One of the biggest challenges for any growing business is building brand awareness, especially in a competitive market. Widespread access to technology has made it easy to reach a huge audience of customers around the world. However, this also means there’s more competition from other brands.
High-quality marketing assets are the tools you need to stay competitive. Not only do marketing assets raise awareness about your business, but they also define who your brand is and what you have to offer.
You’ll need various assets to build a successful marketing campaign, as well as free digital marketing tools like Bitly to manage them. To get you started, here are 15 essential marketing assets your business needs to stay competitive.
What are marketing assets?
Marketing assets are products and tools that your business uses to build brand awareness and attract new customers. Successful assets leverage marketing trends to generate engagement.
Today, most marketing assets are digital—think PPC ads, social media posts, or blog content, for example. However, marketing assets can also be physical items like print ads or billboards.
Marketing assets are essential tools for building your customer base. Modern consumers have so many choices when shopping. Well-designed marketing assets tell potential customers who you are, what you have to offer, and what makes your offerings better than your competitors.
One of the best things about marketing assets is that, once created, they continue to work for you to attract new customers. However, all assets have a natural life cycle. For example, some social media ads will only be relevant for a week or two, while others are useful for years.
Once an asset has reached the end of its lifecycle, you can assess its performance and use that data to inform future marketing strategies.
Different types of marketing assets to know
Marketing assets can fall into several different categories, including:
Digital marketing assets
These are assets that you use to reach your target audience online. Around 76% of U.S. adults shop online, so you’ll need a library of digital assets to reach them. Popular digital assets include:
- Your website
- Social media accounts
- Email marketing campaigns
- PPC and display ad campaigns
Print marketing assets
Print marketing assets are an effective way to support your digital marketing strategy and connect with your audience in real life. Some examples of print marketing assets include:
- Brochures
- Magazine/newspaper ads
- Fliers
- Billboards
- Business cards
- Product packaging
Visual marketing assets
Strong visual branding is a must if you want to stand out in a crowded market. Consumers remember visual content much more than written or audio content, so beautiful visual assets will make a huge impact. Some key visual marketing assets include:
- Logo and brand fonts
- Product photography
- Infographics
- Videos
Content marketing assets
As the name implies, content marketing focuses on creating informative, entertaining, or thought-provoking content to grow your audience. Content marketing is also an opportunity to establish your brand as an industry leader. Examples of content marketing assets include:
- Blog articles
- White papers
- Case studies
- Long-form videos
- Podcasts
15 marketing assets your company should invest in
Since there are so many different types of marketing materials out there, it can be difficult to determine exactly which ones to focus on—but it doesn’t have to be! Here are 15 key marketing assets that every brand should invest in.
1. Responsive website
Your website serves as your brand’s home on the internet, providing potential customers with information about your products and services. First impressions are key, so your website needs to be visually appealing, highly responsive, and easy to navigate.
It should feature your brand’s best visual assets, including high-quality product photography and video. You should also have enticing descriptions of each product and information about your brand history, mission, and values.
In addition, your website layout should be intuitive so visitors don’t have to search too hard to find what they’re looking for. Since so many people use smartphones and tablets to browse the internet, your website also needs to be completely mobile-friendly.
Bitly helps you link your other marketing assets with your website for a seamless user experience. With Bitly, you can create branded short links, Link-in-bio pages, and QR Codes that lead back to your website. Bitly’s analytics help you monitor where your web traffic comes from and determine which marketing channels are most effective.
2. Organic and paid media
Creating a mix of organic and paid content is key to consistently drawing traffic to your website. High-quality blog content is the backbone of a strong organic content strategy, and search engine optimization (SEO) is essential here to get your content in front of your audience.
Your blog is also the perfect opportunity to establish your brand voice and cement your brand as an industry leader. You can do this by covering trending topics and including unique, actionable insights to keep readers hooked.
On the paid media side, your digital ad campaigns are also important marketing assets. Both PPC and display ads are easy to create and launch using the Google Ads platform.
When building your ad campaigns, it’s important to do thorough keyword research. Including the right words and phrases in your ads will help them reach your target audience more effectively. A/B testing is helpful here to figure out which ad elements resonate and convert.
3. Paid social media
The average consumer spends almost 2.5 hours on social media each day. This means that your brand’s social media pages are essential marketing assets. While it’s important to post organic content, you should also supplement this with paid campaigns.
Paid social media posts show up in users’ feeds between organic posts from accounts they follow. Top social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Reddit all offer paid marketing options.
You can target these campaigns based on user interests and demographics, which helps increase your chances of reaching the right audience. You can also include Bitly short links to send interested users from your social media ads to your website.
4. Influencer marketing
Partnering with influencers will help you expand your reach on social media. Through influencer partnerships, you can share your products and services with your audience in an authentic way.
The key is to find influencers who are a great match for your brand identity, rather than just targeting the most popular influencers out there. When the influencer’s audience is very similar to your target audience, each post will generate more conversions and sales.
The efficacy of influencer marketing directly correlates to the amount of money you spend, so increasing your budget can yield more successful results.
You can also give influencers exclusive discount codes for their audience, which can help boost sales. With Bitly, you can give each influencer a custom shortened link to use, which you’ll be able to track to see which posts get the most engagement.
5. Email marketing
Email marketing campaigns are an effective way to keep your audience engaged, which makes them a must-have marketing asset. You can use email marketing to showcase new products, give exclusive deals, or share interesting stories that are relevant to your brand.
To make your email marketing campaigns more effective, create segmented lists for more personalized, relevant emails. This involves breaking your email list down based on key characteristics, such as demographics, online behavior, or position in the sales funnel. Be sure to include trackable Bitly links in each email so you can monitor your campaign metrics.
6. Partner marketing
Partner marketing is the process of working with other businesses to promote both of your brands. When you choose the right partner, you can build a mutually beneficial relationship.
There are so many ways to build marketing partnerships, and you can really get creative based on what your brand has to offer. For example, you can work with other brands on content creation, hosting events, or even launching limited-edition products, just to name a few ideas.
For this strategy to work, you’ll need to choose partners with similar brand values and maintain brand consistency throughout the partnership. Before launching a campaign, be sure to work closely with your partner to set common goals and expectations.
7. Customer testimonials and case studies
Sharing in-depth customer experiences lends credibility and authenticity to your marketing efforts. These marketing assets help build trust with potential customers and show them what to expect from your brand.
Testimonials are short blurbs written by customers about their experiences with your brand. Case studies are longer and take a more detailed look at the customer experience from start to finish. Both assets are easy to feature on your website and social media pages.
8. Video content
Video content is having its moment right now with the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other short-form video platforms. These bite-sized videos can capture your audience’s attention and showcase your products in action.
While they’re less trendy, long-form videos can also be an effective way to promote your brand. You can dive deeper with interviews, tutorials, or even documentary-style journalism.
Your videos don’t need to be Oscar-worthy to make an impact, but they should be high-quality. Consider investing in audio and video equipment or working with a production company to make sure each video reaches its full potential.
9. Offline marketing
Online marketing may be more important than ever, but your brand still needs high-quality offline marketing assets, too, such as direct mail, print ads, and billboards. These assets can complement your online assets by using similar imagery and concepts.
Events can also serve as an effective form of offline marketing. For example, you can sponsor a festival for local customers or host a networking event for professionals in your industry. Use your social media channels and other online marketing strategies to promote these events.
10. Comprehensive product catalogs
Product catalogs are a vital but often overlooked asset for any brand. An effective product catalog should feature detailed, enticing descriptions of each product, as well as attractive photos and videos of the product in action. Service-based businesses should have similar assets with descriptions of each service offered.
You should have both online and print versions of your catalogs available. While online catalogs are convenient for consumers, there’s something appealing about flipping through a print version. Plus, print copies are ideal for direct mail campaigns or handing out at events.
11. Brand consistency
A consistent brand voice and look are essential for building awareness among consumers. Each of your marketing assets should be instantly recognizable as something from your company.
These assets should also be cohesive and complement one another, rather than clash. Even the smallest details matter here, so using tools like Bitly to create branded links and QR Codes can help create a more seamless look and feel.
One of the most effective ways to ensure consistency in branding is to create a brand guide. This is an internal document that specifies your desired fonts, colors, and aesthetics, as well as your brand’s tone, values, and target audience. Your marketing team can reference this document while creating content to ensure consistency.
12. Digital asset management
A digital asset management (DAM) system helps keep your marketing collateral safe and organized. DAM systems store your ad graphics, copy, marketing videos, social media posts, and any other digital marketing assets you have.
When implemented correctly, a DAM system will ensure that the right team members have access to your marketing assets and can work on them together. This also keeps your assets safe and ensures that outside parties can’t access them. Plus, you can use it to archive old digital assets once they’ve reached the end of their lifespan.
13. Competitor analysis
Your marketing doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it’s important to see how you stack up against your competitors. Regularly conducting thorough competitor analyses will help you determine where you fit into the market. You can use this information to identify new opportunities to get ahead and engage your customers.
A competitor analysis will also help you identify areas of improvement. You’ll see where your competitors are doing well and use that information to adjust your content. The key is not to copy your competitors but to identify how you can surpass them. You can also use this information to set realistic goals for future marketing campaigns.
14. Trackable links
Trackable links are a key component of your marketing strategy, linking your external assets to your website. Bitly helps you create custom trackable links that fit your brand.
With Bitly’s analytics tools, you can track links in real time to identify engagement patterns. You’ll also be able to see which asset each click comes from, which can help you identify the most effective marketing strategies.
15. Brand reputation
Your brand reputation is a free marketing asset that works for you. Word-of-mouth is a powerful tool, especially as your brand is growing. Taking steps to maintain a positive brand reputation will help you attract new customers and keep loyal customers coming back.
To maintain a positive brand reputation, focus on your customer service efforts. This includes publicly responding to negative feedback and working quickly to correct any problems. You can also work with a PR firm when negative press arises.
Use Bitly to make a bigger impact with your marketing strategy
These marketing assets work together to create a comprehensive marketing strategy to draw customers in. It’s important to remember that consumer trends are always changing, so you’ll need to consistently reassess your marketing efforts to determine what works for you.
Tools like Bitly will help you measure and evaluate the efficacy of your marketing strategy. With Bitly’s custom short links and QR Codes, you get deep insights into campaign performance to continuously iterate and improve your marketing efforts.
Check out Bitly today to start leveling up your marketing assets.
