Do you want to maximize your ROI in an increasingly competitive digital landscape in 2026?
Choosing the right marketing channels is essential. You need top-performing channels that deliver the highest return on your investment, backed by current trends and evolving consumer behavior. However, with so many digital marketing opportunities to choose from, it can feel incredibly difficult to narrow them down.
We’ll help you review the most effective marketing channels and how to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.
1. Email Marketing
Email marketing has often been lauded as one of the highest-ROI marketing channels— and with good reason. On average, email marketing earns $36 for every $1 spent on marketing— one of the highest returns on your investment for marketing solutions.
Email marketing gets your brand directly in front of customers in a location that they already visit on a regular basis. Furthermore, when you build your own email list, you’re connecting with customers who genuinely care about what your brand has to offer and are eager to see what your latest update provides.
Email marketing also offers the ability to highly personalize the content you’re sending out to interested customers. You can craft content tailored to the type of products they’re most interested in, their specific geographic area, and any other factors you use to narrow your target audience. Use email marketing to draw customers back into your sales funnel, following up with them when an extended period of time has gone by without connection or keeping them informed as your product offerings change.
Improve Your Email Marketing
Keeping up your email marketing ROI is challenging in today’s society. Customers are flooded with marketing emails. How can you get them to open and engage with yours? Try some of these strategies:
- Create engaging, intriguing subject lines that encourage them to open their emails.
- Always deliver on expectations— cover the topic customers expect to see covered in the email.
- Offer value with every email so that customers are encouraged to stay on your email list.
These simple strategies can go a long way toward allowing you to maximize the return on your email marketing efforts— and ensure that they aren’t falling into the void.
2. SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is a highly effective way to get real results when you reach out to customers. Messages are delivered instantly to customers on devices they keep close at hand. If customers want to connect with you via text, they can do it on from anywhere, whenever they are ready.
Take a look at the numbers:
- 16x ROI for average Verse customers
- 98% text open rates, which means most customers are actually connecting with the message
- 90-second or less average response time
SMS marketing allows for an even higher level of personalization than other types of marketing. This is because you can collect data about who your customers are and how they’re using your products, then tailor your comments accordingly. Conversations can also help customers get the answers they need quickly and effectively, all without the need to connect directly with a human representative. As a result, their loyalty to your brand improves— at a lower budget point than many of the other customer service options available to you.
How To Use Your SMS Marketing Effectively
There are several strategies to keep in mind if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your SMS marketing. Try:
- Make it easy for customers to sign up or opt out.
- Offer value to customers with each message.
- Keep your messages clear and concise.
- Practice your timing to ensure that you are delivering messages at the right time.
In addition to traditional SMS marketing strategies, look for marketing channels that provide opportunities to make that connection interactive. Customers who actively engage with your brand are more likely to feel a sense of brand loyalty than those who only passively receive those messages. Verse’s AI-powered platform can help with appointment scheduling, engage with leads directly through texting, and more— all through the convenience of the same device customers are using to receive those messages.
3. Short-Form Video Platforms
Short-form video platforms, from Instagram and YouTube Shorts to TikTok, are some of the most popular content sources for many viewers— and that makes them one of the top marketing channels, too. Videos can be used in a variety of ways, depending on your specific industry and what your customers are looking for. Popular videos include:
- Before/after videos
- Instructional videos that quickly show how to accomplish a task
- Answers to FAQs
- Entertaining content
Short-form videos are one of the most popular forms of engagement online. They do not require a great deal of attention or investment on the part of the viewer, which means that many people are content to scroll through them at any time of the day. That means extensive reach and engagement, both of which can help expand your brand and allow you to reach more potential viewers. Furthermore, short-form video content is a quick, low-cost way to reach out to your target market.
Choosing the Right Platform for Short-Form Videos
Choosing the right platform for your short-form videos is essential. You want to ensure that you’re connecting with the members of your target market, so do your research to figure out where to find them. While Gen Z is most commonly found on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, you may find that millennials are more likely to use Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube— and older generations may stick with Facebook. Carefully exploring where you’re most likely to find the members of your target audience can make it easier to maximize your ROI.
4. SEO-Driven Content
Content is still king when it comes to increasing your search engine ranking and ensuring that you are able to reach customers as they look for content about your brand. SEO-driven content starts with a strong understanding of what users are looking for when they engage with your content. Do your keyword research— and not only the direct keyword research, but research into what users are attempting to discover when they connect with your brand.
Remember, keyword research isn’t intended as a constraint! You don’t have to focus on just those terms or stuff your content full of keywords in order to raise your search ranking. Instead, focus on adding value to customers based on what they’re actually searching for.
Short-Form vs Long-Form Content
Both short-form and long-form content have immense value. In many cases, you may want your website to include a mix of both. Short-form content can be perfect for answering FAQs, highlighting new products, or offering information about sales and promotions. Longer-form content, on the other hand, gives a more in-depth look at the answers to common questions, the products you offer, and so much more.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different content types. Keep in mind that long-form content has the potential to help more with SEO, especially since it can address more important terms— but don’t be afraid to publish shorter pieces, either.
5. Paid Social Ads
Organic social media content reaches out to viewers naturally. They connect with it as they engage with other relevant content. Paid content, on the other hand, increases your ability to get your content in front of viewers who are likely to be interested in it.
Social media content is a great way to reach customers on platforms that they’re already using. You can highly target your content to make it easier to reach out to your ideal audience—and often, it provides quick results, driving traffic to your website or your social media pages as soon as your campaign goes live.
Crafting Content for Social Media
Attention span on social media can be incredibly short, which means that you need short-form, engaging content that keeps customers on your page. Try some of these strategies:
- Use video content to increase engagement.
- Incorporate a range of creative styles as you work to see which content actually engages your customers.
- Regularly test and analyze the styles, content, and solutions that resonate most with users.
In addition, strive to tailor your content to the platform you’re posting it on. It can be tempting to use the same content across platforms. However, by tailoring it to the specifications of each platform and the preferences of its users, you’ll often find that you see better results.
Start 2026 By Refining Your Marketing Channels for Success
If you’re ready to improve your marketing efforts for 2026—and see the return you need on your investment—these platforms are some of your top options.
Check out Verse and how we can take your SMS marketing to the next level. Our solution can help you make the most of your marketing leads with fast outreach. Request a demo or check out our self-serve demo center.
FAQ: Top Marketing Channels in 2026
1. What is the most cost-effective marketing channel in 2026?
The most cost-effective marketing channel will depend on your business, but all five of the sources discussed in this blog rank highly in terms of cost-effectiveness: email marketing, SMS marketing, SEO-driven content, and social media marketing and ads.
2. Why is SMS marketing gaining popularity?
SMS marketing is highly effective due to its immediacy and visibility. With 98% open rates, SMS allows for personalized, two-way conversations that drive higher engagement and conversion rates. Platforms like Verse also enable AI-driven texting to scale those interactions efficiently.
3. What’s the difference between SMS marketing and email marketing?
Email marketing is often better for detailed content and newsletters, while SMS is ideal for short, timely, and high-priority messages. SMS typically has faster open and response rates, making it ideal for urgent updates or lead follow-up.
4. How do short-form video platforms help with marketing?
Platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels help brands increase reach and engagement with low-cost, high-impact visual content. These videos perform well because they are quick, easy to digest, and often go viral, helping brands grow organically and build strong connections with audiences.
5. What kind of content improves SEO in 2026?
SEO-driven content in 2026 should focus on intent-based search, meaning it answers the “why” behind a search query. Both short-form (e.g., FAQs, how-tos) and long-form content (e.g., pillar pages, guides) have value, especially when focused on user intent, keyword strategy, and delivering actual value.
6. What are paid social ads, and why are they effective?
Paid social ads are sponsored posts shown to targeted audiences on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. They’re effective because they allow highly specific targeting, instant visibility, and scalable results—ideal for driving traffic, awareness, and conversions quickly.
7. How does Verse help with SMS marketing?
Verse provides a conversational SMS platform powered by AI, enabling businesses to send timely, relevant, and two-way messages that engage customers. It helps automate responses, qualify leads, and route conversations—all while improving engagement and reducing response time.
