﻿Hey! I’m Michael from Printful. Quick! Name 3 marketing platforms
from the top of your head. I’ll wait.
Any chance you thought of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest? When it comes to marketing,
these platforms have shaped the way we build our social media presence. But that doesn’t
mean they’re necessarily the best and only platforms to include in your marketing strategy.
I’ve gathered a list of four underrated marketing platforms for you to explore.
Let’s get right into it! First up—Quora. If you remember Yahoo Answers, imagine a bit more
professional and toned-down version of it, and you’ve got Quora. This is a platform where people
post or answer questions about all different types of topics. I’ll start by saying that
according to Quora’s policy, you’re not allowed to link your products in the discussions. That’s
how Quora stays a place where people can find quality content and not just self-promos.
So one of the ways you can use Quora is for marketing research. You can read what your
potential customers are talking about by seeing what questions people are asking about certain
topics, products, and niches. Check what people are talking
about your niche on Quora Quora users discuss just about everything, from
pets and saddest celebrity moments to learning Russian. The chance is, you can find a space that
your brand could fit into as well and see what people are interested in regarding your niche.
So instead of spending money on customer surveys, open up Quora and find out for yourself.
Let’s say that I’m selling water bottles and see that several people are participating in
a discussion “What brand makes the best water bottles?”. By checking this discussion I can
learn which brands are my competitors, as well as what exactly makes a good water bottle. Here
we see appreciation for such features as double-wall insulation, stainless steel,
and a volume of a minimum of 17oz, which is something I can definitely offer with
Printful’s stainless steel bottle. That’s one way to learn if the product you offer actually
measures up to people’s expectations. I also see some of the brands people love
and can count those in as the possible future competition for my store.
What’s more, I can participate in these discussions and present myself as a helpful
and trustworthy resource, and build a relationship with potential customers.
Quora has become a go-to site for people who want their questions answered by
knowledgeable peers. By answering questions that are relevant to your potential customers,
you too can become a trusted resource for others. Although it can take some time,
it’s definitely worth it. By participating in conversations and
giving valuable insights, you can establish a good rapport with people and with the right approach,
turn your conversation companions into customers or learn from them what customers
expect from your store and product. Besides using Quora for marketing research,
you can use it as an advertising channel. On this platform, you can target large, high-intent
audiences while they’re researching certain products or topics before making a purchase.
Let’s say you’re using Instagram Reels to drive brand awareness, and a potential customer notices
you and starts thinking about buying your product. The next step they might take could be researching
some product specifications or reviews of a certain product on Quora. This is where you can
advertise your product once again to remind them about your store and the product you offer.
The cost of advertising depends on several factors, such as campaign objective,
audience targeting, location targeting, bid type, etc. You can find out more about it by
creating an ad account on Quora for Business platform. Link in the description below.
Quora can be an amazing addition to your marketing strategy. Just keep in mind that
you need to deliver value with your answers and not just advertise your products.
The next platform on the list might surprise you.
Wait… Tumblr? Is that still a thing? Well, turns out Tumblr’s still kicking
and can provide you with opportunities to establish and grow your brand presence.
If you’re not familiar with Tumblr, it’s a microblogging social media platform, where
its users can share text, photos, GIFs, quotes, music, and videos. It’s like a blend between
Instagram and Twitter. To put it simply—Tumblr is a blogging site where people post pictures,
texts, and other content that allows them to express themselves or their interests.
You can find anything from pages dedicated to a certain person, team, or fictional series,
to teenagers writing out detailed interactions with their crushes, friends, and family.
The site was at its peak during early 2014, with over 100 million posts made in one day.
While Tumblr is not the giant it once was, this platform is still quite active.
Whether Tumblr is suitable for your brand is something to consider. To understand if this
platform is something that could work for you, keep in mind that a majority of users
on the site are between the ages of 16 and 34. If your audience consists of Millennials and Gen Z,
this platform is definitely one to consider. One more thing that works to your benefit is that
a large amount of Tumblr users are interested in following and engaging with fashion-related
content. So this just might be the place for your amazing products to shine.
As I mentioned, Tumblr can be used mainly to raise brand awareness. This community
appreciates actual engagement and communication with other accounts, even business ones.
Here are a couple of strategies that might help you get started
with Tumblr: Provide shareable,
evergreen content with value Provide value to your potential customers,
by entertaining or educating them. When you give valuable content away for free,
your audience will be inclined to check you out. That’s how you can build brand awareness.
The content you post can be a mix of pictures, gifs, funny or useful text posts,
and informative resources. Think of niche-related content that your audience would want to share on
their own blogs. Good examples of brands that are actively using Tumblr are Vogue,
Keds, and CadenceCollection. They’re posting their own content,
sharing pictures of their products and lifestyle that speak to their customers, all of which can
be very attractive to the right audiences. If your content resonates with other users, they
won’t hesitate to share it on their own blogs, thus, exposing you to even more people.
Network with other users For Tumblr users, a sense of
community and interacting with others is a big part of what the platform can offer
them. That means that you can use this platform to interact with potential customers directly
and build a connection with them, as well as begin to understand them better.
If you’re not sure where to start, find blogs related to your shop’s niche and be the first
one to start communicating with them. Send a message, or reblog their content with a witty
addition of your own. The more you communicate with other users and share your own content,
the better Tumblr will work for you. This is a platform where you can show
a more relaxed and fun side of your business, so don’t be afraid to experiment with content
you put on Tumblr. An example of a brand that interacts with Tumblr users is Netflix—they
answer questions asked by other users with just gifs, making a connection, but keeping
it light-hearted and entertaining. The next platform, however, is a bit
trickier when it comes to marketing. With more than 430 million active users
and billions of visits per month, Reddit is the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet”. This
platform hosts a massive collection of forums, known as subreddits, catering to every interest
and topic you can imagine. Users gather on the forums to discuss anything from becoming new
parents, their favorite movies, to sharing wholesome moments they’ve witnessed. Similar
to social media sites, Redditors actively communicate and engage with others.
But there’s something I want to address first—Reddit is anti-marketing. Why am I
including it in my list then? Well, there’s still a lot of value to get out of it, in
terms of improving your marketing strategy. Why do Redditors dislike marketing? While users
on this platform thrive on communication, and can even come to the site to ask for
product recommendations themselves, they do not take well to those who simply use the site to
advertise their business. If you decide to join any of the subreddits, you need to be a person
first, and a business owner second. Instead of actively posting on Reddit
and sharing brand-related content, I suggest going a different route and using Reddit for marketing
research and brand awareness instead. Here are a couple of examples of how you
can use Reddit for marketing needs: 1. See what your potential customers are
talking about and what’s currently trending This might be one of the easier ways to use this
platform, as you don’t need to become a seasoned Redditor to do this. You
can simply use Reddit for research purposes, and read what others are writing about.
Start by finding subreddits that are relevant to your business and niche. You can open up
Reddit and search for topics that are related to your niche. Search results will show you posts,
communities, and people who’re talking about this topic. Let’s imagine I’m
selling sportswear and type in the word yoga leggings. Here we see plenty of posts, as well
as communities, talking about yoga leggings. If the topic you’ve searched for shows up too many
subreddits and you’re feeling overwhelmed with the choices, you can also ask other Redditors to
help you find the right subreddits to join. Join one of the subreddits called “find a reddit”,
where you can ask other users about certain topics and then they’ll give
you ideas about subreddits you could join. Once you’ve found a few subreddits, join them
and check through the latest posts every once in a while. If you’ve run your brand for a while now,
there is a slight chance that you might even come across people discussing your business on
one of the subreddits. 2. Learn what people are
saying about your brand Take this feedback and see what
you’re doing right, so you know what makes your customers happy. If there are some complaints,
that’s actually a good thing—use them to make your online store even better.
Just as we previously did with topics, you can search for your brand name on
Reddit. I’ll search for Printful. As you see, there are plenty of discussions, opinions,
and questions from people who are our current or potential customers. Instead of intervening,
all you have to do is just read and learn. The reason people like discussing brands on Reddit
so much is because said brands are not actually inserting themselves into the conversation. While
it might be tempting to participate in the discussion, I strongly suggest against it,
as you can risk facing some backlash. Just as people might be talking about your brand,
they’re discussing your competition too. Based on Redditors’ feedback on competitors'
products, you can get a better sense of what you’re doing right and what to improve.
The very first search result for the topic printful is actually made by my teammate Edward,
who is our community manager. He’s made an Ask me anything post where Redditors can ask him anything
Printful-related. The reason I’m highlighting this post is that I want to show you another way
you can use this platform. 3. Engage with other users
You can also start the discussion yourself, just like our community manager Edward did. I know,
I know, I just told you not to participate in conversations, but this case is a bit different.
Ask me anything (AMA for short) discussions are quite a popular way for brands to engage
with people in a more laid-back way. It’s pretty much what it sounds like—Redditors
can ask a person just about anything related to a topic of their choice. There’s even a subreddit
dedicated to this purpose—Ask Me Anything. AMA participants have ranged from everyday people
to celebrities and the subreddit has become one of Reddit’s most popular communities.
Just keep in mind that the point of this discussion is not to promote your products
or drive traffic to your store. It’s just a good way for both you and your customers
to learn more about each other. Of course, you can start a conversation
in another way, but always make sure you provide some value to the community and focus on making
connections, not advertising your brand. While Reddit requires quite a bit of a different
approach to marketing, it’s definitely worth it. Think of it as a window into your potential
customers’ minds. This will help you understand their expectations of a specific product,
discover new trends, and level up your brand. Long gone are the days when YouTube was just a
go-to place for cat videos. While you can still find some solid footage of cute pets over there,
YouTube has become one of the best platforms to reach new customers online.
If you’re not sure about the effectiveness of YouTube as a platform to create brand awareness,
let me present you with some stats and facts. First of all, you’re watching this video. So,
hey! That means we’ve reached you on this site. Is that not good proof that brands
and people can find each other and connect on YouTube? Besides that, there’s data to prove
the effectiveness of this platform. According to Think with Google, 68% of YouTube users watched
YouTube to decide on a purchase. 1. Showcase Your Products
Even better than showing customers beautiful pictures of your products is showing how
these products look in action. A great example of a company that
uses YouTube to market its products is...Printful! We use this channel to
showcase our latest, most awaited products. If you like this idea but don’t have the time
or resources to film a product showcase yourself, check out our video services. I’ll leave a link to
this service in the description. 2. Share behind the scenes
YouTube is a platform where you can show off your day-to-day life as a small business owner,
bring your viewers into your studio and share your personality with them. Give insight into what it
takes to run your business by creating vlogs, or storytime videos. For your potential customers,
seeing your business behind the scenes and getting to know the person behind the store
just might be that little extra push they need to make a purchase.
So if you’ve ever wondered about creating a YouTube channel for your business,
take this as a sign to take that step. Keep in mind that finding content that works for you
and building a following might take a while, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get thousands
of views with your first video. Keep creating content, analyze your channel’s performance
and you’ll surely get your big break on this platform. The time you invest will be worth it
once you establish an authentic connection with people, who truly support your business.
Are you already using one of these platforms to market your online business? If so,
let me know how it’s going in the comments section. See you in the next video!