It’s no secret that I’m crazy about unicorns – not the mythical creatures found near rainbows, but the marketing kind. You might be wondering, what exactly is a marketing unicorn? It’s a campaign so incredibly successful that it ranks in the top 1-3% of all campaigns. These campaigns are so potent that despite their rarity, they contribute almost half the value of your overall marketing efforts. For instance, here on the nexus-security blog, our top 50 articles generate as much traffic as thousands of our less successful ones (the marketing donkeys, as I like to call them). This phenomenon is what I call the Unicorn Marketing Power Law.

This is precisely why, as a marketer or business owner, you absolutely need to uncover your own unicorns and leverage them to the fullest. Believe me, there are unicorns hiding in every nook and cranny of the online marketing world – unicorn ads, unicorn blog posts, unicorn webinars, you name it. These are the campaigns with off-the-charts click-through rates, conversion rates, open rates, and engagement rates. The secret? Once you find a unicorn, replicate it! If an idea or a piece of creative content excels in one online marketing channel, chances are it will be a hit in your other channels as well. As I always say, you have to go all in on your unicorns. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time this past year experimenting with different online marketing strategies. Below, I’m sharing the cream of the crop – my top 10 online marketing strategies that will help you create and exploit unicorns for maximum impact. Take a look and don’t forget to share! Below, I delve a little deeper into each of these 10 strategies, covering areas like SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media marketing, remarketing, and more.

My 10 Most Unicorn-Worthy Online Marketing Strategies

#1. Shoot for Sky-High Organic Click-Through Rates

Does organic CTR really make a difference? Absolutely! It’s more crucial now than ever! If you’re serious about competing in the new SEO reality, you need to boost your click-through rates and other engagement factors. Here’s our approach:

• Identify content that has an average or lower-than-expected CTR for its ranking position
• Scrap those dull titles and experiment with captivating, relatable headlines that promise value
• Ensure a better intent match to minimize bounce rate and pogo-sticking
• Bonus: Data suggests increasing your CTR can also boost your rankings!

#2. Target Super-High Ad Click-Through Rates

CTR isn’t just important for SEO (obviously). It’s also a game-changer for paid ads, as ads with high engagement rates secure better placements at a lower cost per click on platforms like Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, and practically every other platform. Here’s the lowdown on raising your ad CTR:

• Tactics like Dynamic Keyword Insertion are uninspiring and won’t create unicorn ads
• The most effective ads, those with the highest CTR, zero in on four key emotions: anger, disgust, affirmation, and fear
• Bonus: High CTR ads typically enjoy high conversion rates as well!

#3. Rethink Everything You Thought You Knew about Conversion Rate Optimization

Get ready for a reality check because the traditional A/B test is often a misleading fairy tale. We tend to get overly excited about initial leads, only to see them vanish over time. This is often because the test either lacked statistical significance, or people were initially drawn to the novelty, but the effect was short-lived. Here are a few more CRO truth bombs for you:

• While aggressive CRO can increase lead quantity, it often comes at the expense of lead quality
• To truly move the needle, transform your offer into something truly irresistible
• Brand familiarity significantly impacts conversions – so give remarketing a try!

#4. Remarketing Is Effective … But Have You Tried Super Remarketing?

You’ve probably noticed (who hasn’t?) that in today’s online marketing landscape, getting your content noticed is becoming increasingly challenging. The competition is fierce! This means everyone’s attention is being pulled in countless directions. But don’t despair, aspiring unicorns!

• With a well-crafted social ad strategy, you can get your content in front of your ideal audience for pennies
• Utilize social media remarketing to double or even triple your engagement
• Take it to the next level with Super Remarketing: the dynamic combination of remarketing, demographics, behaviors, and highly engaging content

#5. Hack RLSA for an Explosion of Leads

Standard RLSA can feel a bit like a sleight of hand: You’re essentially handpicking your cheapest leads from a larger pool. Sure, you’re saving money, but your lead volume takes a nosedive! And most of us want more leads, not fewer, right? We’re after both higher lead volume AND lower costs.

Here’s how to use RLSA to achieve both, also known as Operation Lead Explosion:

• To reduce your cost per lead while simultaneously boosting volume in competitive markets, try Super RLSA!
• Increase brand preference by using social ads to significantly expand your cookie pool

#6. Reclaim Your Facebook Organic Reach

Let’s face it, Facebook organic reach is dismal. In fact, we recently discovered it’s even worse than we initially thought! But here’s the silver lining: you can actually recover your reach! Here’s how:

• Utilize preferred audience targeting to target your organic posts strategically, much like ads
• Deploy Larry’s Unicorn Detector Pyramid Scheme
• Invite users who actively engage with your content to follow your page
• Post video content for significantly higher engagement rates – the key to unlocking organic reach

#7. Outmaneuver Your Competition!

Give these smart competitive advertising strategies a shot:

• Target users whose interests align with your competitors
• Disrupt your competitors’ videos by strategically placing YouTube ads
• Leverage your competitors’ brand names for keyword targeting in your Gmail Ads
• Download and target your competitors’ Twitter followers

#8. Use Social Ads to Make a Splash with Influencers

Not a household name yet? No worries!

Here are some incredibly effective ways to use social ads to position yourself as a major player:

• Boost awareness of your personal brand by targeting your ads to specific employees and companies
• Craft a compelling guest post for an influencer, then promote and amplify it for maximum impact
• Tag your favorite influencer and launch an engagement campaign
• Become a trending story on LinkedIn Pulse

#9. Unlock the True Potential of Twitter Lead Generation Campaigns

Forget everything Twitter tells you about running lead generation campaigns – it’s completely off base! Do this instead:

• Twitter Lead Generation Cards look too much like ads and you end up paying for worthless engagements
• Steer clear of automatic bidding – it’s a surefire way to overspend
• Instead, use humorous images, emojis, advanced targeting options, and don’t forget to track your conversions!

#10. Become a Medium Publishing Master

There are countless benefits to republishing your content on Medium – like reaching a much larger audience with minimal effort. Here’s how to maximize your impact on the platform:

• Don’t just republish your content – make it go viral! Include a powerful image immediately after your headline

• Promote your post – if you can get 200 hearts in a day, your article will trend, sending your pageviews soaring
• Follow users who engage with your content to grow your audience So there you have it – my all-time favorite online marketing strategies of the year, all of which I plan on using in the coming year as well. Now it’s your turn to go out there and find your own unicorns!

Top 10 Online Marketing Strategies [Summary]:

1. Increase your organic click-through rates for more search traffic and improved rankings.
2. Improve your paid search ad CTR to dramatically lower your costs.
3. Challenge conventional conversion rate “wisdom”: Focus on offering something irresistible and build brand familiarity through remarketing.
4. Use a combination of social remarketing, demographic and behavior data, and high-engagement content.
5. Take advantage of Google RLSA – Remarketing Lists for Search Ads.
6. Optimize your Facebook strategy to boost your organic reach.
7. Outsmart your competition with clever competitive advertising strategies.
8. Use social ads to establish connections with influencers.
9. Disregard Twitter’s advice and master the most effective way to generate leads through Twitter ads.
10. Republish your content on Medium for significantly more exposure.