“Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing”- Mike Volpe
If one questions the leading brands and the globally recognized companies, what their tip to get famous and well known, the first thing they will say is to never stop experimenting and to continue to put oneself out there on the platform of digital marketing. Most of us are already aware of the wonder called ‘digital marketing’, and every time there is a new social network platform, a newer style of marketing and advertising is formed.
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Gone are the days when the only way to market oneself was through conventional print media and TV platforms. Today, with the internet of things taking over almost everything, there are a million more possibilities to market your product/ service in front of your target audience and the masses. Today there is the way of posting feeds and videos, short stories and captioned messages on almost all the possible available social networks. Be it Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter, if you have a viable product/ service for the masses, you have a ready platform of million users to use to promote yourself.
That’s the beauty of the digital era. However, if you are someone new to entrepreneurship and the art of running a business you may be hesitant and unaware of how to go the long way down the road of digital marketing. Well, the digital world is very considerate of these people and for them, there has been designed a new advertising format. Here, we introduce to you the world of ‘Buddy Marketing’. Yes, you heard that right!
Before we get to understanding the finer aspects of what buddy marketing is let me put out here a very famous line from an American Sitcom series.
“I’ll be there for you”! For those of you who probably remember the series F.R.I.E.N.D.S inside out this one line from their famous title track is not new. Much to your confusion with the placement of this statement here in this article, let me ask what does a friend/buddy do? A buddy is someone who supports you and makes sure that whatever it is that you do, you get successful. Much on the similar lines is the very concept of ‘Buddy Marketing’. With that given let us get to deciphering the art of buddy marketing.
ImageSource: Pixabay
Scenario1: Let us assume that there are 2 companies. Company 1 is buddy 1 and company 2 is buddy 2. Over the years both Buddy 1 and 2 developed and started working on different businesses. Buddy 1 opened a small fast food café and Buddy 2 has an established business of selling restaurant equipment. So, buddy 1 who is just establishing his café has put aside all his savings for the investment and now he is stuck wondering how to market his beautiful café in front of the target audience. This is when his friend Buddy 2 gives him an idea. They strike up a deal where both the businesses which have some common ground decide to market and promote each other. With Buddy 2 already established, he mentions his friends café in all his promotions and in return when Buddy 1’s business kicks off a certain share of profits are shared with Buddy 2.
This is the exact base on which Buddy Marketing works. The main purpose of buddy marketing is to broadcast your product and service in front of a set of customers who are not aware of your product. Now that we know what Buddy Marketing is, let us understand why and how it is important in the day and age of digital marketing.
ImageSource: Pixabay
ALITTLEBITFORYOUANDALITTLEBITFORME: As discussed earlier buddy marketing is more like a mutual understanding where based on the comfort of both the parties, each of the company will benefit from each other. This can be in terms of profit sharing and sometimes even in the form of commission earned. Interlinking each other websites gives a certain amount of commission to both the parent site and the guest site for which the link is mentioned.
INLITTLECREATEMANY: For small and reasonably moderate-sized companies, setting aside a lump sum amount even for digital marketing is difficult. With the help of Buddy marketing, they can pool in with other businesses and reach a wider audience. This will allow them better networking along with a mass reach to their target audience.
CLIMBTHELADDEROFWORDOFMOUTH: The more your buddy marketing network grows the more volume of business will it attract. After all effective marketing is when you hit the iron while it is hot. A carefully planned and practical buddy marketing plan can generate almost 85% of the sales
FEWERCHANCESOFMAJORFAILURE: Most things in life come with no guarantee no matter how well you plan. In the case of digital advertising, it is the same as well. You may have spent a huge amount and may have come up with a terrific plan, however, it just doesn’t see the light of the day. In the case of buddy marketing, the risk is there but the load is never shared by one person alone.
YOUWILLNEVERLOSESIGHTOFTHEWAY: Having a buddy mentor you on the ways of buddy marketing is an additional boon because you will never really go wrong. With someone experienced guiding you, you will never make the same mistake that they probably made when they were starting out new. You can conduct brainstorming sessions to decide the course of action to take. After all 2 makes it easier in the long run compared to just 1 person trying to figure it all out.
The world of Digital advertising is very vast and sometimes scary and uncertain too. If your business can shake hands with a buddy and reap in the benefits that the word of Buddy Marketing has to offer, then there is no better way to go about it. With all the points discussed here, it is only advised that if you are an initial start-up or even an established business, try experimenting the path of Buddy Marketing. After all who knows what wonders you can achieve with this small but very decisive tool in the world of digital marketing.
Kristy is a content marketing professional at GoAssignmentHelp, a company which works to provide Assignment Writing Service and Online Essay Help. She is a champion of writing articles on, how could develop your business. Her articles concentrate on instructive substance in regard to the development of business by giving an engaging read.