Intro – The Marketing Misconception:
Probably the greatest misconception when it comes to marketing is that advertising makes a brand successful. That statement is completely FALSE! It’s not the advertising that makes a brand famous; it’s the products and branding. Advertising and marketing a brand is what maintains a brand’s success, it never creates it. Advertising and marketing should be used to supplement your brand. So before reading this article, remove that from your head. Without a great product you’ll never be truly successful regardless of your marketing.
Online Advertising Techniques
Domain & Website
A good practice in terms of web branding is to have your own domain and website. Hosting and domain names are so cheap nowadays, that it’s stupid not to have a website. And even if you don’t plan to get a website just yet, you should at least buy the domain name and park it. That way, no one can steal your perfect little domain name. Your website is going to be your main engine for marketing, so you have to consider many things.
SEO Rankings
The most important aspect is probably your website’s SEO ranking. SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, is a whole science on its own but here are a few tips to help get you started.
Good SEO means to be easily searchable through sites like Google and Yahoo and such, so if you have a high page rank, you will be more likely to be listed favorably, so when someone searches for “graphic t-shirts shop” or something like that, it is more that someone will click on your store’s link.
Local Newspapers
If you live in a friendly neighborhood, a fun idea for some attention may be to contact the local newspaper to try to get an article about your brand. People have a lot of pride in their community, so it might be exciting to hear that someone is starting a clothing company with some potential. The plus side is that it’s free and there’s no harm in trying. If you don’t get the article, big deal, it’s not like you lost anything.
Advertisements
More risky ventures include: television ads, magazine ads, billboards, etc. These are most likely not very appropriate for little brands, but if you have the money it may be worth it. The unfortunate thing about print and television advertisements is that you can’t really track where your visitors are coming from unlike web advertisements. However, if you see a sudden peak in your visitors after you started your print campaign, you can infer that it was the advertisement.
