Search Engine Optimization
Implementing SEO on your site consists of two parts, on-page SEO dealing with keywords, and off-page SEO dealing with backlinks. Both elements are important for a successful campaign, and there are many SEO firms that can lend you a hand if you need it.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is not a tool for selling, it is a tool for building a relationship with your customers and potential customers. This style of branding is great for building trust, respect, and loyalty from your consumer base, and turning them into fans of your brand. Consequently many people will begin to spread the word about your business on their own, essentially giving you free advertisement. This makes it one of the most cost effective marketing strategies for startups.
The key here is of course to save the selling for your actual website. You can link to it from your social media posts of course, but always do so in a way that provides value to your followers. Getting overly aggressive will just push people away, and cripple your marketing efforts in the long run.
Focusing on the Back End
One of the most powerful marketing strategies for startups is focusing on the back end of your business. The back end is essentially what you do with customers who have already bought from you before. In most cases they are easier to sell to since they already trust you, and have a much lower cost of acquisition since you’ve already made contact with them.
To pull off a successful back end marketing plan, you need to first get your customer’s info. This can be collecting an email address, physical address, and/or phone number. You can do this before, during, or after a transaction. You can also do it through social media with surveys, or by using popups on your website that gives the reader something in exchange for their info.
Conclusion
Marketing strategies for startups don’t differ all that much from strategies that big businesses use. The main difference is that you’ll be working with a smaller budget so you have to get smart about how you use your money. All three of the marketing strategies for startups that we just went over, SEO, Social Media, and Back End Marketing, all have very low costs associated with them, making them great choices for a new business.
In addition to these strategies, you want to also have the right mindset when building a business. Concentrate on things like how you can bring value to the market, what separates you from your competition, and how you can turn customers into loyal fans of your brand. If you can do this, there’s no reason that your business can’t be the huge success that you want it to be.
