13 Examples of Marketing Channels

Updated June 24, 2022

When you have a business, it's important to look for ways to grow your audience. Marketing channels, in particular, help you reach your current and prospective customers through various methods. Understanding the various types of marketing channels can help you determine which to use for your own business. In this article, we explain what a marketing channel is and list 13 marketing channel example for you to consider.

What is a marketing channel?

A marketing channel refers to the required ecosystem for getting a company's products and services from production to consumption. In other words, a marketing channel is a way for a company to reach its prospective customers. Unlike distribution channels that aim to get products in front of potential customers, marketing channels refer to how you get these prospective customers to consider buying what you're selling. Marketing channels ultimately aim to increase brand awareness, product awareness and help drive traffic. Companies often use multiple marketing channels with various strategies depending on the region.

Related: Guide To Distribution Channels

Marketing channel examples

Knowing the various marketing channels can help you determine which best fits with your company and its needs. While some marketing channels may use email, others may involve your website or your social media presence. Here are 13 examples of marketing channels:

Cold calling

Cold calling refers to picking up a phone and making calls to prospective customers. Typically, you research leads in order to help you target prospective customers that stand a greater chance of purchasing your goods or services. You can also start with a cold call and follow it with an email to entice these potential customers to make a purchase or to connect with your business.

Loyalty programs

A loyalty program refers to your company's offer of free products or services in exchange for a customer's repeat purchases. This marketing channel helps you retain consistent customers through various discounts and free merchandise. Brick and mortar shops like coffee shops or restaurants often use this marketing channel.

Email marketing

When you have your current or prospective customer's email address, you can use email marketing to your advantage. Not only is email marketing relatively inexpensive, but it also presents you with a wide variety of options. For example, you can send emails to encourage people to sign up with your company, you can send an email newsletter to announce a sale or you can reach out to clients for referrals.

Related: Q&A: What Is Email Marketing?

Cold email

One email marketing channel you can use is cold emails. With this channel, you reach out to potential customers via email without them knowing about it ahead of time. You simply find a person's email address and send them an email. Freelancers, marketing agencies and consultants may benefit from this type of marketing channel.

Website

Since users typically visit your website when they're interested in your products and services, you can use this marketing channel to your advantage. When current or prospective customers visit your website, they're able to find the answers to their questions and gain greater knowledge about your company and various products and services. Therefore, it's important to create a clean and functional website that clearly represents your brand, business, products and services.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO refers to the process of improving your website to increase its visibility on search engine results pages and the traffic from these pages. Through the effective use of SEO, you're able to generate organic traffic based on what your prospective customers search for in various search engines. You can also use analytics and tracking tools to monitor the effectiveness of your SEO strategy.

Content marketing

Through effective content marketing, you can demonstrate both authority and expertise in your field while reaching customers throughout various stages in the sales funnel and using as many relevant keywords as possible. Your effective use of SEO can even ensure your evergreen content continues to get searched for and viewed on your website.

Guest posting

If you have a website or blog for your company, consider guest posting. With this marketing channel, you essentially write for other notable sites in your industry or have other reputable writers create a post for your own website. Not only can you find paid opportunities as a guest writer, but you can also hire out if you want someone to write a guest post for you. Guest posting gives you the opportunity to get links back to your website and helps you connect with the guest writer's audience.

Cross-promotion

This marketing channel gives you the opportunity to build relationships with prominent audiences, all while reaching a wider audience for your business. You can use this channel in a variety of ways, including putting on an event with another business, trading guest posts or creating a webinar for their audience and another for yours.

Social profiles

The social media profiles or main business pages you create for your business also serve as a marketing channel. If you use this channel, it's important to create an aesthetically pleasing profile that offers unique content.

Paid social media advertisements

Many social media platforms offer ad services to help you reach a particularly targeted audience. With this marketing channel, you essentially pay for a sponsored ad to appear on a social media platform. The cost of this channel depends on the platform's pricing and the ad you want. However, if you can successfully get the ad to convert to traffic on your site, you may find the cost worthwhile.

Streaming advertisements

You can also purchase advertisements on streaming platforms to market your company's products and services in yet another way. This marketing channel allows you target the audiences for various streaming services and essentially acts like an advertisement you'd see on network TV.

Print advertising

With print advertising, you pay to place an advertisement in a physical newspaper or magazine. When used strategically, print ads can help you reach a wider audience. While it can be more challenging to track your efforts with this marketing channel, print ads may prove useful if you have an impactful ad that can get a reader's attention.