Acquisition channel: which one to choose for the best strategy?

Wanting to generate leads is all well and good, but you still need to use the right acquisition channels for your business. A marketing channel can be perfect for one company and not really suitable for another, at least at some point. We take stock of the different online acquisition channels and explain to you how to choose the one (the) best suited to your business. Let's go!

Acquisition channel: what is it?

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Traditionally, “acquisition” means getting or buying customers in marketing. On the web, it's a bit different: we talk about acquisition to attract new visitors. So the big question is: how do you generate online traffic?

There are six main channels for attracting online traffic, and of course, you can have sub-channels, but all acquisition actions fall into six main categories:

1. The social : Use of social networks and communities.
2. The organic : Natural referencing or SEO.
3. The advertisement : SEA, Display, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, etc.
4. Emailing : Email marketing campaigns.
5. The referral : Traffic from referring sites.
6. The direct : Direct access to the site via the URL.

Each marketing acquisition channel has its own techniques and requires specific experts (such as community managers or traffic managers). Define your acquisition strategy is essential for discovering the best ways to promote your business.

Next, you'll need to test each of these leads to see if they confirm your growth hypotheses. While doing this, always remember to keep an eye on ROI (Return on Investment).

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Focus on the 6 online acquisition channels to choose the right one

#1 acquisition channel: the social

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Using only social networks as a source of acquisition is not a sustainable strategy.

Let me explain: if you stop your social media activities tomorrow, your traffic will disappear. You could say that this is the case for all acquisition sources, but that's not true. In reality, some sources are scalable and automatable. For example, SEO and email marketing continue to generate traffic without additional effort once implemented.

Although it is essential to be present on social networks, there is no need to be an expert or to devote a lot of time to it, especially if your business is not suitable for it.

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💬 Let's take concrete examples : Buzzfeed uses social media almost exclusively to attract traffic to its site. Conversely, Trainline is present on social networks, but does not use them as the main acquisition channel. They prefer to focus on SEO and PR.

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✅ Advantages of social networks as an acquisition channel :

👉Quick to set up.

👉Easy to use : You don't need technical skills (like coding) to use social networks. But be careful, using them effectively requires a certain amount of expertise.

👉Potential for massive traffic generation : Potential buzz.

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⭕️ Disadvantages of social networks as an acquisition channel:

👉Requires constant regularity.

👉Channel difficult to master : risk of bad buzz.

👉Does not work independently : you must constantly create and publish content (texts, videos, images...).

👉Human cost : requires a lot of time.

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#2 acquisition channel: SEO

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Natural referencing (SEO) is a technical but sustainable channel.

When we talk about natural referencing, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or Organic Search, we are referring to site optimization techniques for search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. SEO is based on two pillars:

1. links;
2. the content.

In other words, it is the quality perceived by the search engines of your site or blog. You have to Think about SEO as soon as you create your website, by optimizing its structure, by producing quality content and by obtaining inbound links.

SEO requires technical skills and a good knowledge of the web. To succeed, you must follow the best SEO practices when creating your site and throughout the development of your pages because:

• today it is impossible to do without Google;
• SEO guidelines are often common sense, such as allowing caching;
• reduce server response time, etc.

The best thing is to call on an SEO expert who will have all the keys to make your website a magnet for prospects!

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👉 To choose the right SEO agency that will support you for your SEO strategy, discover the Top 5 best SEO agencies.

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✅ Advantages of SEO as an acquisition channel :

👉Long-lasting strategy : brings constant traffic over the long term.

👉Google Rewards : If you follow best practices, Google will reward you with more traffic.

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⭕️ Disadvantages of natural referencing as an acquisition channel:

👉Long and technical setup : implementation requires time and technical skills.

👉Long-term benefits : the results are generally not seen before 3 months.

👉Human cost : requires a lot of time.

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#3 acquisition channel: advertising campaigns (ads)

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This online acquisition channel includes SEA and other forms of advertising.

SEA (Search Engine Advertising) literally means search engine advertising. In other words, it's the use of commercial links on search engines. In addition to SEA, there are many other paid acquisition methods, such as:

👉 Display : Advertising inserts with images on Google partner sites.

👉 Social Media Ads : Meta ads, Instagram ads, Linkedin ads, TikTok ads...

These ads work differently than ads on search engines. While search engine ads target keywords, social media ads target interests, jobs, tastes, etc.

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Entrepreneurs often see advertising as expensive. However, you need to understand that your time has an associated value and cost. Advertising can provide a lot of value if its cost is well managed. The objective is to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI):

1. How much does it cost to acquire a user for my service?
2. How much does this user earn?

If the cost is less than the earnings, then advertising makes you money.

If you know how to use advertising well, it is a very effective web acquisition channel. Here too, the expertise of a SEA consultant is a smart solution!

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✅ Advantages of ads as an acquisition channel :

👉Very fast : generates traffic quickly.

👉Very targeted : allows you to precisely target your audience.

👉Scalable : can be extended according to the target.

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⭕️ Disadvantages of advertising campaigns as an acquisition channel:

👉Requires good knowledge : it's easy to spend a lot without getting good results.

👉Paying : requires a budget for an advertising campaign, which can be a barrier if you don't have one.

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#4 acquisition channel: emailing

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Emailing is a very particular online traffic acquisition channel for several reasons:

1. Multipurpose : it is not only a simple acquisition channel; it also influences the other metrics of the AARRR framework (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Reference, Revenue).
2. High conversion rate : email campaigns generally have impressive conversion rates.
3. Playground to experiment : it's a fun and rewarding field, offering lots of opportunities for experimentation.
4. Automation : emailing can be almost entirely automated, which makes it a powerful and effective tool.

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👉 Find the best email practices in our article Emailing: 7 examples of (really) effective emails !

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✅ Advantages of emailing as an acquisition channel :

👉Automatable : once set up, it mostly works by itself.

👉High conversion rate : generally higher than other channels, although this depends on your business.

👉Impact on all AARRR metrics : influences all stages of the customer's life cycle.

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⭕️ Disadvantages of emailing as an acquisition channel:

👉Long to set up : requires an initial phase of configuration and planning.

👉Requires a lot of rigor : management and monitoring must be constant and accurate.

👉Requires tools : often chargeable, these tools are essential to effectively manage your campaigns.

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#5 acquisition channel: referral

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Referral is also found in the AARRR framework, but it is a different approach. Here, we're talking about all the sites and forums other than social networks that mention your business. This acquisition channel is a lot like “press relations.”

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⭐️ The Growth Room Council : to start, target specialized sites rather than the big media. You will thus reach a receptive audience, your early adopters. Journalists from major newspapers will write about you if they see mentions elsewhere.

Referral work also means working on your brand, product and reputation.

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✅ Advantages of referral as an acquisition channel :

👉Additional traffic : you take advantage of traffic from other sites to promote yours.

👉Improving SEO : it will bring you additional links, helping in your SEO strategy.

👉Increased notoriety : can positively influence the reputation of your brand among a targeted and receptive audience.

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⭕️ Disadvantages of referral as an acquisition channel:

👉Limited control : You do not control the information that circulates about you.

👉Dependent on content : Requires the constant production of content (text, videos, images...).

👉Human cost : Requires a lot of time and effort.

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The criteria for choosing the right acquisition channel

Finding the right acquisition channels for a business is a fundamental task that is refined over time. You need to test multiple options to find out which ones aren't viable.

Several criteria can help you choose the right acquisition channel:

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1. Your target

Marketing acquisition channels should be chosen according to your target audience. Your audience's habits and preferences determine which channels are the most effective.

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2. Your offer

The nature of your products or services influences your acquisition strategy. Consumer products are suitable for solutions like Facebook advertising or Google Shopping. B2B products are better suited to LinkedIn or SEA advertising. A very complex or niche offer will probably benefit more from SEO.

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3. Your budget

Each acquisition channel has a cost. Online advertising requires an advertising budget, while natural channels (SEO, social networks) involve costs for the creation of websites or content. What budget do you have?

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5. ROI or acquisition cost

You should choose channels that offer a good return on investment (ROI). Attracting numerous customers is only interesting if it generates significant profits. Acquisition cost should be an integral part of your analysis.

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6. Your Business Strategy

Consider your marketing acquisition channels holistically and over the long term. While SEA can offer quick results, SEO has lasting benefits.

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⭐️ The Growth Room Council : Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Why diversify?

👉Avoid addiction : do not rely on a single acquisition channel.

👉Stability and sustainable growth : reduce risks and ensure stable growth.

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💡 Remember that each acquisition channel is constantly changing and should be monitored regularly. There is no SEA advertising that works the same way everywhere, and acquisition costs are never fixed. For example, if a competitor decides to become more aggressive on the same acquisition channel as you, your campaigns may become less effective overnight.

That's it, you know everything, or almost everything... To define the best acquisition channels for your business, the best thing is to use a marketing agency, like Growth Room. Are we talking about it?

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