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By Eileen O’Shanassy

All marketing tactics are risky, as proven methods eventually reach a plateau of productivity while emerging trends often succeed for the first companies to employ them, but the novelty may soon wear off. These six marketing trends are ideal for marketers don’t have unlimited budgets. Select the right mix for your industry and enjoy the best ROI. Marketing can seem like a gamble, but these risks might just pay off in the long run.

Loyalty Marketing

Turning loyal customers into pitch persons was a risky trend in 2016, but people without any marketing experience, who shot the videos in their home instead of a studio, proved they could sell the products. Consumers like being educated by someone who they can relate to, as opposed to being advertised to by models or celebrities. B2C brands should look for customers who are usually following the brand on social media channels with a significant following on social media or their own blog, and offer to ask them if they would accept free products to review. Depending on the product and their own following, you could stand to make a big buck.

Pinterest

Often overlooked by social media marketers, pinners use the platform for ideas, therefore, high quality staged images are crucial for Pinterest success. Opening a Pinterest account and pinning content is a good start, but successful brands treat Pinterest like a visual search engine and optimize their content accordingly.

Content Marketing

Creating evocative content on a company-owned blog and on social media has always been a successful online marketing strategy because it attracts and retains loyal customers. High-quality content that crafts a story establishes authority and trust, which leads to easier sales. Make sure you partner with a content marketing agency who can help come up with better outreach marketing solutions than you may be able to think of on your own.

Customer Generated Content

Gathering customer generated content is an excellent marketing tactic that has an excellent ROI, since brands can hold contests on social media or offer coupons off future purchases in return for images or videos of customers using their brand.

Messaging Apps

Popular messaging apps are an ideal way to reach a young target audience. Major brands, such as Starbucks and Amazon are already taking advantage of the millions of users that even the newer messaging apps boast, with promoted chats, branded emojis, and sponsored games.

Live Streaming

Facebook Live and Periscope are making it easier for brands to engage their target audience with immersive experiences instead of static content. Brands live stream charity events that they sponsor, their production process and other content that humanizes the business.

These six tactics have one thing in common: they are not disruptive to the user experience and they offer useful, interesting information, which makes them practically risk-free strategies. They might sound like a risk to try, but could pay off big time in the end.

Eileen O’Shanassy is a freelance writer and blogger based out of Flagstaff, AZ. She writes on a variety of topics and loves to research and write. She enjoys baking, biking, and kayaking. Check out her Twitter @eileenoshanassy.