Marketing for startups is different from conventional marketing. This is because startups should be using marketing to test ideas about their market and learn.
At the same time, generally, a startup business won’t have a huge budget to spend on marketing and will likely have a smaller team. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do well in marketing. Your campaigns just need to be well-planned and methodical.
Digital marketing has changed the game for startups. The internet has provided businesses with an affordable means to reach their audience. This is far better for the budget than traditional marketing methods.
Digital marketing is also well suited for startups that need to generate demand for their products. When we talk about ‘building demand’ we mean startups who solve problems that businesses have but to which they don’t even know there is a solution. The most disruptive startups all have this challenge.
Digital marketing lets them push messages in front of their target buyers explaining that there is a solution to their problem!
Content Marketing
Creating quality content like blogs, guides, infographics, and ebooks is critical to positioning your company as a thought leader. You can also include downloadable content that users can take away with them to read later. By using these to solve problems for your users, you will add value to their browsing experience.
Ensure that consumers are returning to you as a trusted resource for information. To do this, consider what your specific audience is searching for. Create content to answer their questions and provide a positive experience with your company.
As users consume your content, they become more qualified leads.
Host your content on your website. Your website should act as a portfolio for what your company has to offer. This is a great way to keep track of your leads, track conversions and gather contact data. Website CMS offers analytic tools to measure your success.
When creating and adding content to your website, ensure that you’re using SEO. By optimizing your content for search engines, you ensure your content is accessible to a relevant audience. Search engines do favor more recognized businesses. However, they will identify content that suits a specific topic or audience. Ensure your buyer personas are distinct and accurate, and tailor content to suit this.
Video Marketing
Video is a versatile and engaging content format, It can potentially provide a big return on investment. Good video content can serve your business just as much as blogs and guides. They are also a more efficient way of delivering information to your users.
Multimedia content is preferred online. Search engines rank multimedia content higher, and users prefer consuming it. Video can explain complex ideas more clearly, which serves your leads better.
Use video to build a face for your brand. Users will form a relationship with people that they recognize, as they like to see the faces behind a company. This results in more engagement, and more conversions.
Create tutorials, answer questions and explain ideas with your video content. Varied content can serve users in all stages of their buyers’ journey. This ensures all interactions with your company are positive.
YouTube is an extremely powerful search engine. The video hosting platform is the number two search engine globally. To take advantage of its vast audience, create relevant content for your specific topic area. Use eye-catching thumbnails and titles to generate cold leads. YouTube will rank your content based on how relevant it is to searches, much like Google.
Email Marketing
Email campaigns are an effective way to test ideas. Inbound marketing is great but it takes time. Email prospecting allows you to A/B test ideas and refines messages.
You can tailor emails depending on the stage in the buyers’ journey. Depending on how qualified your lead is, their interests and information requirements will change. A customer requires different content to a lead at the start of their journey with you.
Include links to your blogs or videos. Emails with videos embedded garner far more engagement than those in a written format. This will drive traffic to your website and other online presence. You can also include links to your social media to build a better following on those sites.
Email marketing is successful as it is guaranteed that the readers are relevant and have an interest in your brand.
Social Media Marketing
Social media networks are a great tool for marketers. They are free to use and generate organic reach. You can use these to build a persona for your brand, and a relationship with consumers.
Social media facilitates 1:1 conversations between your company and the user. The main aim is to build trust with potential leads. To do this, use humour or empathy to engage with your audience. You can start hashtags or trends so that users feel involved in a community with your band. Make your social media pages an enjoyable place to be.
You can drive traffic to your other content by sharing it on your social media. This allows your content to answer more questions, in a conversational way. Your followers can also share your content with their friends and followers which extends your reach further.
As a startup, it is difficult to create and run a page on every social media platform. Consider where your particular audience is spending their time online. Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn are great places to start conversations with your users. Facebook may be more suited to B2C marketing. Whereas Twitter and LinkedIn might be favourable for B2B marketing. Choose what suits you and your team best.
Social Listening
It is important to understand the sentiments of your audience. This may not be information that you can collect from a form on your website, but is valuable. You can use social media to understand your users’ beliefs and points of view.
Get involved in trends or movements that are important to your audience. By becoming a respected voice in conversations that users are having, you generate trust and a positive reputation. You can also use this data to tailor your content to be more relevant and impactful.
Social Media Ads
Social media ads are a cost-effective form of paid advertising. Facebook and LinkedIn let you upload a list of your target buyers, which they then use to build ‘looks like lists’. These “looks like lists” are a critical tool for startups that are selling products that people aren’t specifically looking for.
Social media platforms also offer analytics on ads. These are useful to optimize your ads to be more successful. They also help you avoid wasting time on those that aren’t serving your company. Test your ads before committing to a full run. This is a great way to optimize the spending of your marketing budget.
Market for Startup Success
Depending on your goals and your target audience, some of these methods may be right for you and others not. Take the time to consider your buyer personas, and what methods they are more likely to respond to.
Digital marketing has affected the way that all businesses advertise but has had the most benefits for startups. Companies do not need to spend huge amounts of money on reaching their audience. Good quality content targeted to relevant audiences can serve your company just as effectively as big-budget marketing.
At Nituno, we can help you craft an online marketing strategy for success. Get in touch with us today to find out how.
