It’s tempting to think of startups as having a disadvantage. After all, these are small firms that are just getting started. Successful startups, on the other hand, see their inexperience as an asset to be exploited. Failure is not an option for them, even if victory comes at a high price.
There is possibly no greater area in which a business may capitalise on being the “latest thing” than digital marketing. Here are nine strategies that companies might employ in 2017 to develop a successful digital marketing plan.
1. Recognize Customer Behavior
The bulk of customers are simply looking for alternatives. Even if they have a preferred brand in mind, they can be persuaded to switch if something better comes along.
Consumers begin by looking around. Then they make a decision to buy something. If customers are pleased with your goods after a successful purchase, they will tell others about it. As a result, they are an essential component of a startup’s social media marketing plan.
Encourage individuals to share their stories on social media and to speak up about their experiences. It’s a low-cost, high-impact startup marketing strategy.
2. Content Promotion
You’re a startup, and you believe you have a lot of ground to make up. Enlisting the help of a digital marketing agency like Stridec is a great approach to get your marketing strategy off the ground. We also recommend tightening up your existing methods and using content in multiple forms to fit each channel.
Using each internal page to provide value to site visitors is one approach to help your website rank higher on Google. One approach to achieve that is to add new blog posts on a regular basis. Then we can broadcast a link to the most recent blog article to your Facebook and Twitter profiles. You can also repurpose information by creating movies and infographics that can be utilised across several platforms.
Startup organisations take pride in having small, well selected staff. With them, brainstorm ideas, keeping in mind that they are likely to mirror your target market’s interests and demands. It’s a basic case of putting yourself in their position to find ways to satisfy them.
3. Email Marketing with a Personal Touch
One of the most successful ways to convert subscribers to paying clients is through email marketing. Sending an email does not need much work. Email campaign management, on the other hand, is more than just sending out email blasts at random intervals.
You must understand what you should and should not say in an email, as well as to whom you should and should not send it. An email asking for comments on your latest product, for example, would be useless to individuals who are not customers. If you send everything to everyone, you can end up in their spam folder.
4. Having a Customer Service Team That Is Responsive
There is no excuse for not being responsive when various platforms offer unique messaging options that allow you to simply reach out to your target clients. They can have worries that you weren’t able to answer on your website, or they might be having problems accessing specific product details. They will go somewhere else if you are not available to address their questions. You should be able to imitate the eager store employee who is eager to help a customer in a physical store.
5. Conducting Competitor Research
You will face competition regardless of how unique you believe your product is. Even though they aren’t direct competitors, they can intrude on your market. Find out what their strong and weak spots are, and then utilise that information to develop your approach.
Keep up with their most recent campaigns. Improve on the factors that made that campaign successful for your own plan. Discover why your clients choose you and capitalise on those advantages.
Your startup status can be extremely useful in this situation. You are not constrained by a rigid system that has existed for many years. Your corporate culture is fluid; you have personnel who are familiar with popular media and who will speak out if they are dissatisfied. Make the most of your resources to have a good understanding of why other organisations fail and how you might improve.
6. Data mining .
If done correctly, content marketing may drive traffic to your social media accounts and inspire people to follow or subscribe to your postings. This is especially true if your startup is aimed towards millennials, who are known for being tech-savvy and outspoken in their support for a cause they believe in.
However, how can you determine which method is attracting the most attention? Which has the most impact and makes you more noticeable on the internet? Many firms, both startups and established brands, fail to follow these indicators even in 2017. Do better and monitor your social media performance to see which strategies are effective and which should be abandoned.
7. Mobile-Friendly Design
This isn’t just a seasonal trend: mobile usage is at an all-time high. Everything is moving to the mobile platform. Larry Page, the founder of Google, recognises this and even encourages Google workers to work entirely on their phones for one day.
Web design and development should be a crucial component of any digital marketing plan for startups—improve your website’s loading time and incorporate design components that are easily converted to mobile. Make sure your website functions properly even when viewed on a small screen. Another area to explore is app development, as more people are using apps instead of using a browser to perform searches.
8. Using SEO elements from the start
When it comes to digital marketing services, startups may believe that SEO may be neglected while they focus on other aspects of their business. Spending money on SEO – whether outsourced or internally – can seem like a waste with often limited investors.
Given the importance of SEO, it should be integrated in your company’s DNA. This isn’t a project that can be completed when things are less chaotic. You should start implementing on-page SEO components into your official website as soon as possible.
9. Making the Most of Business Listings and Review Sites
Connecting the dots between your startup and business listings or review sites might be tough, especially if you don’t provide a service or don’t have a physical location.
However, there are multiple reasons why this is a fantastic idea. For starters, it provides your company with another web asset where you can place your information – extra real estate on a Google Search Results Page.
Furthermore, claiming your listing on a business directory or review site offers you immediate access to what others are saying about your business on such sites. What people think about your company, whether favourable or negative, can have a big impact on your overall marketing approach.
Conclusion
We believe that startups have advantages that can propel them to greater heights at Stridec. You may flourish in your own niche if you have a solid digital marketing strategy in place and a good relationship with your customers. Let us assist you in getting there.