One of the most important parts of launching a startup is advertising. The promotional strategies you develop will attract customers who are curious about your products or services. If people don’t know that you exist, how else are they supposed to find your brand?
There are two key components of good startup marketing: diversity and longevity. You need a diverse profile of promotional tools to reach different audiences and attract people to your brand. You also need patience and a long-term plan to build a following and get recognized in your field.
Let’s walk through some best practices for advertising your startup and how to define a strategy that’s right for you. With the right marketing plan in place, your company has the potential for immense growth.
Form Close Partnerships and Network
Image via Pixabay by expresswriters
When starting out, you need an ally in your corner who can help you grow. This person can help open doors through their personal connections and spread the word about how great your business is. For some entrepreneurs, this ally starts as a mentor. However, other business owners win over influencers through networking and partnerships.
Evaluate your business to see if there are any natural partnerships you can form. Consider how a realtor recommends certain contractors for homebuyers who want to remodel or how celebrities promote designers who create unique looks. How can you help other people within your industry and stand out to the point where they have to recommend you?
These partnerships take time. If you can’t achieve them organically right now, look into forming paid partnerships and sponsoring events. Through influencer marketing or sponsored posts, you can advertise your startup business even if you don’t have many connections.
Go on a Media Blitz
Do you ever hear about a product or business that suddenly seems to be everywhere? Perhaps a new startup is covered on international blogs like BuzzFeed and local news channels alike, making millions of people curious about the brand. This concept is called a media blitz, where you launch a big advertising campaign to spread a lot of information about your business at once.
Consider working with a public relations firm or marketing agency that specializes in helping startups debut their brands and get noticed. These teams will develop a media strategy to introduce your products and generate buzz around them. They will book interviews in professional publications and try to make your startup go viral. This is a great way to get a large amount of exposure quickly.
Include Detailed Website Content on Your Products and Services
When your business is new, it’s okay to launch a website that serves as a placeholder and introduces your brand to potential customers. However, once you open and start driving traffic to these pages in earnest, you need to provide valuable content and answers to customer questions.
The content you create will help people understand your vision. Do you cater to an upscale market, or do you offer affordable services? What sets your products apart from others?
This content is essential if you have invented something that no one has ever seen before. Think about how much publicity the cronut needed when it debuted — and it was just a donut mixed with a croissant.
Create site content that highlights product features, shows the products in action, and describes who can benefit from your business. The more questions you can answer online, the clearer your concept will be.
Supplement Organic Marketing Efforts With Paid Media
While one of the most important practices of startup marketing is to plan for the long-term, most companies don’t have the luxury of waiting a year or two to grow their demand. Several of the good habits discussed in this guide will take time, but what if you need customers now?
In the short-term, paid media efforts can help you get noticed. These efforts range from sponsored posts on social media to Google Ads for your products and services. You can even look into traditional paid media through TV and newspaper ads. These promotions help you reach new people and larger audiences than the ones you have organically.
Evaluate your budget to see what kind of balance you want between paid and organic marketing. The healthy organic habits you create today can reduce your dependence on paid promotions in the future, which is why both aspects are valuable for new businesses.
Build Your Social Media Presence Early On
All good companies start with a great idea. As you develop your brand, design your logo, and launch your products, stay active on social media to start generating buzz and letting people know about you. You don’t need to wait until you actually need customers and can sell your products to become active online.
Take the example of a local restaurant opening in your area. Shortly after construction, the restaurant is already promoting its concept and sharing photos of food and drinks. By the time the doors open, it will likely have a large following of people who are eager to try it out. Your business needs to follow the same process.
Be upfront about the developmental stages of your brand. You can include phrases like “coming soon” or “open date TBD” in your profile to avoid confusion. The followers you gain during this time have the potential to become your first customers. Plus, they can make your debut all the more exciting because you already have a pool of people ready to celebrate.
Hire Professionals To Get Your Brand Out There
In the early days of running a startup, you might feel like you need to know everything and have a solution to each problem. This is a guaranteed way to burn out. Without delegating tasks and relying on experts, your growth will be limited through the first year.
At Pericus Ventures, we take the burden off of startup founders. Let us develop a marketing plan that meets your needs and take steps to execute it. Our job is to grow your business while you focus on impressing customers.
Get in touch with us to discuss various promotional strategies for your brand. By pursuing the right advertising tactics, you can expand your reach and grow your startup business in no time.
