Creative Strategies for Marketing Your Startup on a Tight Budget |
Posted: May 19, 2018 |
There are many ways to market your startup without blowing your budget. So you should always review each one of the marketing strategy in-depth for example, there are many low-cost marketing options available today that can be taken advantage of. Therefore, in this guide we will walk you through some of the best tools and techniques that you can use when you are just starting out your marketing campaign for your startup. So without wasting more time let's dive into it. 1. Get to the Heart of Your StartupToday, people don't care as much about what you do as why you are doing it and what your mission is. Before you even begin working on marketing materials, you first need to create a brand story that tells people about your startup, and what you hope to accomplish. We are living in a time when people expect brands to be engaged in various forms of philanthropy, or to have a mission that will someday save the world. If your startup doesn't yet have a worthy mission, it is time to find one. 2. Make Your Brand Relatable - Find Your VoiceThis step is absolutely free, but it is an imperative part of everything else you will do to market yourself. Take some time finding a voice and tone for your work that your customers can engage with. For decades businesses used stuffy, formal language to prove that they were the best. Now, we are starting to see businesses using less formal language and adding more personality to their brand to reach customers on their level. You need to gauge where your business falls on that spectrum and get comfortable using that voice regularly. The next time someone asks you about your company, try out several different ways of explaining it, and see how they react. Remember, your brand voice needs to be authentic and sustainable, so don't overdo it. Is it exciting? Is it comforting? 3. Focus on Teaching, Not SellingUnless you are going to hit the streets and make door to door sales or start making cold calls, most hard selling techniques are off the table these days. Hard selling comes across as pushy, especially when many consumers really take the time to research products and companies these days. In everything you do, strive to educate people about what you do, why you do it, and how it is done so that they can form the conclusion that you are the best. The exchange of information without the pressure to make an immediate decision has proven highly valuable for companies of all kinds. 4. Be SocialThis can't be overstated. Social media is a key element in any startup's marketing toolbox today. Not only does it give you a chance to demonstrate what you do and why you do it, it also allows you to educate readers in small snippets, and use your newly discovered voice to form a strong presence. Social media can be used to show people that you are engaged in the community and that you are responsive when customers have a question. If you haven't begun managing your reputation online yet, now is the time to go read every single review on Facebook and Yelp, and respond to them all. 5. Use a NewsletterThere are many free services that will allow you to send out a monthly newsletter to your email list. As you start building clients, you need to put all of their contact information into your tracking system and send out emails regularly. Even twice-monthly emails with useful information and e-coupons can make a huge difference. The goal is to remain at top of mind for the consumer so they always know where to look when they do need your service. You don't have to resell them every month. You just have to remind them that you are there for them, and maybe invite them to share those e-coupons with friends and family to spread your circle. 6. Create Great ContentIf you aren't a great writer you don't have to worry. There are many ways to create content online, including infographics and short video clips. All of this content is designed to make your startup more searchable so users can find you easily. Your content needs to be engaging, but it also needs to make good use of SEO keywords to ensure that Google and other search engines can appropriately identify you. Make sure you are using a mix of industry-specific keywords as well as geo-targeted keywords to help the search engine figure out what you do and where you are located. Blogs are a quick way to build up your SEO ranking and make your way onto Google's first page, but other kinds of content can do the trick with a little more time and patience. 7. Strut Your StuffIf you are truly confident that your product or service is the best, you may have to show your customers so they can experience it for themselves. Sending out free samples or offering a limited time free service in exchange for online reviews and referrals can be a great way to get things going. Ask your trial members to review your products, share your posts on social media, tell their friends about why you're different, and you can start taking advantage of their networks. These are just seven of the simplest ways to start building your start-up with a meager marketing budget. Many of these tools are completely free as long as you can take the time to do them yourself. You don't have to spend a fortune on print ads and boosting social media posts if you learn to work with the low-cost tools that are already available to you. Once you master these skills you will have everything you need to build up your client list.
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