Digital marketing can be categorized into two main approaches: push and pull.
The end goal of both push and pull marketing is to attract and retain customers. Push marketing involves getting your message out to the world by any means necessary.
This is where the contrast between push and pull marketing comes in. Pull marketing is only concerned with creating the best content possible.
When people like your content, they will listen to what your brand has to say. They may even let you sell them something down the line.
This guide breaks down the differences between push vs pull marketing.
Push marketing
Let’s get the basics out of the way before we go any further.
What is push marketing?
It is a strategy where businesses actively push their products, services, and messages directly to customers.
You don’t wait for customers to come to you; you actively reach out to them instead, find them where they cannot ignore you.
The aim is to get your offer in front of as many eyes as possible, even if they’re not actively looking for it just then. So, push marketing is placing your message where people cannot miss it.
The great thing about push marketing campaigns is that they’re easy to scale.
They’re designed to grab attention and encourage action. The action could be anything, from purchases, to info requests, to website visits.
The most common types of push marketing channels are as follows. (Don’t worry, we’ll look at examples of each further down).
- TV and radio ads
- Print ads
- Social media ads
- Email marketing
- Direct marketing
By constantly being in front of potential customers, the hope is for the message to generate a sale.
But naturally, you will ask, is there any upside to push marketing? Won’t “getting in your customer’s face” drive them away? Let’s take a deeper look.
The benefits of push marketing
When you market through channels like ads, emails, or mailings, you get awareness. People now know about it even if they were not looking for your offering. Here are the four main benefits that push marketing nets you.
1. Lead generation
The biggest benefit is lead generation. By actively pushing out marketing, you identify people who are interested in what you sell.
This is true even if they haven’t come looking for you yet. You can bookmark these leads for your sales team to target later.
2. Brand awareness
Repeated exposure builds brand recognition. People build a mental connection with you as they continue to see your message, logo, or product.
Even if they don’t want to buy your product now, in the future when they do, they’ll be biased towards your brand.
3. Fast reach
With push marketing, your exposure is immediate. You don’t have to wait around to see results, they’re pretty instant.
And it’s proven to work. There is a reason why most brands use social media ads to announce their newest products.
4. The option to target
Many people don’t pick up on this aspect of push vs. pull marketing: push marketing can also be targeted at a specific audience.
It may sound counterintuitive, but it really is not.
Here is an example. Social media and email marketing allow for the focus on specific demographics or interests.
But honestly, enough with the theory dump—let’s take a look at real-life examples. We’ll show you a few push marketing strategies so you can better understand them.
Push marketing strategies
1. TV and radio ads
Think of any memorable TV ad you remember, such as the “Hotel? Trivago” ad for example.
Everyone remembers the tune — you’re probably singing along in your head right now.
So, the best practices are obvious. Grab attention with a catchy jingle or memorable image. Keep it short and sweet, highlighting key benefits. Target specific programs or channels to reach your ideal audience.
2. Print ads
Surely everyone remembers the Tide detergent newspaper adverts. If the clothes are bright and shiny, it’s got to be a Tide ad.
So, use high-quality visuals and strong headlines to grab attention in a crowded space. Offer clear calls to action, like a website visit or discount code.
3. Social media ads
We’ve all seen them — they’re everywhere. Indeed, this channel, like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter ads, hardly needs to be explained.
The key benefit of these lies in their visual/ graphical nature.
It’s become even easier these days, because parent group Meta owns most major social platforms.
As a result, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp ads can all be controlled from a single place.
Source: Screenshot
Now, while social media ads are powerful, you might be a little hesitant about directly promoting your offers. But remember – you can make these ads feel friendly and relatable, even at a large scale. Here’s how.
One of the most effective ad types on Facebook is the dynamic product catalog ad. It automatically shows the right products to people who are most likely to be interested. That’s classic push marketing. But what if you could also add a layer of familiarity on top of these ads?
Doing it manually is tiring, frustrating, and expensive. That’s where we come in. We can add a layer of personalization to your ads. Here’s an example.
We’d be delighted to explain how exactly we’ve delivered a 37% improvement in return on ad spend to our clients.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing strategy needs to be balanced very carefully. You cannot be too promotional, but you cannot have promotional materials.
Here is a great example of an email marketing campaign. It provides the perfect mix of promotional offers and valuable content.
Source: Screenshot
As you can see below, the email tells the user what other movies are playing as well. Good balance of promos and value.
Source: Screenshot
Email marketing is so popular that every brand is vying for the same attention in someone’s inbox! This makes it harder to get your emails noticed and responded (or clicked). Difficult but not impossible. In fact, even ‘difficult’ can become ‘easy’ when you have the right technology on your side. We can help you go from struggling for attention to making your emails a must-read. Here’s an example of an email that is simply too good to ignore.
This isn’t just talk – we’ve helped our clients achieve incredible email marketing results. Want a taste of what we can do for you? Book a free consultation, and we’ll share how we’ve transformed email marketing for other businesses.
5. Direct Marketing
Direct push marketing comes in three flavors. The first one, that is slowly losing popularity, is direct mail. Not direct email — good old-fashioned post. Think about the flyers that used to be slipped under the door and booklets from supermarkets. Home delivery restaurants and eateries still use these.
The second one is in-store promotions. Examples of direct push marketing include free samples, free trials, and in-person discounts.
Lastly, we have trade shows, events, and exhibitions. These are live events, usually specific to an industry. They are held at a large venue that has good footfall. There, many different businesses set up “stalls”. From these stalls, they network with potential customers and partners.
And with that, we can wrap up the basics section on push marketing. Next up, pull.
Pull marketing
Now, we’ll examine the basics of pull. Then, we’ll confidently demonstrate the differences between push and pull marketing.
What is pull marketing
A strategy where businesses focus on attracting customers to come to them.
This is the key difference between push vs pull marketing. Push was about casting a super-wide net and reaching the maximum number of people. Pull marketing is a complete flip.
You’d create content, products, and services that make people want to learn more or buy on their own. This approach relies on building a strong brand and offering value, lots of value.
Here’s how pull marketing works.
1. Valuable Content
You create informative and engaging content. Common examples are blog posts, videos, or social media shares.
These address your target audience’s needs and interests. In time, consistent content establishes you as a thought leader and builds trust.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The next aspect is optimizing your content for easy online findability. You optimize your website and content to rank higher in search engine results. When people search for things in your niche, your content appears organically.
Why is this important? You could sell shovels during a gold rush, but they won’t come to you if people don’t know that.
3. Social Media Engagement
You share valuable content and participate in conversations relevant to your industry, positioning yourself as a helpful resource. As a result, you attract potential customers who are already interested in what you have to offer.
Naturally, your next ask is going to be “Does pull marketing have any benefits?” And if yes, does it have any benefits over push marketing?. Let’s find out, shall we?
The benefits of pull marketing
1. Builds credibility
By providing valuable content, you position yourself as an expert. People are more likely to do business with someone they trust and see as knowledgeable. Why? Customers feel they are making informed decisions based on quality info.
When the alternative is having ads shoved down their throat, the choice is clear for them.
Additionally, the more valuable content you put out on the web, the better your SEO will get. The better your SEO gets, the more people see your brand. It’s a compounding cycle, but you do need to put in the work.
2. Attracts qualified leads
The second major benefit of pull marketing is that all your leads are high-quality. You focus exclusively on customers who have already shown interest in your product.
Buyers approach because they already have an interest or need. This means they are more likely to engage and buy.
For example, say someone googles “healthy meal prep”. You provide meal prep deliveries. Now, assume your website has several helpful blog posts on the topic.
The searcher would like your website more than someone browsing and seeing a random ad.
3. Long-term relations
Pull marketing channels are excellent for building long-term relationships with your customers. Customers appreciate the helpful information you provide for free.
They feel valued beyond just making a purchase.
This encourages repeat business and can turn them into brand advocates. What does this mean? Customers who found you through pull efforts will usually become repeat purchasers.
Additionally, they will also be more inclined to recommend your brand to their circles, and the process repeats.
4. Cost-effective
Granted, some initial investment is required to create high-quality content. However, pull marketing is a whole lot more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods.
Good content continues to attract customers without the need for ongoing ad spending.
How?
You only need to publish the content once. Once that is done, that one piece of content will continue to attract future customers. The best part is that no additional spending is needed.
5. Measurable results
With pull marketing, you get the ability to track your KPIs from the get-go. This allows you to see what’s working and what’s not.
Then, you can use all this data to change or modify your campaign to get the desired results.
Metrics like website traffic, engagement, and leads generated are all available instantly.
And with the benefits explained, let’s look at real-life examples of pull marketing strategies.
Pull marketing strategies
1. Content marketing
The most important pull marketing strategies are content creation and the marketing of said content. Really, it’s only a two-part process.
- A brand creates content and puts the content on the web.
- Customers find the content and are pulled into the brand’s website.
Thus, they build a connection with the brand, a lasting one.
People very commonly look for solutions to their problems online. That is why a good how-to guide can be the start of a great customer relationship. An example of this particular situation is the YouTube channel “You suck at cooking“.
Source: Screenshot
Remember, building an audience before pushing any promotional materials is key.
2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The second most powerful pull marketing strategy is to optimize the content you create for search engines. This process is known as search engine optimization.
Here’s a very common situation that illustrates how good SEO practices can help you get found more easily on the web.
A company creates helpful articles on its website. These articles answer common questions people have related to your business.
When someone searches for these topics, your website will appear in the search results. The better (and more voluminous) your content, the higher you’ll rank without spending a dime.
3. Social media marketing
A brand uses platforms like Instagram or Facebook to further its pull marketing efforts. The brand shares interesting content, interacts with followers, and responds to comments. This builds a community around the brand and draws customers in.
Thus, as the followers engage more with the brand, more of its content is shown to them. When the audience is large enough, the brand starts posting promotional content.
As you can see, almost every tool can be used for push or pull marketing efforts. You decide which one to use and how much of each.
This begs the question: Is one better than the other? What is the real differentiator between push and pull marketing? And that is exactly what we’re going to answer next.
Push vs pull marketing
Now that you’ve learned about the basics, benefits, and examples, we’ll pit one against the other.
Push vs pull marketing differences.
It can get muddling, with all the similarities between the two. Thus, let’s jump right into the differences between push vs pull marketing.
That is why we’ve made a simple table summarizing the differences between the two.
| # | Feature | Push Marketing | Pull Marketing |
| 1 | Direction of Communication | Pushes messages out to a broad audience | Creates content that pulls interested audiences in |
| 2 | Focus | Short-term sales, immediate conversions | Building long-term customer relationships |
| 3 | Target Audience | Broad, may include uninterested people | Targeted, reaches people already interested |
| 4 | Examples | TV commercials, email blasts, telemarketing | Content marketing, SEO, social media marketing |
| 5 | Cost | Typically more expensive (ad space, printing) | Can be less expensive (focus on content creation) |
| 6 | Engagement | Lower, may annoy some viewers | Higher, attracts genuinely interested people |
| 7 | Measurement | Easier to track immediate conversions | Can be harder to track specific results |
Now that you’ve learned about the differences in push vs. pull marketing, it’s time to answer the money question.
Is push or pull marketing more effective?
There’s no single winner in the push vs. pull marketing battle. It really depends on your goals and what you’re selling.
Push marketing can be a good fit for the following situations:
- Launching a new product and generating quick awareness.
- Reaching a large audience fast, especially if your target market is broad.
- Running short-term sales or promotions.
However, push marketing can have drawbacks:
- It can be expensive, especially for traditional advertising methods.
- The message might not resonate with everyone.
- Also, repeat ads could end up potentially annoying some viewers.
- Building trust and long-term relationships can be difficult.
Pull marketing shines in these areas:
- Building brand loyalty and establishing yourself as an expert.
- Attracting qualified leads who are already interested in what you offer.
- Creating a more cost-effective marketing strategy in the long run.
That said, pull marketing might not be ideal for these aspects.
- Urgent situations where you need immediate results.
- Reaching a very broad audience (it targets those already interested).
- In many cases, the best approach is a combination of both.
Use push marketing for initial awareness and short-term goals. Then, reel people in with valuable content and build long-term relationships through pull marketing.
This one-two punch is proven to have been very effective. We see no reason for that to change anytime soon.
And with that, we finish the push vs pull marketing sections.
Best practices
We’re not done yet. Next up is a bonus section that will help improve both your push and pull marketing campaigns.
Tips for effective push marketing campaigns
1. Target your audience from day one
Don’t waste resources blasting your message to every Tom, Dick, and Harry around. But isn’t that the point of push marketing? To get seen by as many people as possible? Yes — and no.
For example, if you are selling senior citizen cruises, you wouldn’t advertise at a strip mall in L.A., would you?
You’d be better off targeting nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospices.
2. Have one clear CTA
CTA is shorthand for “Call to Action”. This is the action that you want your user to take after looking at your push marketing effort.
Too often, brands show the user multiple CTAs. As a result, they get overwhelmed and don’t follow through with any of the CTAs.
3. Use action verbs, and use strong ones.
When designing your ads, keep this point in mind. Here is a list of strong action verbs you can use in your CTAs.
4. Personalize
People respond better to messages that feel relevant to them. Personalize your push marketing using customer data like name, location, or job title where possible.
Tips for effective pull marketing campaigns.
1. Give your content priority
80% of your pull marketing depends on your content’s value. Give upfront conclusions; don’t ramble on too long. Please don’t make the viewer wait for what they came for. Also, use infographics where possible.
2. Don’t ignore SEO
A lot of people choose not to do keyword research — don’t be one of them. Target keywords that are specific to your niche or product. Include these keywords wherever you can.
Look up relevant hashtags on social media and use them in your image captions. Tools like Ubersuggest and Semrush are free and can significantly help increase your reach.
3. Stick to a schedule
Develop a regular content creation schedule and stick to it. This makes you seem like a reliable source of information.
When an audience knows your posting schedule, they stay engaged. Experiment with different content formats to cater to diverse learning styles.
4. Data is your friend
Monitor key performance indicators that affect your campaign. Some common ones include impressions, reach, conversions, lead generation, and website traffic.
Conclusion
Email marketing and social media advertising can complement your pull strategy perfectly. Admittedly, these are push marketing tools. However, they do go very well together with good content. That is the reason why newsletters are so well-received.
If you’re looking for a company that can assist with personalized email marketing and social media ads, look no further than RetainIQ.
And with that, we come to the end of this article on push vs pull marketing. You started with the basics of both push and pull marketing.
We showed you push and pull marketing examples.
You learned about pull and push marketing strategies. In the end, you learned to identify key differences between the two.
We hope you found this guide useful, and we’ll see you in the next one.