What is Indirect Marketing?

Let’s kick things off with a definition:

Indirect marketing focuses on building brand awareness and relationships with potential customers, rather than directly selling a product or service. It assumes that customers will make a purchase decision over time, not immediately.

For instance, when we need something like headphones, we usually research, ask around, and compare before making a purchase. On the other hand, direct marketing aims to get customers to buy immediately through channels like cold emails, direct mail, and ads.

The types of Indirect Marketing

Indirect marketing can be categorized into:

1. Public relations (PR) PR

PR is about making a brand look good by handling how it’s talked about in the media and by the public. Ways to do this include doing things that are interesting to the media, answering journalist’s questions, preparing press releases, getting to know writers, and doing PR stunts.

Here’s an example where Ahrefs got mentioned on TechCrunch:

This happened because we had:

1. An exciting event to share (“We’re creating a search engine!”).
2. Connections with journalists.

2. SEO

SEO is when you make your website better so it shows up higher on Google. You want people to find your website when they search for certain words. Like if they look for your brand, your website should pop up:

However, no one will look for your brand if they don’t even know it exists. That’s why, besides improving your homepage, you should also focus on using keywords that your customers are looking for.

At Ahrefs, we focus on making content that addresses the issues our potential customers face. When someone types that keyword into Google, they’ll come across our content, which leads them to our product and brand.

Keep doing this over and over, and you’ll reach hundreds, if not thousands, of people with your brand.

3. Social media

Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and connecting with your audience. By creating engaging content on platforms like Twitter and TikTok, you can attract followers and strengthen relationships.

Ahrefs consistently provides valuable SEO and marketing advice to their audience.

The pros and cons of indirect marketing

Pros

1. It generates demand and awareness

Indirect marketing has the potential to create demand and increase awareness for your brand. Why is this important?

Well, not everyone is ready to make a purchase right away. Many potential customers may not even realize they have a need, or they may not be aware of your product or service.

Direct marketing may only reach a small group of people who are already interested in buying, so you need a way to reach a wider audience. Indirect marketing can help you do that.

2. It is less “aggressive”

Potential clients actively look for information that can assist them in resolving issues. Additionally, strategies in indirect marketing typically do not include directly contacting individuals.

Cons

1. It takes a lot of time

Building a brand doesn’t happen overnight. It also takes time to gather 100,000 followers. Developing relationships with journalists is a process that requires patience. And climbing up the ranks on Google is a gradual journey as well.

Understanding that customers require time to make a purchase also means acknowledging that building a relationship with them is a gradual process.

2. It is hard to track and to measure

Life can throw a wrench in anyone’s plans. You’ve probably been there—looking into something to buy, then putting it on the back burner for years before finally deciding to go for it. Your customers go through the same thing. This makes it tricky to figure out which indirect marketing strategy actually led to a sale. But just because you can’t trace it back doesn’t mean indirect marketing isn’t effective; it just means it’s hard to pinpoint.