How to Market a Product: Online and Offline Strategies

No matter how big or small your business is, at the core of your performance is how effectively you market your products.

Today, marketing ranks among the most important wheels in business. With the dynamic and competitive business landscape that we operate in, it’s now more important than ever to strategically select marketing channels and adequately invest your marketing budgets for maximum results.

In the following sections, we show you how to market a product through the use of online and offline techniques. 

Introduction to Product Marketing

Before we share proven online and offline marketing strategies for promoting products, let’s take a moment to cover the basics. What is product marketing in the first place?

Product marketing focuses on attracting potential customers by presenting and promoting a product in its best light, uncovering its features, capabilities, benefits, and more. 

Product marketing efforts are all about achieving higher sales volumes and increasing product engagement. In most cases, implementing a successful product marketing strategy requires a team effort.

Marketing products is often entrusted to different business departments, including advertising, marketing, and sales. Together, these teams use market and company data to understand more about their niche or industry, their competitors, their ideal clients, and more. 

As a result, they’re able to craft winning marketing strategies that help achieve sales goals and customer targets. 

Online Marketing Strategies

Now, let’s look at some of the most popular and result-proven online marketing strategies.

The following marketing methods provide excellent opportunities to showcase your product, build a community around what you have to offer, and engage with potential shoppers. 

Social Media Marketing

One of the most effective ways to market a product is to utilise social media platforms. 

According to research, around 4.9 billion people use social media on a global level. This tremendous number represents a vast pool of potential customers you can reach.

Today, there are a variety of social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and others that all offer opportunities to connect with your ideal clients. 

To use social media effectively, it’s key to start with market research. Identify the social media platform that your target audience uses the most and concentrate your efforts there. 

You can use paid tools like targeted social media ads to grow your followers or rely on organic growth. For example, via Facebook advertising, you can reach thousands of people who meet specific requirements, including demographics, interests, behaviour, and others. 

As you select the platforms you want to use, make sure you understand what types of users they attract. 

Here is a brief overview of each social media platform and its audience:

• Facebook: attracts diverse age groups, mostly 25-55. Users are interested in connecting with friends and family, joining groups, and following brands and communities. The platform is popular for news, events, and different content types. 
• Instagram: popular among younger audiences, aged 18-35 and focuses on visual content. The majority of users have interests towards lifestyle, fashion, travel, and food. 
• LinkedIn: largest professional network site, with a user base predominantly aged 21-45 and slightly more male. The platform is used for networking, job search and recruitment, company promotion, business development and thought leadership. 
• X: used by professionals, journalists, politicians, and those interested in real-time news. 
• Pinterest: predominantly used by women aged 25-45 with an interest towards DIY projects, home decor, fashion, recipes, and planning. 
• TikTok: one of the fastest-growing social media platforms that attracts Gen Z users with short-form video content, trends, challenges, and more. Ideal for influencer marketing. 

By understanding the core peculiarities of each social media platform you can make an informed decision on where you can market your product best. 

Regardless of the channel you choose, make sure you create diverse, valuable, and interesting content for your audience. Don’t just focus on product presentation but use social media to inform your audience about the market you are in, recent trends, new updates, and more. 

When promoting your product, create educational posts around how it works, key features, the product’s benefits, what problems it solves, and why consumers should purchase it. 

Influencer Partnerships

When discussing how to market a product, it’s crucial to accent on influencer marketing. 

A study reveals that more than 22% of respondents plan to spend 10-20% of their total marketing budget on influencer marketing. This proves the potential of this marketing channel for reaching your target customer. 

Partnering with influencers is one of the best ways to generate buzz around your product and quickly build trust and customer loyalty. It’s also a strategic approach to improving your discoverability and bringing in more sales. Naturally, consumers will also trust an influencer they follow more than they will an online review. 

However, getting started may not be as easy as it sounds. You’ll need to pick the right influencer to promote your product. This will depend on the type of audience they have and the community they’ve built. Ideally, the chosen influencer should be in your target market. 

As you begin, you can work with micro-influencers, or people who have up to 50,000 followers on social media. Even if the visibility is lower here, the chances of sales are usually higher as such influencers usually have a more loyal audience.

To discover the best influencers to partner with, use social media channels to do your research. Use hashtags linked to your industry or niche and watch out for those that already promote products similar to yours. 

Once you make your choice, make sure that you clearly define the working conditions with the influencer. Will they be paid per hour or per post? How often will they share content about your products? What type of content will they create? Covering all of these details will help you maintain productive relationships. 

Email Marketing Campaigns

One of the most efficient marketing strategies that can target both new and existing customers is email marketing. 

According to research, nearly 20% of businesses see an email marketing ROI higher than $70 per every dollar invested. This marketing technique is a brilliant way to drive sales, encourage repeat purchases, introduce a new product launch, and make personal recommendations. 

The beauty of email marketing is that you can use it in diverse and creative ways to increase traffic to your online store and more sales. 

For example, you could offer free shipping or special discounts for first orders, a free gift on birthdays, and more. This channel is also ideal for giving away special holiday discounts, exclusive offers, and recommendations based on previous purchases. 

In addition, you could use email marketing to educate your visitors and customers about your products via newsletters. Through this approach, you can share valuable updates, interesting insights, and inspiration. 

When investing time in this marketing channel, make sure you craft compelling emails

Another key tip is to use reliable email marketing platforms and to set up automation paths to send out messages to the right recipients at the right time. Automated emails are especially effective as reminders for events, payments or even abandoned shopping carts for completing an online checkout process.

SEO

At the same time, the best way to receive organic traffic and increase brand visibility is via SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. 

Today, nearly 90% of shoppers start their product searches online, and in most cases, they start from search engines such as Google or Bing. 

Via search engine optimization, you can strengthen your website and make your products appear among the first results on the search engine results page. This can dramatically increase your product visibility and website traffic. 

To achieve this, there are multiple factors to consider. One of the things to do is invest time and effort into in-depth keyword research. This will allow you to understand more about the types of keywords and phrases shoppers use when browsing for products like yours. 

Based on your discoveries, you can optimise your product pages and entire website to rank higher for specific targeted keywords. However, keep in mind that SEO doesn’t end with keyword research and keyword optimization. It requires extensive knowledge of best practices and techniques that will make your products appear as the most relevant to a consumer’s search. 

Content Marketing

When marketing a product, it’s also fundamental to concentrate on content marketing. In 2024, 55% of businesses intend to spend more on content marketing than in 2023.

Content is among the most powerful marketing tactics to communicate your marketing messages, focus on customer education, cover the audience’s pain points, and more. Through content, you can encourage customers to try your products and gradually establish a loyal customer base. 

In regards to content, you can use multiple formats such as:

• Blog posts;
• Case studies;
• Infographics;
• eBooks;
• Testimonials;
• Checklists.

You can also rely on user-generated content, like online reviews, to inspire action.

When crafting your content strategy, make sure that you’re aware of your buyer personas. Ideally, you should create different content types for each buyer persona and cover different topics based on factors like demographics, behavioural traits, pain points, and more.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Another approach to try when it comes to how to market a product is Paid-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, called in short – paid ads. 

Through PPC ads, you pay a fee every time your ad is clicked on. Through this marketing channel, you’re directing traffic to a chosen landing page. To achieve this, you’ll need to bid on certain keywords or audiences that relate to your products. You can set up text ads, display ads, video ads, and more.

By targeting your ideal customer through the use of keywords, you can potentially attract more customers to your products. 

Although PPC marketing campaigns are usually a lot more expensive than other marketing methods, they offer immediate visibility, enable you to target a specific audience, and are ideal for building brand awareness.

Through PPC ads, you can also remarket or retarget, reaching users who’ve visited your product pages in the past but haven’t completed a purchase. 

Video Marketing Strategies

Today, video marketing is a thriving channel, with more and more businesses exploring the opportunities these strategies offer.

The beauty of video is that it allows businesses to showcase the best of their products in an appealing, realistic way. This helps create the right expectations in the minds of consumers and can even help you create an idea of what your products truly look, feel, and smell like.

If video marketing is something you want to explore, you can consider the following formats:

• Product demos;
• Explainer videos;
• Customer testimonials;
• Funny videos.

These are just a few examples of the most popular video formats. However, you can be as creative as your audience and market allow. The most popular options for sharing your videos with your target market are via social media channels like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Affiliate Marketing

Creating an affiliate program is also a great way to market a product. Why? Because nearly 90% of shoppers trust recommendations from people they’re familiar with.

Through an affiliate program, you can partner with businesses or individuals who would like to recommend your product. In return, you reward them for every sale that you make thanks to their contribution via a commission.

Affiliate marketing is perhaps one of the strongest marketing techniques today, similar to influencer marketing. Your affiliate program can, indeed, work with brands or influencers who already have earned the trust of consumers and this can lower the barriers to adopting your product.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to organise and set up the entire process. Usually, affiliate partners work with a provided link. Once someone from their community purchases a product from the link, this data is transferred to the business’s system, allowing you to track the productivity of your partners.

Hosting Webinars and Online Events

Finally, an often neglected and underestimated marketing campaign is that related to hosting webinars and online events.

Depending on the type of product you sell, this tactic could be extremely rewarding, enabling you to connect with potential customers. Best of all, it’s a great way to receive live feedback, answer questions, and gather ideas on product improvement. 

Usually, online events are much more affordable compared to physical events. However, the challenge with online webinars and events is spreading the word and attracting more people to join.

For maximum results, it’s recommended to start a few months before the event date. If necessary, use paid channels to promote the event and reach as many of your target customers as possible. 

Offline Marketing Strategies

Despite the vast availability of online marketing options for promoting a product, you can also take advantage of a wide array of offline marketing channels. 

These offline marketing strategies are suitable even for eCommerce businesses. 

Trade Shows and Exhibitions

Just like online webinars and events can help you attract customers, physical trade shows and exhibitions can be equally fruitful. 

Setting up a stand at a popular show or exhibition is the perfect way to promote your product live, allowing potential shoppers to physically see it, touch it, and witness all of its features and capabilities.

However, an important thing to keep in mind is that it’s fundamental to carefully select the event that you want to participate in. Make sure that you research the type of audience the trade show or exhibition attracts and ensure that you can discover your target audience among the visitors.

Also, we must note that depending on your location, trade shows and exhibitions may not be organised on a regular basis. You’ll, therefore, need to plan and prepare well in advance for when the opportunity arises. 

Print Advertising

Although online forms of marketing are dominating the scenes in some industries, print advertising and print marketing materials are still thriving in others. 

Print advertising can refer to newspaper ads, magazine ads, direct mail, billboards, and even posters and banners. 

When it comes to print advertising, it’s vital to ensure the materials are created by a professional and skilled designer and copywriter. These experts will be able to use the right fonts, colours, shapes, and messaging to make your products and brand stand out. 

Once prepared, the advertisements will need to be distributed through the right channel. This will depend on the type of products you offer and the media preferences of your target audience. 

Printed materials, however, don’t need to include only ads on traditional media channels. You can make use of brochures, flyers, pamphlets, booklets or even vouchers. 

One way to promote your product and boost its visibility is to distribute eye-grabbing marketing materials around high-traffic areas like shopping centres, beauty salons, warehouses, stores, and more.

Public Relations and Media Outreach

Alternatively, you can rely on public relations or PR and media outreach to make your products easily recognisable and well-known. These marketing strategies are exceptional when it comes to establishing brand awareness, credibility, and engagement. 

Best of all, all of this is achieved without any reliance on paid advertising.

When crafting your PR and media outreach strategy, you can explore the following options:

• Press releases;
• Media pitches;
• Product reviews;
• Feature stories;
• Media events;
• Expert interviews;
• Guest articles.

Although you can set up your PR strategies independently, you can also partner with a proven PR specialist who can help guide you along the way.

Networking and Building Industry Connections

Another offline marketing technique for promoting your products is networking and building industry connections.

Regardless of the niche you’re in, having the right connections can help you quickly build trust in the minds of potential consumers, reach the right audience, and even improve your products based on received feedback.

Ideally, create a calendar with networking events in your area and attend as many as possible. Prepare to present your product and its features and benefits to other visitors and guests, exchange interesting updates and news, and more.

Promotions and Discounts

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of product promotion and discounts. To effectively promote your products, make sure that they’re attractive, affordable, and accessible to shoppers, especially for new buyers. 

In physical retail environments, offering incentives like price reductions, special offers, and exclusive, time-sensitive deals is a great marketing tactic for attracting new customers. These techniques can help you intrigue potential buyers, stimulate impulse purchases, and initiate long-term brand loyalty. 

Some of the most popular promotional incentives include:

• Buy one, get one free;
• Coupon distribution;
• Customer loyalty program;
• Flash sales;
• Holiday promotions;
• Event-based promotions;
• Referral programs;
• Free trials;
• Member discounts.

When creating your marketing strategy, make sure that you’ve done your research and have selected the types of promotions or discounts that make sense financially for your business.

Analysing and Adjusting Your Marketing Strategies

As a business selling products, you can create effective marketing strategies both online and offline. But most importantly, make sure to track the performance of each campaign and analyse data to identify gaps and areas for improvement.

As you gain more experience in each type of marketing strategy, you’ll start to notice that perhaps there are ways to invest less and earn more, or attract new customer groups. 

Make sure that all of your decisions are based on data rather than intuition. This will help you unlock the full potential of your business, no matter the type of products you have to offer.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a good idea to combine online and offline marketing?

Yes, you can integrate both online and offline marketing by creating consistent messaging across digital and physical platforms, offering exclusive in-store promotions that are promoted online, or using QR codes on printed materials that lead to online content or offers.

How do I track the success of my marketing efforts?

For online marketing strategies, you can rely on tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing platforms to track website traffic, conversion rates, customer engagement, and sales driven by your online campaigns. Unfortunately, offline marketing is harder to track.

How can I build a strong brand presence both online and offline?

Use consistent branding (logos, messaging, tone) across all platforms, engage with customers on social media and in-store, create personalised experiences through both digital and physical touchpoints, and provide high-quality customer service to build trust and loyalty.