Julia Fees has over a decade of experience in web development, working for a number of firms to develop better systems. Along with leading various technical teams, Julia Fees has been heavily involved in direct response marketing, which requires well-thought-out strategizing to be successful.
Direct response marketing is different from traditional advertising campaigns, and it is a marketing tactic that targets customers with specific messages that lean them towards specific actions, such as purchasing a product or writing a review. In an economy that is becoming increasingly online-first, this type of marketing is crucial for small businesses, and there are a number of techniques that can be useful.
Social media can be used to push potential customers to visit a website — where they buy products or services, read content, and spend time browsing. Social media is a key, scalable acquisition channel used to target specific groups of consumers and advertise a direct response pitch. A company must take its social media presence seriously, and put significant resources into marketing on social media platforms.
Beyond social media, referral programs are another popular strategy for boosting direct response sales. These programs have been around for a long time, are often called "Affiliate Programs" or "Partner Programs" and they typically provide some sort of bonus or commission for referring a new customer to buy a product or sign up for a service. A referral system entices publishers to promote a product or service in their content, which in turns enables the product to reach an audience who may then go on to perform a direct response.
Contests and giveaways are another popular way to generate brand awareness. The prospect of winning something for free is a strong value proposition for consumers to provide their contact information, which then establishes a method for marketing materials to reach them.
In summary, these online techniques are widely used and very successful when implemented properly. There are many tools for each technique, so it's worth researching and comparing multiple providers to potentially reach millions of people very quickly.
