Today’s new business owner can create an affordable, effective digital marketing strategy, previously only available to big budget advertisers. Forbes offers digital marketing advice for startups ready to build brand awareness.
By using video, content, social media, and mobile advertising, you can help your business make a name for itself and rank higher in Google searches without spending a lot of time and money. All these options and constant technological advancements beg the question: for new companies building their brands, where should they focus their time and money? Members of the Forbes Agency Council share digital marketing advice for startups seeking brand recognition and tips to stay ahead of the competition without getting overwhelmed in the process.
Know Your Audience
Topping the list of digital marketing advice for startups: know your audience. Unless you’re heavily funded, you can’t “go big” and get a nationwide audience overnight. So don’t try. Instead, get to know your audience’s needs, wants, and how they value what you offer. That way, you’ll quickly become a big brand to a niche audience, which is a great starting point for creating the largest impact.
Rely on Positive Word-of-Mouth Marketing
While many startups rush to get a product out the door to generate feedback, it’s more important to make sure you have something worthy of conversation. Make sure your product can benefit from word-of-mouth feedback. When you’re confident about what customers will say, highlight customer reviews and let your customers build your company’s credibility and brand awareness, without spending hundreds of dollars.
Find the Sweet Spot Between Digital PR and SEO
The ideal situation for a startup is to find websites and publications that have already captured your audience’s attention. If you can create valuable content that gets picked up by those websites and publications, the audience impressions can be up to 90 percent more effective than advertising, according to a recent Nielsen study. Write more content with the goal of earning more inbound links, also known as backlinks, which send a signal to search engines that others value your content. These votes of confidence will compliment your SEO and boost your company’s ranking position with search engines.
Combine Existing Data with New Tools
Startups can take their existing data from email subscribers and social media insights to reach new audiences. Services like MailChimp, Google AdWords, and Facebook Ads are low-cost resources that startups can use to create look-a-like audiences. Maximize reporting and analytics to ensure you are reaching your target audience.
Set a Foundation to Learn and Grow
Boost your advertising budgets by focusing on channels with no minimums and granular targeting options, i.e. search or social. This strategy helps you efficiently capture the lowest hanging fruit without wasting time and money reaching an unqualified audience. Analyzing these tactics will allow you to set a foundation and quickly pivot marketing strategies as you learn and grow.
