I’d been coming across some marketing channels that isn’t your typical and usual suspects like Facebook, blogs, etc. Here’s some that I recently read about and wish to try:

Unsplash

Yes, that repository of free-for-commercial use images that’s the life-saver for every designer and maker out there. I can’t imagine how life was like before Unsplash came along. Did we all have to really pay for stock photos then? But now, we don’t, thanks to Unsplash. Which is why I sat up when I saw a tweet thread by @GoodMarketingHQ talking about Unsplash as a marketing channel for companies. Huh wut? Photos? Marketing? For companies? It didn’t connect immediately. How it works: Just like any photographer or individual, you can upload photos using a company profile. People will see your company name when they use your photo. So if you uploaded a whole bunch of useful images, the more people will see it. And you can take it even further. Attribution is not strictly required, but you can see who used your images, and then you can email them, ask if they mind adding a credit and link to your company site. And there! Free backlinks, just like that. 

And it can work even if you’re not in what you might typically describe as a creative/design industry! Providing plumbing and just did a professional photoshoot for your company website and marketing materials? Don’t let it collect digital dust in your hard drive. Upload it to Unsplash. It’s a niche topic so maybe not many people will have uploaded pro grade plumbing images. Great way to revive what might be a by-product into a marketing asset.

Giphy

GIFs are such a cultural staples of the internet now. What would we be as a civilization without our memes?! And Giphy is top dog in the GIF and internet meme world, having just been bought by Facebook for a whopping $400m. For a company dealing the kind of media that might be deemed as ‘unserious’, that’s some serious dough. But Giphy isn’t just for sharing memes for jokes. Just like with Unsplash, companies can get in on the gif game too and create gifs that with rank well and get viral, thereby bringing more organic traffic to your site. And it also lends some internet cool and personality to your brand too. I’d not explored it as much but it sure does sound like great fun to try! Memes for marketing! What?!

Instagram hastags

Instagram ads and all for marketing – that I know. But Instagram hashtags for marketing? Apparently there’s a whole SEO science behind what kind of hashtags to use on IG. Think of it like SEO on Google using high ranking key words. Similar for IG hashtags. Some hashtags are more popular and get more views/followers than others. And some research is needed too as the way these hashtag are phrased might not be intuitive. I had seen people market their productized services for it, so there’s got to be something going on here. 

Google Web Stories

This is super new, and I’d not seen many doing this yet. Google Web Stories are like Instagram/Facebook Stories—smartphone-optimized, portrait-mode videos in short chunks—but for websites, not individuals. Kind of like Youtube ads for your business, but not on Youtube but on Google search. This shows up on Google search results, or image results, where users can click on and watch. News and media companies had used this to good effect, but not awfully common yet for other companies, not even tech ones! There might be good opportunity if you get in on this early.

Any other unusual marketing channels you know of? Do share!