5 Ways to Drive Traffic Successfully with 5 Brands
There are countless ways to drive website traffic beyond setting up your site. While it’s both relieving and gratifying to finally finish the website-building process, it’s also important to utilize the many different ways to reach as many people as possible. In this article, I’ll take you through a few different methods of gaining traffic with examples of how a range of companies are doing it right.
Content and Marketing: Architectural Digest
After over 100 years of operation, we already know Architectural Digest is a very established publication with proven longevity. However, they have also become one of the most interesting brands to follow in recent years. The magazine had a renaissance moment in 2017 when it underwent a major rebrand to both its print and digital ends. The company tapped into the popularity of their Celebrity Home Tours, and stepped into a whole new era, renaming the series Open Door. Now, these videos are more television episodes than the sort clips they once were; and are highly produced. They have millions of views, the most popular being Wiz Khalifa’s episode at 53 million. Architectural Digest is cool when it was once considered stuffy.
There is a lot to learn from AD’s story. Find the thing you or your brand is good at– where do you shine? Specifically, what content gravitates people to your brand and how can you use or innovate that content to reach more people? Thoughtful and intentional content and marketing through channels outside of your website could make a major difference for your traffic.
Social Media Engagement: Duolingo
The popular language app also utilized something it was known for: its mascot, the Owl. However, the brand found success in a different way, which was TikTok. Their TikTok page features the bird in actual mascot form participating in bizarre trends. Duolingo followed a format that works for a lot of major companies, which is humanizing a brand through social media. Not only is this owl a part of Gen Z’s cultural conversation through making these videos, but they are also very active in replies and comments. Take a look at this recent video’s content and the comment section:
Duolingo’s strategy has paid off with 7.4 million TikTok followers, becoming widely known across the internet. They know their audience incredibly well and have tailored the owl’s personality to people’s conceptions from the app experience, hence the sass in the comments from Duo. They also make content for people of all cultures, as you can see from the screenshot above, when people feel connected, they engage. Other brands have even started following suit, dressing as their own mascots and getting in front of the camera to do a silly dance or trend. Duolingo demonstrates the power of engagement and what it can do for brands when they know their brand and their audience well, and use that to reach new demographics.
Email Marketing: Rhi Dancey
Rhi Dancey is a collective and brand in one, promoting artists through their clothing and accessories and forming community with other brands to achieve an “anti-hierarchy structure” as well as sustainable fashion. They connect with their audience in a different way, both in tone and strategy. One particular component of their strategy is email marketing.
Since this is a smaller business with a unique model, their inventory is often limited and ever-changing, selling out quickly after a “drop.” The way Rhi Dancey keeps their customers informed and engaged is through their email list. The brand incentivizes subscribing by providing exclusive perks such as early access codes to drops, sales, and collection announcements. Their brand voice is bubbly and conversational, like you’re texting your best friend. This works to Rhi Dancey’s advantage, because not only does it create anticipation for their products, but it also fosters the community the brand seeks to cultivate in their practice, and creates a loop of information communicated to customers and customers then returning back to their site
Influencer Marketing: Glossier
Glossier is widely-recognized for changing the way both people and brands perceive influencers in a big way. The cosmetic brand’s identity was and still is tied to the everyday “no-makeup make-up” look that was rare in the full-face days of the 2010’s. Glossier’s mission has always been about feeling good in the skin you’re in as well as creating a no-nonsense practical experience for application. How does this relate to influencers? Well, Glossier took an unusual route in influencer marketing with their brand ambassador program for people with all types of followings. We saw the rise of micro-influencers in the mid-to-late 2010’s, when our feeds were saturated with beauty-vloggers teaching us how to do complex looks and the rise of big influencers who felt more like celebrities.
Micro-influencers were often ignored, unable to score brand deals the way larger followings could, but Glossier paid attention instead. This created a ton of buzz about the new brand because of word-of-mouth, which is actually more effective than you’d think when it comes from influencers with smaller followings. Their brand ambassador program began early in the company’s history, which made people feel like they were a part of the brand. This led to strong brand-loyalty and the massive success the company has today. Glossier coupled this strategy with unique an aesthetically-pleasing paid social ads which also heavily contributed to their quick rise, which we’ll talk about with the next brand.
Paid Ads: ilovecreatives
ilovecreatives is a resource and community portal for “slashies,” people who work in more than one creative field, often describing what they do with a series of titles separated by “/” . The website has courses, templates, job boards, and more with the intention of creating a space for the many people who fall in-between many roles and catagories.
I’ve been receiving targeted ads from their site promoting their website-building course, and it exemplified why paid ads can be so valuable. It’s no secret that social media and internet exposure is much more likely when we "“pay to play.” When organic reach fails to make the mark, targeted ads are necessary to keep up with how oversaturated the internet can be. This Instagram Stories ad from ilovecreatives takes social media users on a journey. The unique design is enough to catch someone off guard and pique their interest, especially if they’re already interested in the subject.
