10 Effective Marketing Strategies For Business Growth

• A deep understanding of your target audience
• A clear value proposition
• The ability to show up in the right places, with the right message, at the right time

1. Social media 

Social media is still one of the most powerful ways to reach and engage your audience. As of recent global figures, more than half of the world’s population uses social media. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube offer businesses the opportunity to get their product or service directly in front of target customers and discover new ones.

Your existing customers also expect a social presence – for support, to understand who you are as a brand, and increasingly as a discovery channel. Many people now use social platforms like search engines, typing questions straight into TikTok or YouTube instead of Google.

Before you jump onto every platform, figure out:

• Where your target audience actually spends time
• What types of content perform best on each platform
• How your brand voice and visuals translate natively for each channel

For example, company culture and thought leadership posts may perform well on LinkedIn, while product features or tutorials might be a better fit for Instagram or TikTok.

Pro tip: A marketing analytics dashboard is invaluable here. It lets you consolidate performance across channels, identify what’s working, and refine your strategy in real time.

Related reading: The 11 Social Media KPIs You Should Really Be Tracking

Top tips to grow your business using social media 

Show the human side of your brand

With AI content tools everywhere, it’s tempting to generate an entire content calendar with one prompt. The risk is that your brand starts to sound robotic and generic.

Social media is, first and foremost, social. Focus on:

• Authentic stories and behind‑the‑scenes content
• Real voices and faces from your team and customers
• A distinct tone of voice that reflects your brand personality

This helps you stand out in feeds that are increasingly cluttered with AI‑generated content.

Use social media as a useful resource, not just a sales channel

Nobody wants to be sold to all the time. While you should absolutely share product updates, offers, and launches, don’t overwhelm people with constant promotions.

Instead, use social media to:

• Educate (how‑tos, checklists, breakdowns)
• Inspire (customer success stories, use cases, before/after scenarios)
• Entertain (on‑brand memes, relatable commentary, trends – where appropriate)

Your channels are often the first touchpoint with potential customers. Entice them with value and relevance, not just “buy now” messages.

Be consistent

Most major platform algorithms reward consistent posting and engagement. When you show up regularly with high‑quality content:

• You keep your brand top of mind
• You improve reach and engagement over time
• You create more opportunities to move people from awareness to consideration

Create a realistic posting cadence that your team can sustain (e.g. 3–5 posts per week per channel) and stick to it.

Source: Sprout Social 

Short‑form video and influencer partnerships in 2026

Short‑form video (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts) continues to dominate attention. In 2026, these formats are central to how consumers discover brands, research products, and make purchase decisions.

How to use short‑form video:

• Education in 30–60 seconds: quick how‑tos, product tips, or myth‑busting
• Behind‑the‑scenes: show your team, your processes, your events
• Feature highlights: demonstrate specific features or use cases visually
• Customer proof: short testimonial clips, before/after, user‑generated content (UGC)

Influencer and creator collaborations:

• Partner with creators whose audiences overlap your ICP (ideal customer profile)
• Start with micro‑influencers and niche creators, often better engagement and lower cost
• Co‑create content that feels native to the creator’s style, not like an ad dropped into their feed
• Ensure proper disclosure and compliance with advertising and influencer guidelines

Tie these efforts back to landing pages or offers you can actually measure.

Measuring social media ROI with dashboards and attribution basics

To justify investment and optimize your strategy, you need to move beyond vanity metrics.

Track:

• Reach & impressions – how many people see your content
• Engagement rate – likes, comments, saves, shares relative to reach
• Click‑throughs – traffic from social to your website or landing pages
• Leads & sign‑ups – form fills, trial starts, demo requests originating from social
• Revenue & pipeline – deals influenced or sourced by social campaigns

Tools like Hurree make this far easier by:

• Pulling data in from multiple platforms
• Showing performance by channel, campaign, and content type
• Helping attribute leads and revenue back to specific posts or campaigns as far as possible

Even if you can’t get perfect attribution, you can still track trends and directional impact and make smarter decisions.

2. Get the most out of email marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most reliable and profitable channels for nurturing and converting leads. In 2026, with rising ad costs and tightening privacy regulations, owned channels like email are even more valuable.

To make email work, you need:

• A healthy, permission‑based list
• Clear value for subscribers
• Segmentation and automation
• Consistent testing and optimization
  

Top tips to growing your email list:

1. Make signing up easy -  Place clear email sign‑up CTAs across your website, blog, app, landing pages, and social channels. Make it obvious what subscribers will get.
   
   
2. Offer an incentive - People are more likely to subscribe if they receive something of value in return, such as:
   - Discounts or vouchers 
   - Ebooks or guides 
   - Templates or checklists 
   - Exclusive content or early access
   
   
3. Don’t be too pushy with sales - Just like on social media, avoid blasting subscribers with constant promotions. Balance your calendar with:
   - Education content 
   - Tips, how to-s and best practice 
   - Case studies and success stories 
   
   
4. Segment your lists - Create segments based on interests, behaviour, lifecycle stage, or demographics. Examples: 
   - People who downloaded a specific guide 
   - Customers of a particular product
   - High‑intent visitors (e.g. pricing page viewers)
   - Dormant subscribers
   
   
5. Automate your emails - Use your email service provider (ESP) to build automated workflows, such as:
   - Welcome sequences for new subscribers
   - Lead nurturing sequences based on content consumed
   - Re‑engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers
   - Win‑back flows for lapsed customers
   - Post‑purchase feedback and upsell emails
   
   
6. CTAs - Every email should have a clear next step: visit a page, download something, book a demo, or reply. That doesn’t always mean “buy now”, but it should move them closer to a decision
   
   
7. A/B testing -  Test subject lines, send times, layouts, CTAs, and content formats. Use the data to refine your approach over time.

3. Take advantage of co-branding, affinity, and cause marketing

Co‑branding, affinity partnerships, and cause marketing all help you tap into new audiences and build deeper trust.

What is co-branding?

Co‑branding is a strategy where two or more companies collaborate on a product, service, or campaign, combining their brand equity.

Benefits include:

• Access to each other’s audiences
• Increased perceived value through combined credibility
• Shared costs and shared expertise

Examples:

• A premium car brand partnering with a luxury luggage maker
• A snack brand collaborating with a fast‑food chain on a limited‑edition menu item
• Clothing or lifestyle brands doing co‑branded drops

What is affinity marketing?

Affinity marketing brings together complementary brands that share a similar audience and interests.

Examples:

• Coffee shops selling goods from a local bakery
• Airlines partnering with hotels to offer package deals
• Tech tools integrating with each other and co‑marketing to shared ICPs

A classic example is brands like Red Bull and GoPro partnering around high‑adrenaline content: both serve the same audience, and their collaboration amplifies reach.

What is cause marketing?

Cause marketing is when a for‑profit brand partners with a non‑profit or a cause to support social, environmental, or community initiatives.

Benefits:

• Stronger brand loyalty and trust
• Positive PR and differentiation
• Alignment with customer values
• A chance to “do well by doing good”

An example would be a platform that waives fees or donates a percentage of revenue on specific days to support creators or charitable projects.

Building trust through sustainable and ethical marketing partnerships

In 2026, customers are more conscious than ever of how brands behave. They want to see:

• Real commitment to sustainability (not just greenwashed campaigns)
• Ethical treatment of employees, communities, and partners
• Transparency around where money goes in cause marketing initiatives

When planning co‑branding, affinity, or cause campaigns:

• Choose partners whose values genuinely align with yours
• Be specific about what is being donated, supported, or changed
• Avoid using causes purely as a promotional tactic – audiences will notice
• Report back on the impact of your initiatives over time

These partnerships can significantly enhance brand equity and customer loyalty when done authentically.

4. Start blogging for your business

“Is blogging dead?”

Despite constant shifts in the online landscape, blogging is still one of the most effective tools in your marketing toolbox. Millions of people still read blogs to research solutions, compare options, and learn from experts. According to Social Media Today, 77% of internet users still read blogs. 

If you’re going to invest in blogging, do it strategically. The goal is not simply to publish content – it’s to provide useful, relevant, and search‑optimised content that positions you as a trusted authority.

Benefits of starting a company blog

Driving traffic to your website

Blog posts that target the right keywords and questions can significantly increase organic traffic. Focus on:

• Keywords your audience actually searches
• Topics that relate closely to your product or service
• Long‑tail phrases that reveal strong intent

Regularly publishing optimised content helps you rank on search engine results pages (SERPs) and brings in consistent, compounding traffic over time. In fact, blogging leads to 55% more website visitors. 

Lead generation

Once visitors land on your blog, treat it as a lead‑generating asset. Use:

• Contextual CTAs
• Pop‑ups and slide‑ins
• Gated content (ebooks, templates, checklists, webinars)

In exchange for valuable content, visitors share their details, which allows you to nurture them via email.

Reusable content

Blogs are a goldmine for repurposing. One strong post can become:

• A series of social posts
• An email newsletter
• A short video script
• A podcast episode outline

This makes blogging highly efficient – one piece of content fuels multiple channels.

Cost effective marketing

Compared to many paid tactics, blogging is relatively low‑cost and continues delivering value long after publication, especially if you periodically update and refresh posts.

Establish authority 

Consistently publishing high‑quality, educational content on a focused set of topics helps you:

• Demonstrate expertise
• Build trust with your audience
• Differentiate from competitors

You can further amplify reach by sharing articles on networks like LinkedIn, relevant communities, and Q&A platforms.

Building a content marketing strategy from scratch

To maximise impact, treat blogging as part of a broader content strategy rather than isolated posts.

Key steps:

1. Define your audience & ICPs
   
   
• Who are you writing for (roles, industries, problems, goals)?
• What questions do they ask throughout their journey?
2. Map your content pillars
   
   
• Choose 3–5 core themes that align with your product and value proposition (e.g. “marketing analytics”, “campaign optimisation”, “customer retention”).
• Brainstorm subtopics and questions under each pillar.
3. Perform keyword and intent research
   
   
• Identify search terms with real demand and manageable competition.
• Map posts to specific intents: informational, comparison, commercial, transactional.
4. Plan an editorial calendar
   
   
• Decide how often you can realistically publish (e.g. weekly, bi‑weekly).
• Mix evergreen topics with timely/seasonal ones.
• Assign owners and due dates.
5. Optimise for SEO and readers
   
   
• Clear structure: headings, short paragraphs, bullet points
• Internal links to related posts and product pages
• Compelling meta titles and descriptions
6. Measure and iterate
   
   
• Track page views, time on page, scroll depth, conversions, and assisted revenue.
• Use dashboards (e.g. Hurree) to see which posts actually drive leads and opportunities.
• Refresh high‑potential posts regularly.

From blog post to multi‑channel asset: Repurposing for maximum reach

Every strong blog post can be multiplied across channels:

• Turn key insights into LinkedIn carousels or Twitter/X threads
• Extract tips as short‑form videos for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts
• Summarise the article in an email newsletter
• Use sections as talking points in podcasts or webinars
• Convert statistics and frameworks into infographics

This approach increases ROI on content production and ensures consistent messaging across touchpoints.

5. Use videos as marketing tools

Video is a quick and effective way to get your message through to your audience. 86% of marketing professionals reported that they used video as a marketing tool, and 78% of those say that video has directly increased sales for their business. 86% said videos helped to boost traffic to their website. 

Video is one of the fastest and most engaging ways to communicate your message. It’s particularly powerful for:

• Demonstrating products in action
• Explaining complex concepts
• Building emotional connection and trust

You don’t always need a big budget. With a good idea, a decent camera or smartphone, and basic editing tools, you can create effective video content.

Types of videos that work well:

• How‑to tutorials
• Product demos and feature walkthroughs
• Customer testimonials and case studies
• Behind‑the‑scenes clips
• Industry commentary and thought leadership

You can host videos on:

• YouTube – the world’s second‑largest search engine
• Your website and blog – embedded into relevant pages
• Social platforms – native uploads to maximise reach and engagement

Video content can also be repurposed into short clips, GIFs, blog posts, and social snippets.

6. Start a podcast

Podcasts offer a low‑cost way to:

• Reach new audiences
• Deepen relationships with existing customers
• Build brand authority and affinity

Podcasting works particularly well when you lean into brand storytelling. Instead of just listing statistics, use episodes to:

• Tell the story of your company and customers
• Share lessons learned, wins, and failures
• Highlight your values and how you operate
• Discuss industry trends and practical advice

Listeners often develop a strong sense of connection with hosts and guests, making podcasts a powerful medium for trust‑building.

Collaboration is also a strong lever:

• Invite industry experts, customers, and partners as guests
• Co‑create episodes with other brands in your ecosystem
• Cross‑promote with guests to tap into new audiences

Virtual recording tools make it easy to produce high‑quality episodes even with remote guests.

7. Understand the power of SEO

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can feel intimidating, but it’s one of the most effective ways to build sustainable, compounding traffic and growth.

Broadly, there are two key categories:

• Technical SEO: site speed, mobile performance, URL structure, sitemaps, indexation, schema markup
• On‑page/content SEO: keywords, search intent, headings, internal linking, content quality

In the past, some brands tried to “game” search engines with spammy tactics like keyword stuffing or link schemes. Today, search algorithms increasingly reward:

• Helpful, human‑centred content
• Expertise, experience, authority, and trust (E‑E‑A‑T)
• Good user experience, especially on mobile devices

Instead of trying to trick the algorithm, focus on genuinely serving your audience better than anyone else.

SEO for B2B vs B2C: What’s different and why it matters

SEO strategy differs depending on whether you’re B2B or B2C.

B2B SEO:

• Longer sales cycles and multiple decision‑makers
• Focus on thought leadership, detailed guides, whitepapers, and case studies
• Keywords often include industry terms, use cases, and problems (e.g. “marketing analytics dashboard for SaaS teams”)
• Content often educates and nurtures different stakeholders (users, managers, executives)

B2C SEO:

• Shorter buying cycles and more impulse‑driven decisions
• Focus on product pages, category pages, how‑tos, comparisons, and reviews
• Keywords more often transactional or lifestyle (e.g. “best running shoes for flat feet”)
• Content emphasises benefits, visuals, and social proof

If your audience includes both (e.g. you sell to teams in B2B and individuals in B2C), segment your keyword strategy and content formats accordingly.

How to measure the ROI of SEO and organic content

SEO is a long‑term play, but you should still track returns.

Key metrics:

• Organic traffic growth (overall and by landing page)
• Rankings for target keywords
• Organic‑sourced leads, sign‑ups, and demo requests
• Revenue and pipeline attributed to organic sessions

With tools like Hurree, you can visualise:

• Which blog posts and pages drive the most conversions
• How organic discovery ties into multi‑channel journeys
• How performance evolves over months and quarters

Use this data to double down on high‑performing topics and formats and refine under‑performers.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) might be intimidating, but it can also be extremely effective. And when you know how to master SEO properly or you have the help of an SEO agency, the sky truly is the limit. 

8. Build an omnichannel customer experience

Customers don’t experience your brand in isolated channels. They move fluidly between social media, search, your website, email, ads, and – in many cases – physical locations or events. In 2026, they also expect that experience to feel connected and consistent.

Omnichannel marketing is about creating a seamless journey across all of these touchpoints so that:

• Your messaging and branding feel coherent
• Data and context follow the customer, so you don’t start from zero each time
• It’s easy for people to progress from awareness to purchase, regardless of where they first discovered you

Done well, omnichannel marketing not only improves customer experience but also increases conversion rates, average order value, and long‑term loyalty.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is the practice of integrating all your customer touchpoints – online and offline – so that:

• The brand story is consistent
• The offers and content are relevant to where the customer is in their journey
• The data and insights from each interaction inform the next one

This differs from multichannel, where you might be present on many channels but manage them in silos. Omnichannel connects those channels so they work together.

Omnichannel journey examples

A few simplified examples:

• Retail / eCommerce:
• A customer discovers your brand on Instagram
• Clicks through to a blog or product page found via SEO
• Signs up to your email list for a discount
• Receives a personalised email with recommended products
• Visits your physical store or completes the purchase online
• Gets post‑purchase emails with care tips and referral incentives
• SaaS / B2B:
• A prospect searches on Google and finds your blog
• They return via a remarketing ad on LinkedIn
• Download a gated guide and enter a nurture email sequence
• Receive a targeted invite to a webinar based on their behaviour
• Book a demo through a CTA embedded in your content
• Post‑onboarding, they receive product usage tips and upsell campaigns

In both cases, channels work together instead of competing or duplicating effort.

Practical steps to build an omnichannel strategy

You don’t need to be everywhere at once. Start by tightening the connections between your most important channels:

1. Map your customer journey
• Outline key stages: awareness, consideration, decision, onboarding, loyalty
• Identify which channels are most influential at each stage (e.g. social + SEO for awareness, email + blog for consideration)
2. Unify your data where possible
• Use a central analytics or dashboard tools to pull together data from web, social, email, and ads
• Align tracking (UTMs, events, conversions) so you can see how journeys progress across channels
• Focus on first‑party data that customers willingly share with you
3. Align messaging and offers
• Ensure your core value proposition and positioning are consistent across platforms
• Adapt format and tone to each channel, but keep the underlying story the same
• Make sure major campaigns (launches, discounts, events) are visible across key channels with coordinated timing
4. Remove friction between touchpoints
• Use clear CTAs that guide people logically to the next step (e.g. social → blog → lead magnet → demo)
• Make landing pages match the promise of the ad or post that brought people there
• Ensure mobile experiences are fast and easy to use – many journeys start on mobile even if they finish on desktop or in‑store

Measuring omnichannel performance

Omnichannel can be hard to measure perfectly, but you can still get strong directional insight.

Track:

• Assisted conversions by channel (which touchpoints show up in journeys that lead to conversions)
• Channel combinations that tend to produce high‑value customers (e.g. “organic + email + referral”)
• Engagement across key stages (content views, email engagement, product usage, referrals)

Using a tool like Hurree to centralize your data makes this much more manageable. Dashboards let you:

• See how campaigns perform across channels, not just in isolation
• Identify which sequences of touchpoints lead to conversion or churn
• Make smarter decisions about where to invest your time and budget

9. Embrace AI 

AI has become a core part of modern marketing stacks. When used thoughtfully, it can significantly improve efficiency, personalisation, and decision‑making.

AI can help with:

• Data analysis and insights
• Content ideation and first drafts
• Predictive lead scoring and churn prediction
• Campaign optimisation and budgeting
• Customer service and support (chatbots, FAQs)

However, AI should augment, not replace, human marketers. You still need strategic thinking, creativity, and brand nuance.

Benefits of AI for marketing

• Accelerated decision‑making: AI can process and analyse large volumes of data quickly, helping you make faster, evidence‑based decisions.
• Effective personalisation: AI can detect patterns in user behaviour and preferences to suggest the most relevant content, products, and offers.
• Enhanced customer service: AI‑powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle routine queries 24/7, reducing response times and freeing human teams to focus on complex issues.
• Content support: AI can generate outlines, summaries, and draft copy to speed up production – as long as humans edit for accuracy, tone, and originality.
• Accurate forecasting: AI models can help forecast demand, identify seasonality, and support inventory and budget allocation decisions.
  

Using AI to personalize marketing at scale

In 2026, one of the most powerful uses of AI is personalisation across the customer journey.

Examples:

• Dynamic website content based on visitor behaviour or segment
• Product or content recommendations in‑app or on‑site
• Personalised email sequences based on engagement and intent
• Tailored offers and discounts triggered by specific actions

To make this work, you need:

• Clean, well‑structured first‑party data
• Clear rules and safeguards for how AI systems make decisions
• A way to monitor impact (conversion rates, time to value, churn, etc.)

Platforms like Hurree that centralize data and reporting can help you understand which personalisation strategies actually drive growth.

Privacy‑first AI: Working within data protection laws

As AI‑driven marketing evolves, so do privacy expectations and regulations (GDPR, CCPA, and similar frameworks globally).

When using AI:

• Be transparent: clearly explain what data you collect and how it’s used.
• Seek consent: ensure users opt in to data collection and personalised experiences where required.
• Minimise data: only collect and process what you actually need.
• Secure your data: implement strong security and access controls.

Privacy‑first isn’t just about compliance; it’s also a competitive advantage. Brands that respect users’ data and communicate clearly about AI usage are more likely to earn trust and long‑term loyalty.

10. Referral marketing 

Referral marketing is built on a simple idea: people trust recommendations from people they know more than they trust ads. Surveys show that 84% of people trust recommendations from people they know more than brand advertising. 

When structured well, referral programs can:

• Lower customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Bring in higher‑quality leads
• Increase loyalty among existing customers

To make referrals work, you need to:

• Provide a great product and customer experience (so people want to refer)
• Make referring easy and fast
• Offer meaningful incentives

Common referral incentives:

• Cash rewards
• Gift cards
• Discounts or account credits
• Free add‑ons or upgraded features
• Donations to a charity of the customer’s choice

Track referrals as a distinct acquisition channel in your dashboards so you can see how they compare to paid and organic channels over time.

Source: Nielsen

How to turn these tactics into an inbound marketing engine in 2026

All of the strategies above are powerful on their own. But the real magic happens when you connect them into a cohesive inbound marketing engine.

Attract: SEO, content, and social as a system

• Use SEO research to identify topics and keywords your audience cares about.
• Create high‑value blog posts, videos, and podcasts around those topics.
• Distribute content via social media, communities, and email.
• Optimise metadata, internal links, and on‑page structure to rank in search.

You’re aiming to attract the right people to your website and channels, at scale, with genuinely useful content.

Engage: Email, lead magnets, and nurture journeys

• Turn visitors into leads with relevant lead magnets (guides, templates, webinars).
• Use email sequences to nurture them based on their interests and stage in the journey.
• Leverage AI and segmentation to send the right message at the right time.

Here, your goal is to build trust, answer questions, and guide prospects towards a buying decision.

Convert and delight: Offers, referrals, and customer success

• Use clear CTAs in content and campaigns to drive trials, demos, or purchases.
• Make it easy to say “yes” with strong onboarding, documentation, and support.
• Once customers see value, invite them into referral and advocacy programs.
• Continue to delight with helpful content, updates, and proactive communication.

Throughout all of this, you can use Hurree to:

• Monitor performance across channels
• Identify your highest‑converting content and campaigns
• Make informed decisions about where to invest next
  

Conclusion

Mastering effective marketing strategies is essential for sustainable growth in 2026. From social and email to blogging, video, podcasts, SEO, AI, partnerships, and referrals, the tactics outlined here give you a robust toolkit.

The key is to:

• Adapt them to your specific audience, industry, and goals
• Think in terms of systems and journeys, not isolated campaigns
• Measure everything you reasonably can, and double down on what works
• Stay flexible as platforms, privacy rules, and customer expectations evolve

By combining these strategies into a cohesive inbound engine, and using data and dashboards to continuously optimize, you’ll be far better placed to create a strong brand presence, build meaningful customer relationships, and unlock sustained business growth.