So a graffiti artist, a business owner and a digital marketer all walk into a bar. That could be the first line of a joke—or how a guerrilla marketing campaign is unexpectedly born.
Both internationally recognized brands and small businesses are trying to expand their marketing possibilities by connecting with consumers without resorting to staid, traditional methods. Yet with all the digital possibilities and consumer sophistication constantly growing, it’s getting more challenging to find new ways to connect with people, especially when a user might click away in just one or two seconds.
A guerrilla style of marketing may seem purely the domain of small businesses without much budget. But many large businesses have executed successful guerrilla campaigns, ranging from bus ads to art installations along a busy sidewalk. Content remains king in the marketing world, but can guerilla marketing still play an effective part in connecting with consumers?
Both content marketing and guerrilla marketing have been around long enough to establish a track record, and examples of their successes aren’t hard to find. Yet the two may seem to be too incompatible to work together. One is a sophisticated and highly crafted means for increasing brand awareness among a large audience, and the other is a sometimes low-budget and unorthodox way to attract attention, usually from a much smaller scope of people.
What they have in common is requiring a balance of creativity and strategy, and both have the same goals in mind. Guerrilla marketing, when it’s done right, can make a positive impression on a consumer with something memorable and engaging. No matter what form it takes, it can draw interest to your brand and potentially pave the way to your online content.
For those who can take a guerilla-style approach to marketing—or who are interested in going beyond the normal routines to impress people—you can give yourself another way to promote your brand. It could be something simple but effective.
Even a YouTube video is now considered to be a guerrilla marketing tactic, and that’s because it meets all the guerrilla characteristics. It’s not prohibitively expensive, it’s easily accessible and it can be a step away from the norm. But most importantly, a YouTube video can showcase a brand’s personality, sense of humor and style in an interesting, uninterrupted way.
Content still rules the marketing world, and that’s for good reason: it’s an effective way to create interest among consumers. Yet great content can’t do the job all by itself. It’s imperative that you create a reliable way to allow the consumer to discover that content, and that’s where promotion comes in.
Guerilla marketing can work in tandem with a content marketing campaign by serving as a means of helping to promote your online content. Like any form of marketing, it’s only a matter of knowing your audience, our company goals and finding a creative way to connect these two entities. Whether it’s a flash mob, a street art installation or a viral video, a guerrilla-style approach to spreading awareness of your brand comes down to combining creativity and marketing in a way that will drive attention and give consumers an idea of who you are and what you can do for them beyond the rest of the crowd.
Even if you don’t execute a full-fledged guerrilla marketing project, thinking like a guerrilla marketer can help take your creativity to a new level and develop new ideas for content strategies. There’s an audience out there waiting for the right message delivered in an unprecedented way that will win their curiosity and lead to a community of consumers loyal to your brand.
What kinds of guerilla marketing tactics has your brand tried? Tell us in the comments.
