referral marketing - YBR Marketing | SEO, Online Advertising, Web Design, Social Media Marketing, Lead Generation

By Red, Your Marketing Consultant Specialising in Non-Google Traffic Generation

Picture this: It’s 8 AM on a Tuesday, and you’re sipping your morning coffee, scrolling through your website analytics. To your dismay, the traffic graph looks like a flatline from a heart monitor in an old medical drama. Sound familiar? Many business owners and marketers in Australia face the same challenge. Relying solely on Google for traffic can be a risky game, especially when algorithm changes can drastically impact your visibility overnight.

Recent Australian statistics reveal that while Google dominates with over 94% of the search engine market share, there’s a growing trend of businesses exploring alternative traffic sources to diversify their audience reach and mitigate risks associated with Google’s algorithm updates.

But where do you start? We spoke to six marketing pros who shared their 6 most tried-and-tested non-Google secrets for driving massive traffic. Let’s dive into their insights!

The Power of Email Marketing

Unleashing the Potential of Email Campaigns

When we think of driving traffic, social media and search engines often come to mind first. However, email marketing remains one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s arsenal. Why? Because it allows you to reach your audience directly in their inboxes.

Building an Engaged Email List

Marketing Pro 1, Sarah, emphasises the importance of building an engaged email list. “It’s not about the size of your list but the quality,” she says. Sarah started by offering a valuable lead magnet – a free eBook packed with insights on digital marketing trends in Australia. She promoted this lead magnet through her social media channels and website, steadily growing her email list with subscribers genuinely interested in her content.

Crafting Compelling Email Content

Once you have an engaged list, the next step is crafting compelling email content. Sarah advises using a mix of storytelling and valuable information. “People love stories. Share your experiences, successes, and even failures. It makes your emails relatable and engaging.”

Case Study: Driving Traffic through Email Campaigns

Sarah shares a success story: “We ran a series of emails leading up to a product launch. Each email offered a sneak peek, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes content. On launch day, our website traffic spiked by 200%, and sales exceeded our expectations.”

Leveraging Influencer Marketing

Tapping into Influencers for Explosive Growth

Influencer marketing isn’t just for fashion brands and beauty products. It can be a game-changer for any industry, including B2B. Influencer marketing leverages the reach and trust that influencers have built with their audience.

Identifying and Partnering with the Right Influencers

Marketing Pro 2, Alex, explains that the key to successful influencer marketing is identifying the right influencers. “Look for influencers whose audience aligns with your target market,” he says. Alex used tools like BuzzSumo and NinjaOutreach to find influencers in the tech industry.

Creating Mutually Beneficial Partnerships

Alex stresses the importance of creating mutually beneficial partnerships. “It’s not just about paying influencers to promote your product. It’s about building a relationship where both parties see value.” He collaborated with influencers by offering them exclusive insights and early access to his products.

Real-Life Example: Influencer Campaign Success

Alex shares a real-life example: “We partnered with a tech influencer who reviewed our software. The review was honest and detailed, which built credibility. The influencer also hosted a giveaway, driving a surge in traffic to our website and increasing our leads by 150%.”

Webinars as Traffic Magnets

Engage and Educate: The Webinar Advantage

Webinars are a fantastic way to engage with your audience and provide valuable education. They can also drive significant traffic to your website, especially when promoted correctly.

Planning and Promoting Successful Webinars

Marketing Pro 3, Lisa, is a big advocate for webinars. “The key is to plan content that addresses your audience’s pain points,” she says. Lisa uses tools like WebinarKit and WebinarJam for hosting webinars. She promotes her webinars through email campaigns, social media, and partnerships with industry organisations.

Maximising Webinar Attendance and Engagement

To maximise attendance, Lisa recommends offering incentives such as downloadable resources, exclusive discounts, or certificates of completion. “Engagement is crucial during the webinar. Use polls, Q&A sessions, and interactive content to keep your audience involved.”

Case Study: Educational Webinars Drive Traffic

Lisa recounts a successful series of webinars: “We ran a series on digital marketing strategies, targeting small business owners. Each webinar attracted over 500 attendees, and our website traffic increased by 300% during the campaign. Many attendees later converted into paying customers.”

Social Media Mastery

Driving Traffic through Social Media Channels

Social media platforms are more than just spaces for social interaction; they’re powerful tools for driving traffic to your website.

Creating a Social Media Strategy

Marketing Pro 4, John, shares his approach to social media. “You need a clear strategy that aligns with your business goals,” he says. John uses a mix of organic posts, paid ads, and influencer collaborations to drive traffic.

Tips on Content Creation and Posting Schedules

John emphasises the importance of consistent posting and engaging content. “Create content that resonates with your audience. Use a mix of educational, entertaining, and promotional posts.” He suggests using tools like Agropulse (free) or Buffer (also has a free plan) to schedule posts and maintain consistency.

Real-Life Example: Social Media Campaign Success

John’s campaign for a local restaurant is a prime example: “We created a series of engaging posts showcasing behind-the-scenes content, customer testimonials, and special offers. Coupled with targeted Facebook ads, the campaign drove a 250% increase in website traffic and a significant boost in reservations.”

Content Syndication Strategies

Expanding Reach through Content Syndication

Content syndication involves republishing your content on third-party platforms to reach a broader audience. It’s an effective way to drive traffic and build backlinks.

Identifying Platforms for Syndication

Marketing Pro 5, Emma, explains that the first step is identifying the right platforms. “Look for high-authority websites in your niche that accept syndicated content,” she says. Emma uses platforms like Medium, LinkedIn, and industry-specific blogs for content syndication.

Best Practices for Repurposing and Distributing Content

Emma suggests repurposing content to fit the platform. “Tailor your content to match the tone and style of the syndication platform. Always include a link back to your original article.” She also emphasises the importance of tracking performance to understand what works best.

Case Study: Successful Traffic Generation through Syndicated Content

Emma shares a success story: “We syndicated a series of articles on digital marketing strategies to several industry blogs. This not only increased our website traffic by 180% but also improved our search engine rankings due to the quality backlinks.”

Affiliate Marketing Tactics

Boosting Traffic with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing can significantly increase your website traffic by leveraging the efforts of others to promote your products or services.

Setting Up an Effective Affiliate Program

Marketing Pro 6, Mike, highlights the importance of setting up a robust affiliate program. “Choose affiliates who align with your brand and audience,” he says. Mike uses affiliate networks like ShareASale and CJ Affiliate to find and manage affiliates.

Tips for Recruiting and Managing Affiliates

Mike advises offering competitive commissions and providing affiliates with the tools they need to succeed. “Provide your affiliates with high-quality banners, links, and regular updates on promotions.”

Real-Life Example: Traffic Increase through Affiliate Marketing

Mike recounts a successful affiliate campaign: “We launched a new product and recruited top affiliates in our industry. The affiliates promoted our product through their blogs and social media, driving a 200% increase in website traffic and boosting our sales significantly.”

Well There You Have It!

Diversifying your traffic sources is essential in today’s digital landscape. By leveraging these non-Google strategies, you can drive massive traffic to your website and reduce your reliance on a single platform. Whether it’s through email marketing, influencer partnerships, webinars, social media, content syndication, or affiliate marketing, each approach offers unique benefits and opportunities for growth.

Start implementing these strategies today and watch your website traffic soar. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out – I’m here to guide you on your journey to traffic success!

Author Bio

I’m an experienced marketing consultant here at YBR, specialising in non-Google traffic generation. With a passion for helping businesses grow, I offer tailored strategies and actionable insights to drive sustainable traffic and achieve marketing goals. Connect with me on social or visit YBR Marketing for more information.

Word Of Mouth Marketing for Your Small Business?

by Red/Marketer with a Soul | Apr 1, 2021 | referral marketing, word of mouth marketing

What’s The Plan?

When talking to business owners, the topic on top of their list is almost always marketing. And when ask what is the main type of marketing they are using to get their message out to potential customers, they almost always say “word of mouth“.

Word of mouth can be a powerful way to market any small business, but it can be slow. It can take an awful lot of time, to build success from this way alone, and that is assuming you do everything right, but for start-ups with a small budget, it can sometimes be the only way to build momentum and gather much need resources, AKA money..

My favourite analogy for word of mouth or referral marketing is, it’s a free lunch, but having said that, is there really such a thing?

By being solely reliant on word of mouth, you’re putting the fate of your business in the hands of others – hoping they both like you and remember you often enough to regularly send new business your way. Dangerous ground my friend.. If this is how you currently do business, then now’s the time to start thinking about making your marketing system a little stronger..

So, how do we go about doing just that?

Build a Strong Marketing System?

As eluded to in the previous paragraph, having a single source of generating new business, is a dangerous path to tread for any business. Being unable to control that source makes it doubly so.

Having at the very least 2 different sources for obtaining new leads and customers. AND that almost all of these sources be with paid media i.e. it will cost you to market yourself. There are 2 reasons why paid media is so important.

Firstly, reliability. If I pay a newspaper to run my ad, there’s an extremely high probability the ad will actually be run. It’s much harder to get such reliable and consistent lead flow from free marketing methods such as word of mouth

And secondly, using paid media will make you, to put it simply, focus on the money you spend against, the money you get back or ROI (Return On Investment). If a paid marketing method is not working, you cut it. You don’t waste further time or money on it. So, when the marketing method is organic (free) such as word of mouth, we are least inclined to “cut and run” if something isn’t working and wasting huge amounts of time, because we didn’t pay upfront.

Word of Mouth Reliability Boost

Word of Mouth can be a valuable tool in your marketing arsenal, and while you don’t want to rely on this solely, it is to your advantage to increase its power and reliability.

One the most often neglected ways of doing this is by asking for a referral from those customers that you have received a good experience or result. It’s amazing how many business owners hope for referrals yet rarely ask for them.

Something as simple as:

Valued customer, it’s been an absolute pleasure working with you. If you know anyone who’s in a similar situation as yourself we’d love you to give them one of these gift cards which entitles them to $100 off their first consultation with us. One of the reasons we’re able to keep the cost of our service low is because we get a lot of our business through referrals from people like you.”

Are you seeing what is happening?

We’re acknowledging them and appealing to their ego.
We’re not asking them for a favour but instead offering something valuable they can give to someone in their network.
We’re giving them a reason why they should give us referrals – a reason that directly benefits them.
By putting a system around generating referrals, we’ve dramatically increased the reliability of word of mouth marketing. And while not everyone will give you referrals, many will and it sure beats just silently hoping.

By creating multiple sources of new leads and increasing the reliability of word of mouth marketing, you take back control of your lead flow and build a solid foundation for rapid business growth.

Yours In Marketing

John

( I wish to acknowledge the wonderful insights of My Allan Dibb from Successwise)