Zachary ClinchSpring 2015
Nineteen Traction Channels which are:
1. Viral Marketing
2. Public Relations
3. Unconventional PR
4. Search Engine Marketing
5. Social and Display Ads
6. Offline Ads
7. Search Engine Optimization
8. Content Marketing
9. Email Marketing
10. Engineering as Marketing
11. Targeting Blogs
12. Business Development
13. Sales
14. Affiliate Programs
15. Existing Platforms
16. Trade Shows
17. Offline Events
18. Speaking Engagements
19. Community Building
But with so much information and so little time, I will go in depth on only a few….
My 4 Channels
Existing Platforms
Affiliate Programs
Social and Display
Ads
Targeting Blogs
The channels I will focus on include…
Let’s Start with Existing Platforms
What are they and why are they important???
Existing platforms are websites, apps or networks with huge numbers of users,
sometimes in the hundreds of millions!!
These platforms include the Apple and Android App Stores, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, and many others.
Why are they so important? These platforms already have the members, you just need the
content.
Companies like Zynga started on Facebook because of how easy it was for friends to share
their product.
The world famous YouTube got their start by using an existing platform. That platform was MySpace believe it or not.
Users were directed back to YouTube when clicking on a video, giving YouTube major exposure with how big MySpace was.
Focusing on the App Store
The main goal when being apart of app stores is to have a high rating or to be featured. For this to happen the app needs to have good content
or give some sort of value to the consumer.
Now let’s talkabout…
Why target blogs?
Targeting blogs can help you connect with your specific customers. The challenge is finding the blogs that will be most useful.
Ways of finding the right blogs
Search Engines – simply search for “Blogs for (blank)”
YouTube – Simple keyword searches can do the trick
Delicious – lets you use keywords to find links that others have saved, which can help you find new blogs
Talk to people – the most effective, just go out and ask people!
How about some info on
AffiliatePrograms
With affiliate programs, you pay people or companies for performing
certain actions such as selling a product or service.
How they work?An example would be Amazon.
An Amazon affiliate program pay’s between 4-8.5% of each sale depending how many items an affiliate
sells each month.
Finding affiliates
Most companies do not have their own affiliate
programs. Sites like Commission Junction,
Pepperjam, and Linkshare provide
affiliates for companies like
Wal-Mart, Apple, Starbucks, etc.
Big $$$ in Lead Generation
Lead generation is a $26 billion dollar industry.
Lead’s include email addresses, home addresses, a phone number, or even credit scores.
Some frequent consumers of lead’s are insurance companies, law firms, and mortgage
brokers.
Last, but not least….
Social & Display Ads
Display Ad Networks
Some of the biggest are Google’s Display
Network, Advertising.com, TribalFusion,
ValueClick, and Adblade. They give people the
capability of reaching specific demographics
and offer a variety of ad formats.
The most common display ads are the banner ads seen across websites.
Social Ads
The goal of social ads is not as much getting
people to buy the item immediately, but more
creating awareness of the product. The hope is
later on down the line a purchase may occur.
One of the main targets for social ads are new
potential customers.
Different, but the same
Yes, display and social ads are different but they both share the principle of understanding your
audience, experiment your message, and reaching people in a way they will remember.
The Finish!
Of the nineteen channels talked about in Traction, the 4 I found interesting and insightful
were Existing Platforms, Targeting Blogs, Affiliate Programs, and Display & Social Ads.