Marketing takes on all forms. The Blendtec people have done very well with their viral YouTube videos. Starbucks positively engages with the Twitter community each day. And then there are more conventional TV commercials and newspaper ads.

Another strategy that you might want to consider is something called education-based marketing. The critical distinction here is that this method of marketing doesn’t involve selling anything, at least not directly. The idea is to educate the public on topics related to your niche, establishing you as an expert in your field.

For instance, a real estate agent can passively engage with potential clients by offering a website or newsletter with perspectives and news on the local real estate market. These don’t “sell” the services of the realtor directly, but they do help to keep his or her name at the forefront when it comes to buying and selling homes.

Similarly, financial advisors and mortgage brokers can do quite well by offering informational seminars in a variety of locations. Assure the attendees that they will not be “sold” anything during the presentation, but know that there is an opportunity to gain contacts and gain their trust. Have you tried education-based marketing? Has it worked for you?

Keeping a customer is a lot easier and less expensive than acquiring a new one. This is very common knowledge among the business community, which is why it is oftentimes worthwhile to lose some money up front if it means you’ll be earning it back later on.

This kind of philosophy and approach has been applied to a number of different industries and niches. Take diabetic testing supplies as a prime example. Many of these companies offer the testing meters for free, because the real money is in the constant supply of testing strips.

The mobile phone industry has long since recognized this phenomenon too. They’ll more than gladly sell you a brand new cell phone at a discounted price, because you are signing a two or three year contract to get it. Over the course of that service contract, the profits from your monthly bill easily cover that initial subsidy on the new phone.

Are these “gateway drug” sales tactics deceiving? Possibly, but they serve as very powerful marketing strategies for acquiring new customers. Then, you just have to work to keep them.

There are many different schools of thought when it comes to advertising techniques. Ask one professional and he’ll tell you do things one way. Ask another professional and she might tell you to do things an entirely different way. So, who’s right?

A great example of this can be found on video sharing sites like YouTube.

With some videos, you’ll find that they have decided to include the website name or some other branding as a “watermark” throughout the length of the video. This can be useful in keeping the brand front and center. You might also see this in movie trailers where they have the movie name and release date in the “black bar” portions either above or below the main action.

With other videos, you’ll find that they have decided only to include any explicit mention of the website or company either at the beginning or the end of the video. There could be a set “pre-roll” or “credit” portion to the video, keeping the focus on the core content that fits in between. Give value to your viewers and they’ll remember you.

So, which school of thought is the right one? Some may say that the first one does a great job of keeping branding as a key message, but others may say that it can be pretentious and annoying. What do you think? How do you feel about persistent branding?

Advertisements are supposed to tell you about the different features and benefits that a certain product or service is able to offer. They might be there to raise brand awareness too, but there comes an area of frustration for some consumers.

More and more, I’m finding companies are “selling” features that already exist as if they are new. For instance, I’m finding that certain Internet service providers are selling something called “Home Wi-Fi” as a feature. This has existed for ages, since any consumer can go out and buy his or her own wireless router.

Similarly, Telus has introduced something that it calls “Anytime Upgrades” for its smartphones. Many people seem to assume that you have to wait until your contract is over in order for you to buy a new phone. This isn’t the case. You always had the option of upgrading at any time; you just had to pay the full retail price.

The “new” service of “Clear & Simple Device Upgrades” is a slight improvement on this, but you still need to pay an “Early Device Upgrade Fee” depending on the number of months remaining on your contract and the type of device you currently have. Even so, this isn’t an entirely new feature or service at all.

Telus isn’t the only one participating in this kind of practice. The “Live Agent” feature from Rogers means you can talk to a real customer service representative on the phone when you need help; you could do that before, couldn’t you?

Is this deceptive marketing or is it simply aiming to educate the public on what is already available?

Even though we are moving toward an increasingly paperless society, physical business cards are still an integral part of doing business in person. As such, questions related to design and layout are going to be something you want to address.

Naturally, you’ll want to your name, your title, the name of your business, and contact information on the card. However, you may or may not want to have your own personal photograph on there. This is mostly common practice for realtors, mortgage brokers, and other people that work in the real estate business, but what about other industries?

I’ve found that a growing number of bloggers and Internet marketers are starting to put their portraits on their business cards. This might be because they want to be more easily recognized and remembered when they are seen again, but this may or may not be a good idea.

Even if someone does not consciously or intentionally do it, we all have our prejudices and these affect the decisions that we make. If your photo gives off a negative impression, you might lose the client even before you really had a chance. What do you think? Should you have your portrait on your business card?

Considering that Vancouver is such a bustling real estate market, it’s no surprise that my mailbox gets filled with all kinds of junk mail from realtors, home renovation experts, mortgage brokers, and just about any other professional remotely related to the industry. Most of these flyers end up in the recycling bin, but are they effective?

In my own experience, even though I barely pay attention to any of these mailings, the persistence of certain realtors has led to some fantastic brand recognition. More importantly, the real estate agents that I remember are the ones whose mail-outs demonstrate real world success in my very own neighborhood.

Instead of sending out a flyer or postcard that says, “Hey look, I’m a realtor,” the mail-out is more likely to say, “Hey look, here’s a house I sold for $X over asking in just 5 days.” That’s demonstrated and proven success. Seeing the person succeed once is one thing; getting consistent mailings that demonstrate this success over and over again starts to get the message to stick in the minds of potential customers.

Yes, most people don’t like junk mail — both of the real and virtual variety — but the “right” kind of junk mail, when used appropriately to proclaim continued success and expertise, can be a very effective means of marketing and increasing brand awareness.