crosspromoting

Cross-promoting, or cross-promotion, is a marketing tactic in which two or more brands or products collaborate to promote each other to their respective audiences. It can occur across channels, including social media, email, websites, podcasts, apps, and events, and may be reciprocal, paid, or hosted content.

Forms of cross-promotion include mutual social-media mentions or posts, co-branded content, guest appearances, podcast ad swaps, newsletter cross-promotions, in-app recommendations, and links or banners on partner sites. These arrangements leverage each brand’s audience to gain broader exposure and credibility.

Benefits include broader reach at relatively low cost, enhanced credibility through aligned brands, accelerated audience growth, and improved engagement. Cross-promotions can introduce products to complementary audiences and support launch campaigns or seasonal promotions.

Risks involve mismatched audiences or values, audience fatigue, overexposure, perceived inauthenticity, and measurement complexity. Legal and disclosure considerations, such as endorsements or partnership agreements, should be addressed to maintain trust and compliance.

Best practices include selecting partners with compatible audiences and goals, defining clear objectives and success metrics, and agreeing on creative guidelines and disclosure. Use trackable links, UTM parameters, and analytics to monitor reach, engagement, and conversions. Plan timing to avoid clashing campaigns and ensure content remains relevant and valuable to both audiences.

Cross-promotion is commonly used by small businesses, media publishers, and podcast networks as part of broader marketing strategies, and can be scaled from simple swaps to formal sponsorships.