When you first found your startup, chances are that marketing isn’t at the top of your to-do list. There’s so much else to think about that it often falls by the wayside — pitches, capital raising, legal and tax requirements, product design, budgeting… you get the picture. But marketing is massively important: how else are you going to find customers? Marketing for startups is our whole thing here at Fractal, so let’s take a little peek behind the curtain and look at a few of the most important things to remember when marketing a startup.
Create Your Content Strategy
Content is king in the world of social media, and determining a solid way to communicate your brand across a range of platforms is key to gathering an audience. There are plenty of different formats your content can take, including:
- Blogs — a good way to boost your SEO rankings.
- Video — great for engagement across almost every platform.
- Static social posts — cheap and easy to build.
- eBooks/Educational content — build your authority within your field.
Managing and analyzing your content is the best way to build engagement and get your name out there, ultimately converting into sales.
Send Emails
Email marketing is an essential — not to mention cheap — aspect to any small business’s marketing strategy, and doubly so for startups. You have a large number of ways to acquire the email addresses of your prospective audience, from sign up sheets at physical events to scraping LinkedIn for cold leads. From there, you can use your email campaigns to welcome new sign ups, share any content your company creates, nurture cold leads, and present your brand in a clear and personable way.
Consider Paid Ads
Content marketing is great for slowly and consistently generating leads. But when you want a short-term way to capture leads and boost ROI, you’ll need to delve into paid ads through Google or your social media platform of choice. This is a complex space that’s constantly changing, but here’s a quick rundown of the different ad types to look into:
- Google Search Ads — Best when people are already aware of your product, and search Google to find the right provider for their needs.
- Social Ads — These are best when people are not aware of your product, so you can catch their attention in a visual way. Great for finding niche audiences.
- Display Ads — Ideal for brand awareness and retargeting.