While a successful marketing strategy may be important to all businesses, it is vital for the survival and growth of a startup. Informing potential clients that a new product or service exists can make or break a starting company. An effective marketing strategy for a new business is often vastly different from a strategy that works for an established brand.
A marketing strategy is something that should evolve as a company’s presence in a market solidifies. Startups have a unique position that a marketing strategy must consider. In this article, five important elements of an effective marketing strategy for startups will be explored.
Blogging Generates Significant Leads
Blogging is a very effective way for your business to gain exposure and generate leads. According to a study that examined over 2,000 businesses, companies that blog on a regular basis see their lead generation grow by an average of 126 percent per month compared to businesses that don’t own a blog. Furthermore, companies that blog have considerably more social media followers than companies that don’t blog.
The trick to blogging successfully is to give your target audience content that they want to read. If you provide your target market with informative, insightful, and interesting blog posts, they will follow you and then your company has a direct marketing channel for future marketing efforts. Blogging is also one of the best ways for search engines to find you, and if you provide quality content with the relevant search terms within, then you will be rewarded with higher rankings in the search results for the targeted keyword.
According to a recent presentation by Salesforce on the future of customer experience, a study of 60 B2B websites across 12 different industries found that just 4 of them “offered visitors empathetic, educational, and useful content, tools, and video.”
Use the Power of Social Media
Social media may seem daunting to tackle all at once, but the power of social media for marketing makes it an essential part of any marketing campaign. Social media is a place where you can share your blog posts and anything else that may interest your target audience, such as answering common questions, a picture of your workforce, customer interviews, or an infographic. With every share, like, or retweet, your content will reach a wider audience.
If you are consistent with your social media updates, then soon you will have a direct line that’s helps you understand how to know your customer better. Furthermore, ensure that you diversify your social media posts through non-commercial content because if all you share on social media are ads, then people will be less likely to follow you
Become an Event Sponsor
Sponsoring an event can open your company up to many new potential customers if the event you sponsor is relevant to your products or services. Sponsors can, for a fee, place signs, booths, and other forms of advertising across the event. As a business that operates locally, becoming a sponsor at a local event can be very beneficial for business leads.
Choosing an event that perfectly aligns with your product or service is the key factor in the success of this type of marketing. For example, if your company plans to sell pet products, then being a sponsor at a pet show can give your company exposure to your ideal target audience. On the other hand, if you company provides a fitness app, then sponsoring a pet show won’t give you the return on investment that you’re looking for.
Build a Mailing List
Email marketing campaigns are still a successful means of reaching new clients. Once you have a customer’s email address, you can continue to market your services or products to them knowing that they are interested. However, building a mailing list requires that you first acquire a customer’s email, which is generally best achieved through a regular newsletter that clients can sign up for. Alternatively, if you require client login to use your website, then you can use the email provided in their submission form – with their permission.
The trick to not having your emails reported as spam is to provide enough useful information and not to focus solely on marketing emails. Provide your customers with something that they are interested in that doesn’t directly market your service or product, such as infographics, guides, or videos. According to a recent article on Forbes about common marketing misconceptions, automated marketing technology is a highlight effective tool in delivery prospective customers more relevant and personalized messaging.
In combination with gathering customer email addresses, you may want to invest in a mailing list. Many mailing lists focus on specific target audiences, which can make your email marketing efforts highly effective because you’re able to reach potential clients that are interested in what your business offers. Mailing lists can be vast, allowing you to reach thousands of potential clients.
Paid Advertising Works
Social media platforms such as Facebook allow you to pay for targeted ads that can be focused on customers that may be interested in your product or service. Paid advertising such as Facebook ads can give your lead generation a significant boost, especially as a startup company that is still lacking a large enough social media following. With the amount of time that the average consumer spends on social media, you can be certain that your ads will reach many interested clients.
Other forms of paid advertising that can be successful are the ads that are promoted by search engines. For example, a Google AdWords cost-per-click (CPC) campaign can allow customers to find you when a specific search term is used on Google. This form of advertising on search engines allows you to circumvent the natural rankings in search results because gaining rank for a keyword can take time.
The unique position that startups find themselves in when they first begin to advertise their company means that a multi-pronged approach to advertising is required. The combination of using advertising methods that are aimed at giving immediate results, such as paid ads, and creating the foundation for successful long-term market presence, such as using a company blog, is what drives the success of startups. Employ the marketing strategies listed in this article to help jump-start your startup.