Strategies for creating startup marketing campaigns to get your new small business up & running (without a big budget)
Running a startup business is difficult enough. Marketing your startup on a tight budget is even more difficult. But, without marketing, there is no way of spreading the word out there or hoping that your business will generate enough buzz.
The thought of having to spend additional funds on a marketing campaign, when there are so much other tasks to complete and invest in, frightens entrepreneurs. However, marketing is essential for business success and it’s something you will have to pay attention to.
Nevertheless, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and you won’t have to lose sleep over financing your marketing campaign too much. You have an opportunity to successfully market your startup even on a tight budget. What’s more, you won’t have to strain your already strained finances that much.
Here are a few tips on how to launch a startup marketing campaign while on a tight budget.
Do your research
Conducting research will reveal key elements that will make your marketing campaign successful. Without research, you won’t be able to know who your target audience is or how will they react to your product or service. Furthermore, you won’t be able to understand what is it that makes your audience tick and what are their preferences. Without your research, you might as well be selling pork chops to vegans, clueless as to why they shun you.
You must identify who your audiences are and which social media platforms they inhabit. That way you’ll be able to focus your efforts on a specific platform and maximize your results.
Remember, the most effective marketing campaign normally covers every social media network or at least most of them. However, you can’t afford such a luxury at the moment. Scouting the social media is the fastest and the most reliable way to find out as much as you can about your peers and their likings.
Build your online presence
Before you start marketing your startup, you’ll have to build your online presence first. If people online haven’t heard of you, at least once before you launch your campaign, they won’t give you much attention. Again, social media is the best way to start. It’s important to understand that social media will be the main focus of your efforts – not just because people spend a lot of time there, but also because social media offers a great foundation for marketing campaigns.
For instance, social networks have their own set of features that will help you advertise your business. However, these features demand investment, but you may consider small business loans to leverage them. After all, social media marketing is very effective and you will see considerable ROI in the end. You should also engage in conversations with your target audience and build relationships with them. That way, you’ll be able to test your ideas and tweak your strategy based on their feedback.
Influence the influencers
Influencers are people on social networks that drive the trends forward. They are prominent people who have an army of followers at their side, waiting to support whatever comes their way. Befriending a social media influencer can get you a lot of attention fast. However, influencers get a lot of proposals often and they won’t simply agree to support you when you reach out to them.
Building a relationship with an influencer takes time and patience – just make sure you’re not being too pushy. You’ll have to give to get and that means following them on social media – but not in a creepy stalker kind of way – sharing their content, commenting on their posts and so on. In short, it means slowly building a relationship with them. Once you manage to become friends with an influencer, you’ll have a lot of supporters and a lot of feedback to help you hone your marketing campaign.
Regularly post awesome content
Content is the most effective tool for marketing out there. It’s because of content that people decide to pay attention to someone or something in the first place. People love to read rich content that’s informative, entertaining and relevant and if you want the best kind of attention, then you should provide your audience with such content. Furthermore, it’s not just educational and informative textual content that gets you the attention. It’s also visual content such as stunning images and amazing videos.
Moreover, it’s not enough to create awesome content, but to post it regularly as well. Consistency is what keeps people engaged with your content and makes them more favorable towards you. You can share your content on social media or make your own blog. You can also go for guest posting on famous websites and blogs, which will improve your reputation. Just make sure your content is relevant to your niche and you’ll be fine.
Launching a marketing campaign for your startup is difficult but it doesn’t have to be expensive at all. With careful planning and by making the right moves, you’ll be able to successfully market your business and finance your campaign accordingly.
Nate Vickery
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