What is the best marketing strategy in 2019?

No single "best" marketing strategy existed in 2019 — effectiveness always came down to business stage, target audience, and a clear measurable goal. @taylor_jackson asked for a single answer; the replies (notably @HarbalRock) named many useful tactics and @Dani reminded readers that trends evolve. Those tactics are tools, not a strategy: a strategy is a prioritized plan that links one clear objective to one or two testable channels and measurable outcomes.

A compact decision framework that would have worked in 2019 (and still reads well later):

1. Pick one north‑star metric (trial→paid rate, MRR growth, AOV) and one buyer persona.
2. Map the customer journey and identify the single highest‑leverage funnel bottleneck.
3. Run short, hypothesis‑driven experiments on one primary channel and one secondary channel; measure conversion at each funnel step and the unit economics (CAC vs LTV).

Execution notes and common gaps from the thread: repurpose long assets into short video, email sequences, and ad creatives to stretch budget; focus on creative-message fit before scaling spend; use lightweight automation for lifecycle messaging but defer complex chatbots until core conversion is proven. Measurement matters: instrument UTM tagging, validate tracking, run cohort/LTV checks, and use consistent attribution windows. Privacy rules (GDPR/CCPA in 2019) should inform data collection and targeting.

Quick troubleshooting checklist: when tests fail, verify traffic quality, landing page clarity, creative relevance, sample size, and tracking integrity. Stop or scale decisions must be driven by unit economics, not vanity metrics. In short, the thread’s tactics are all valid when selected through a disciplined, metric‑first process rather than adopted as a checklist.