15 Types of Marketing You Should Know (And How to Make Each Work)

Behind every successful brand is a robust marketing strategy. A marketing strategy that does not put all eggs into one basket but rather diversifies their approach. In other words, a strategy that takes into account the different types of marketing that work.

Because, the truth is, no single type of marketing works for all brands every time and for every audience segment. Hence, if you need room for growth, if you need to keep up in a competitive space, and not appear outdated, then you need to know about the different kinds of marketing brands around the world are incorporating into their strategies. 

So, that’s what we are discussing today. We’ll break down the most effective marketing types you need to know, offer actionable tips to ace each one, and sprinkle in essential content and design tips along the way. Ready to transform your marketing game?

The Smart Marketer’s Guide: Essential Marketing Types for Modern Brands 

In terms of the organization structure and the type of audience being targeted, marketing can broadly be classified into B2B and B2C marketing. And today, we’re delving a little deeper into the diverse strategies that both these kinds of businesses need. 

1. Inbound marketing 

In its broadest sense, marketing strategies can be classified as inbound or outbound marketing depending on how you reach your audience or how your audience finds you. 

In essence, inbound marketing is about automatically attracting customers toward your brand by offering relevant and resourceful content rather than trying to convince them to place an order. It works by emphasizing the value you create and hence is a strategy built on trust. 

Content types that work:

• Blog posts 
• Tutorial videos 
• Webinars 
• Ebooks 
• Infographics 

KIMP Tips: 

Now, time to talk about the role of design in inbound marketing. 

• Maintain clean and easy-to-navigate layouts that efficiently drive customers toward the CTA.
• Incorporate visuals that evoke an emotional response from your audience because inbound marketing is more about connections than about promotion. This is in terms of colors, images and other elements. 

2. Outbound marketing 

The traditional approach of creating ads and content that proactively targets the right audience and encourages them to make a purchase – that’s outbound marketing. 

Instead of waiting for customers to find you, you go meet them where they are! 

Content types that work well for outbound marketing: 

• Cold calls 
• Promotional cold emails 
• Display ads 
• Direct mail 
• Social media ads 
• Outdoor ads like billboards 

KIMP Tips: 

• It’s about grabbing attention fast but delivering the message even faster! Use visual cues to enhance clarity and memorability. 
• Do not overload your ads with too much information. There should be a single clear message. 
• Remember you are interrupting a customer’s experience with your ad, so make it as native as possible. 

To delve deeper and to understand the difference and strategies, check out our blog on inbound vs. outbound marketing.

Having discussed the types of marketing approaches, we’re now moving to the actual types of marketing, some of which come in handy for inbound strategies and some for outbound. And remember, both B2B and B2C brands benefit from a good mix of many of these types of marketing. 

3. Content marketing 

As the name indicates, this is the type of marketing that focuses on creating content. Content that grabs attention, educates, entertains, engages and eventually drives conversion too. 

To better understand content marketing, understand the content marketing funnel. This helps you plan the different types of content or formats depending on what stage of purchase the target audience is at that moment. Why is this important? This helps you articulate your message in a manner more relevant to them and more effective in delivering your message to them as well. 

Content can be in the form of social media posts to traditional types like blog posts or even videos, podcasts, case studies, whitepapers, how-to-guides, and more. Basically, this would be something that your target audience can consume, save or share when the message resonates with them. 

4. Social media marketing 

One of the most recent types of marketing and also one that’s steadily growing in popularity. The key is not to head for a burnout by focusing on every single social platform there is but to understand what platforms work for your brand and your audience. 

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Snapchat and even the new ones like Lemon8 are all at your disposal. So, how do you choose the best ones for your brand?

• Shortlist the platforms where your target customers are most active.
• Understand how your customers use that particular platform – are they looking for answers or perhaps to get entertained or even to make authentic connections? 
• Explore the post formats supported, the most effective among them and then invest in the right tools to create these posts. 
• Regularly incorporate interactive formats like polls, quizzes, social media contests and giveaways to engage your social media audience. 

Remember, focusing on just one platform or focusing on all of them can both be detrimental to your strategy and budgets too. The key is to achieve the right mix. 

KIMP Tips: 

• Social media is a visually immersive space – hence you cannot stand out with mediocre content. Aim to create stunning designs, designs that stop the scroll. 
• Create and preserve a signature visual style and theme for your brand, one that seamlessly ties back to your brand identity. This helps build recognition. 

5. Influencer marketing 

Technically, influencer marketing falls within the social media marketing umbrella but since we are trying to be comprehensive with our list of marketing types today, let’s talk about it. In fact, not all brands with a strong social media marketing strategy invest in influencer marketing! 

Partnering with influencers is one of the best investments a brand can make. But why? 

• It helps boost brand awareness.
• Increases exposure.
• Builds trust by building on the influencer’s credibility.
• Enhances engagement rate.

So, how do you make the most of influencer marketing for your brand?

• Identify the right type of influencer for your objectives and budget.
• Create sponsored posts, stories, engaging video clips, day-in-the-life integrations, co-branded content and other formats that work.
• Let the influencer’s style and tone shine in whatever format you choose. 

6. Email marketing 

Once you attract customers through channels like social media, the key is to engage them consistently and effectively. Most importantly, it is about keeping the conversations more relevant to them. And one of the most effective types of marketing that helps with such a personalized approach is email marketing.

Despite being one of the oldest types of marketing strategies, email continues to be one of the most effective as well. Additionally, it can be easily customized based on different audience segments and the results are measurable too! 

Now, let’s talk about leveraging email marketing effectively: 

• Different types of marketing emails work for different purposes. Invest in the right assortment. 
• Do not overwhelm and annoy your audience by sending out too many emails or irrelevant ones. Deliver the right message at the right time. 
• Start with catchy subject lines and end with powerful and action-oriented CTAs. 

KIMP Tips: 

• Use minimal text, just enough to clearly communicate your message.
• Add relevant images to support the message.
• Present the details with a clear visual hierarchy.

7. Affiliate marketing 

Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective types of marketing if you are looking to boost reach and create brand advocates through a low-risk approach. 

This performance-based strategy works by driving traffic and increasing leads by rewarding existing customers, creators and influencers who bring in more new and relevant leads. Besides, you only pay when you see results. Therefore, it’s a pretty good option in marketing! 

Here are some benefits that affiliate marketing brings to the table:

• Low upfront cost. 
• Increase in web traffic.
• Increase in repeat purchases. 
• Ease of scalability. 

Given all these benefits, several brands continue to invest in affiliate marketing. Amazon Associates, Amazon’s affiliate program, is one of the best examples. 

8. Referral marketing 

While affiliate programs involve a wider group of people like influencers, content creators and bloggers, referral marketing is more about existing customers. It’s about converting purchasing customers into brand advocates. 

Referral marketing therefore happens on a much smaller scale than affiliate marketing. Customers might share their referral codes within a small network but affiliate links often get broadcasted on social media and other larger platforms. 

One of the most striking differences between these two types of marketing is that affiliate links reward affiliates but in the case of referral marketing, both the referrer and the referred get incentives. This could be in the form of rewards, freebies or discount coupons. 

KIMP Tips: 

• Have a clear landing page breaking down the benefits of your referral program. 
• Use personalized channels like emails to reach existing customers and educate them about the referral program. 

9. Search engine marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing is one of the most crucial types of marketing in today’s digital age. Given that a strong digital presence is non-negotiable, strategies to win over search engines and to appear on the first page of Search results are pivotal.

Search engine marketing includes organic reach through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. In short, this is about optimizing your content and your site to bring more traffic and drive more conversions. 

Yes, you need different strategies for both paid and organic reach. However, there’s one thing common – you need strong copy and designs to connect with your audience. Finally, ensure that keywords play a strong role in all these content types for search engine marketing. 

To reap the best results from SEM: 

• Do thorough keyword analysis.
• Build engaging content around these keywords. 
• Clearly define your goals – this comes in handy when you are measuring the results. 
• A/B test to know what formats and ad types work. 
• Focus on the quality of SEO-optimized content rather than quantity. 

10. Experiential marketing 

The type of marketing that focuses not on one chance encounter but an experience that leaves a lasting impact on the audience is experiential marketing. 

In short, experiential marketing is about introducing your brand, engaging your audience and explaining your story to them through immersive real-world experiences. The live interactions involved touch customers in ways that most traditional marketing strategies fail. 

From new product launches to the introduction of your brand into new markets or even a new sale event, there are many occasions where experiential marketing particularly proves to be beneficial. 

Experiential marketing can come in the form of:

• Interactive booths at malls and trade shows.
• Branded installations.
• Product sampling stations at local retail stores. 
• AR/VR brand experiences.
• Pop-up stores.
• Resourceful workshops. 

Glossier, for instance, is known to host several pop-up stores across countries in diverse high-traffic locations. Like their very popular one in London a couple of years ago.

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A post shared by Glossier (@glossier)

As you can see, experiential marketing is a great way to break any communication barriers between the brand and its customers and foster strong, long-standing relationships. 

11. Event marketing 

In a broad sense, event marketing is also part of experiential marketing since events are about creating experiences. However, it extends a little more than that. 

Events can be effective in introducing your brand into a new market, connecting with new audience segments, or even to establish yourself as an authoritative name in your industry. Yes, it can be handy in both inbound and outbound strategies. 

But yes, when we say events, they do not always have to be elaborate physical events. These could be in the form of simple virtual events that increase participation beyond location barriers or even co-branded events. Sometimes it can also be in the form of sponsored events. 

All of these help you engage with your customers and gather their feedback and gauge their emotions in real time. Therefore it is a crucial type of marketing for businesses big and small irrespective of the industry. 

12. Cause marketing 

While most types of marketing focus on the brand, the products, web traffic and sales, cause marketing focuses on the society. It is a more values-driven approach that not many brands pay attention to. But the truth is that it’s not just a luxury – it’s an essential step toward establishing your brand’s presence in a competitive space. It’s an essential step in connecting with your audience. 

Data shows that about 67% of consumers expect brands to pay attention to and raise awareness about social and political issues. So, cause marketing is much more important now than ever before. 

This is one of the marketing strategies where the business thinks beyond profits and ROIs and focuses more on the “greater good”, on what difference it can make. In other words, it is about reflecting and projecting how your business is changing lives or contributing to the local community. 

Hence, when executed well, cause marketing helps enhance brand image and humanizes the brand too. 

13. Word-of-mouth marketing 

The hard truth is that some of the best types of marketing do not come from the brand itself but rather its customers. Real people who have experienced the difference your brand makes and have been positively influenced by your brand are more likely to bring new loyal customers than a promotional ad. 

Happy customers are the best kind of brand ambassadors you can get, and they bring in the best quality leads. Though you cannot directly drive word-of-mouth marketing, there are many ways to nudge your audience to recommend your brand. There are ways to influence them and encourage them to share their experience and thus boost your brand’s credibility. 

• Start with prioritizing the exceptional quality of products/services. 
• Focus on customer experience at every touchpoint.
• Regularly create campaigns that attract user-generated content. 
• Actively share customer stories and testimonials on social channels. 

14. Direct mail marketing 

Direct mail marketing can sound like an antique type of marketing but believe it or not, it is still very relevant. In fact, in the age of ad fatigue and information overload, campaigns that reach relevant customers and engage with them directly can be immensely beneficial. 

So, what are some formats to explore for direct mail marketing? Postcards are some of the most effective. Add a personalized message, address customers by their first names and include a warm note. Add-ons like exclusive discount codes or an invitation to an exclusive event make them feel like insiders. 

But that’s not all. Even the underrated marketing assets like packaging inserts can be used to connect with existing customers in more meaningful ways. If you wish to get more creative and reward your customers, welcome kits, product samples, especially when there are new launches, are other productive ways to engage them directly. 

15. Mobile marketing 

Yes, that’s a broad term that encompasses all strategies aimed at the mobile audience in particular. Again, this involves taking into account diverse channels and formats, but the focus is more on mobile formats. 

The reason for stating this as a separate type of marketing is that not all brands prioritize mobile marketing the same way and in fact, they don’t need to. Is it important? Absolutely. Is it indispensable? Without question. But how much of your strategy should be mobile-led and how much should still cater to desktop, in-store, or other channels?

For example, if you are running a fast-paced e-commerce store, and your transactions mainly happen through the mobile app, then mobile marketing takes the central stage. On the other hand, if you’re in B2B software with complex demos and long sales cycles, desktop may still dominate. 

That said, mobile marketing involves regular mobile-focused display ads, in-app ads, push notifications, text messages for outreach and more, promoting location-based discounts and user-behavior-based recommendations and retargeting. 

Other Unconventional Marketing Strategies to Explore 

The 15 types of marketing we discussed in the previous section are terms every single marketer might use on a daily basis. These strategies are integral parts of promoting and establishing a brand in any industry. However, these are not the only ones. There are also some unconventional marketing strategies that you might come across. When you need to make a statement, when traditional methods are not delivering the intended results, these are some creative paths to explore:

• Guerilla marketing – bold and loud campaigns placed at the most unexpected spots. The aim is to grab attention by surprising your audience. 
• Neuromarketing – strategies that tap into neuroscience to understand and influence customer shopping behaviors. 
• Scarcity marketing – using cues about scarcity indicators like “low stock” to attract immediate action. 
• Ambush marketing – taking over or placing yourself in events and situations without actual sponsorship. Risky yet bold! 
• Viral marketing – strategies executed with the sole purpose of going viral and initiating discussions around the brand. There might be no direct conversion like sign-up or sales planned as a part of the campaign but when it goes viral, these happen eventually. Duolingo’s recent stunt of faking Duo’s death is a classic example. 

Make Every Marketing Move Count! 

To conclude, marketing isn’t about picking one tactic and hoping for the best. Sometimes you need 5 types of marketing approaches and sometimes 10. It all boils down to your short-term and long-term goals and your vision for your brand. So take time to evaluate the ins and outs of all these marketing strategies and understand what kind of time, effort and resources you need for each. This helps you come up with a plan of action and the right portfolio of marketing strategies. 

But remember, content and design are integral parts of all these types of marketing. Hence, defining the right workflow for each type of content is crucial. 

So many types of marketing strategies and so little time at hand! So many design requirements to meet but so few resources at hand. The solution? An unlimited design service, like KIMP! 

Time to start your free trial!