.

One frequent method to omnichannel is content material repurposing:

Fairly than creating customized content material for every platform from scratch, 82% of social media entrepreneurs in HubSpot’s survey reported repurposing content material throughout numerous social channels.

This allows you to guarantee model messaging continuity whereas lowering the work essential to interact throughout many advertising channels.

Video Advertising

Now could be the time for those who’ve but to spend money on video advertising.

Throughout industries and markets, I’ve discovered that video will be an effective way to spice up conversions, enhance ROI, attain new audiences, and assist you construct relationships with present clients.

That could be why entrepreneurs report that video is the highest media format they leverage at present.

That being stated, there are quite a lot of completely different sorts of movies. Relating to advertising, short-form content material takes the cake for each B2B and B2C entrepreneurs.

Within the age of TikTok, many social media platforms are rewarding content material creators who make short-form video content material that encourages viewers to remain on the app longer.

That is additionally a big development space, with 29% of selling professionals planning to strive leveraging video advertising for the primary time in 2023. Video will also be an effective way to flex your inventive expertise as a marketer.

For instance, I targeted primarily on written content material early in my profession, like weblog posts and PR articles.

When my crew recommended investing in creating a brief promotional video, I used to be a bit nervous at first — but it surely turned out to be a captivating mission, and the footage drove quite a lot of gross sales for our new product.

So, even for those who haven’t labored with video earlier than, now is perhaps a good time to start out.

Influencer Advertising

Influencer advertising is when companies associate with a well-liked creator of their trade to share commercials or particular items of content material.

These influencers can generate model consciousness by associating a well-recognized face and persona along with your product in clients’ minds and offering social proof.

That is particularly essential as analysis has proven that customers at present belief entrepreneurs much less and fewer.

Due to this skepticism, they have a tendency to draw back from conventional lead-generating content material, as an alternative turning to influencers for product suggestions.

As a result of influencers are personable, sincere individuals who share your clients’ pursuits, patrons are likelier to belief them. Within the tech age, influencers is perhaps a contemporary model of old school word-of-mouth marketing.

Furthermore, the info reveals that influencer advertising pays off. A current report discovered that 86% of B2B brands are profitable with influencer advertising.

In distinction, a study from Shopify discovered that each greenback spent on influencer advertising had a mean ROI of $5.78 — i.e., this technique can obtain greater than 5x returns.

In mild of those statistics, it’s no shock that funding in influencer advertising is on the rise.

HubSpot’s survey discovered that 17% of entrepreneurs deliberate to strive influencer advertising for the primary time in 2023, and of these already utilizing this method, 89% plan to extend or keep their funding.

Search Engine Optimization

One other essential element of any trendy marketer’s technique is Search Engine Optimization or search engine optimisation advertising.

If you happen to efficiently optimize your internet content material, it can place your model as an authority in your area, finally serving to you improve site visitors and your conversion price.

It’s essential to notice that search engine optimisation isn’t nearly your web site. All your internet content material must be search engine optimized.

That features your YouTube channels, Google enterprise profile, and podcast episodes, which must be optimized utilizing goal key phrases.

The pillar-cluster mannequin is one technique that may assist you organically construct a thriving on-line presence. In accordance with HubSpot information, 35% of B2B and 59% of B2C entrepreneurs report this as an efficient technique.

So how does it work? With the pillar-cluster mannequin, you’ll create a single pillar web page that gives a high-level overview of a subject and hyperlinks to cluster pages that delve into the subject’s subtopics.

This helps sign to engines like google like Google and Bing that your pillar web page is an authority on the topic.

Different search engine optimisation techniques that may be extremely efficient embody utilizing search insights studies, optimizing pictures or movies for visible engines like google, and optimizing load pace for any media-heavy internet pages.

Bear in mind, this doesn’t should be quite a lot of work. In my expertise, simply spending an hour or two reviewing related key phrases and noting phrases and phrases to make use of in your content material could make an enormous distinction in search engine optimisation advertising.

Podcast Advertising

In a Pew survey carried out in 2023, 42% of Americans aged 12 and older reported having listened to a podcast up to now month.

Audio content material is in excessive demand, so for a lot of manufacturers, podcasts is usually a nice platform to achieve bigger audiences.

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Podcast hosts can even function brand-specific influencers, demonstrating the human aspect of what you are promoting.

As well as, as a result of individuals can take heed to podcasts passively whereas doing different issues, this may be a superb channel for reaching individuals throughout their morning commutes, strolling their canine, or cleansing the home.

Featured Useful resource: How To Start a Podcast For Your Business

Podcasts will also be compelling as a result of the human mind is programmed to crave, hunt down, and reply to a well-crafted story.

The audio medium will be a superb alternative to inform a compelling story, capturing your viewers’s consideration whereas making your model extra personable.

Curiously, only one in three entrepreneurs report leveraging podcasts or different audio content material of their methods — however of those who do, greater than half say that it’s the most influential media format they use.

That could be why podcasts obtain the second highest marketing spend, with entrepreneurs sharing that video is the one channel they’re investing extra in.

Phrase-of-Mouth Advertising

A 2023 survey from PwC discovered that more than half of U.S. customers have advisable an organization they belief to their household and pals.

As on-line content material turns into more and more oversaturated, paid content material is trusted much less and fewer, with many patrons as an alternative turning to word-of-mouth suggestions to tell their buying selections.

On this new actuality, entrepreneurs should earn clients’ belief by counting on buyer suggestions and word-of-mouth marketing.

Actual clients shall be far more efficient in incomes that belief than entrepreneurs, who’ve agendas and are finally targeted on their backside strains.

In any case, as advertising professionals, we’re paid to advertise our model’s merchandise — however clients will sometimes solely rave a few services or products in the event that they adore it.

So, what does this appear like in apply? Phrase-of-mouth advertising is about extra than simply face-to-face conversations.

Glad clients would possibly submit about your model on-line, inform their roommates they like your service, or go away constructive critiques in your product pages.

Solely one among these examples includes an precise, in-person dialog, however they’re all methods customers can vouch on your model’s credibility.

At its core, word-of-mouth advertising is all about making a buyer expertise that’s simply so magical that present customers are pushed to share your model with their networks.

As a buyer, I’m solely motivated to inform my pals a few product if I’ve had a stellar expertise.

If you happen to give attention to providing top-notch customer support and on at all times going above and past on your clients, you’ll be set as much as succeed with word-of-mouth advertising.

Make Your Advertising Channels Work for You

Now that the stats behind completely different advertising channels, there are two key questions: First, how would possibly you attain your present viewers in a brand new means? And second, how would possibly a brand new channel allow you to achieve new audiences?

Totally different advertising channels include completely different advantages, however most companies can discover a means to make use of completely different channels of their advertising methods to satisfy their distinctive enterprise targets.

Research have proven that clients are more likely to come into contact along with your model at least seven times earlier than taking motion.

As such, utilizing a spread of various advertising channels will be an effective way to create these a number of factors of contact, nurture your leads over time, improve conversions, and assist you obtain your advertising targets.

Editor’s Be aware: This submit was initially printed in Dec. 2021 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.