Elon Musk is now the richest man in History, and he certainly didn’t get where he is without marketing.
Although he doesn’t rely on traditional strategies to grow his empire, he relies heavily on content marketing strategies.
Let’s analyze how Elon Musk managed to promote his empire, using content marketing. And memes. Lots of memes.
Tesla spends $0 on advertising
You have never seen a Tesla ad.
– Why?
Because Tesla is spending 0$ on advertising.
– Why?
They don’t need to.
However, you have seen ads, lot of ads, by Tesla’s competitors such as Porsche, Audi, or Mercedes.
So how did Tesla manage to become the world’s most valuable automaker without spending a single penny on advertisement?
Well, it’s not that Tesla doesn’t invest in marketing, they simply don’t spend money on advertisement, and the two aren’t the same thing.
Instead of using advertisement, Tesla tries to get people to talk about their products through other methods, such as Content Marketing.
The best example?
On the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, back in 2018, Musk put his Tesla Roadster on board. Genius move.
Elon Musk’s Empire Use of Content Marketing
Content marketing is basically when a company creates content with the goal of generating leads, sales, or brand awareness.
Tesla, for example, makes all sorts of videos showing off their cars; it sometimes partners with YouTube channels and, most importantly, it creates content that gets people engaged with the product during all phases.
It’s not all just videos and images, though.
One of the greatest examples of Elon Musk using content marketing is his personal Twitter account.
Musk reaches millions of fans every day. And in between dozens of memes he shares to keep his name on the press, he also lets out a few details about his products that get fans hyped up.
For Musk, the tweets are the content, and he uses them in the best way possible to promote his business and personal brand.
Elon knows that it’s not enough to build an amazing product. Everything around it, from the ecosystem, the fans, the community, make or break a great company.
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
— Seth Godin
Tesla’s job is to make sure that people are talking about Tesla at all times. They have managed to create this image of a futuristic tech/automobile company that is changing the world as we know it, and they did it all through untraditional marketing strategies.
Whether it’s taking a Tesla to space, getting people to talk about your product on Twitter, or having a group of raving fans on Reddit, the end result is the same:
Your brand gets talked about by people interested in the product, without having to sit through a 15-second paid ad.
Instead, you get to watch Elon’s 3-hour interview with Joe Rogan.
Marketing Strategies Used by Elon Musk
Elon Musk has used more than a few marketing strategies to promote his brands. The most prominent one would have to be his use of word-of-mouth marketing.
Elon Musk makes sure that all of his products give customers the best experience imaginable. Everything – from researching the product, to the buying experience, to the updates after buying the car.
This not only gives him loyal customers, but it also leads customers to recommend these products to their friends and family. If you know a Tesla owner, odds are, they probably can’t shut up about how great their car is.
Similarly, Musk uses this strategy for people who don’t even have Teslas, and he does this through content marketing.
Why? Because it’s not just about sales and conversion. Brand awareness and virality of the content are also marketing objectives.
Throughout his career, Elon Musk has managed to amass a legion of fans who basically defend his products under all circumstances. They’re actively promoting his products for him.
When they do, they’re exposing their friends and family to those features as well. This is not something everyone can pull off, but it’s certainly something Elon Musk has down to a tee.
Musk did let go of traditional means of marketing – TV, billboards, or print.
But he embraced a different kind of marketing. Memes.
The Use of Memes and Self-Marketing
Memes are an integral part of the internet, and they also happen to be an integral part of Elon’s success as a brand.
Musk has successfully marketed himself as an easily-approachable “cool guy” who posts memes online, dates supermodels, reply to tweets, and drives the coolest cars that he makes himself.
This image is far removed from what Elon Musk was like in the 90s: a nerdy, tech guy who got lucky off a company sale.
These days, all sorts of companies have managed to use the status of memes on the internet. Check out any major brand’s Twitter page, and you’ll notice that they’ll have posted all sorts of memes about their products – and sometimes even poking fun at themselves.
Elon Musk was almost a pioneer in this style of marketing.
And he used memes not only to market the brands he owns but also to market himself.
This way, the success of Tesla would automatically translate to the success of, say, SpaceX or Neuralink. And whatever comes next.
It can be hard to keep up with all the different ways in which you can market your company and your products.
But one thing is clear, the traditional means of advertising are simply not enough anymore. And to truly grow your business or company in this age, you need to take advantage of content marketing. And dogecoin memes.
What do you think is the smartest marketing strategy Elon Musk uses?
