Article Contributed by Daniel S. Williams
So you are preparing to go after those sought-after customers…or, maybe trying to figure out exactly who those people are? In the world of startups, sales are king. Without sales to showcase the value of your product or create a revenue stream it would be a great difficulty to ever grow a company, that’s for sure.
Where variation arrives is how startups can best go about selecting how to reach potential buyers. With so many channels (online, offline, omni) today, advertising is more prevalent than ever, yet can also be the perpetual black hole forever being fed dollars to little avail. As a startup, the number of e-mails one receives from individuals offering their “marketing and SEO” services is truly impressive. But unless one understands where advertising/marketing spend should be directed, it is not difficult to spend thousands only to end up serving as a costly lesson.
What are some strategies one can implement when considering bootstrapping methods to grow awareness and leads for your venture? Firstly, one should start with performing tasks which are either free to do, or are a very minimal expenditure. And secondly, paid marketing is only as effective as the understanding behind who to market to. This means creating directed campaigns to qualified leads (who have the need for your service and are able to help influence the buying decision).
#1 – Start with the basics.
As a startup, the simplest marketing and optimization techniques to carry out rest with social presence and organic search results. Today’s buyers and audience is largely connected online, so it is only natural to extend your reach and meet the audience lurking on the web. By creating relevant social media profiles for your business, not only is it easier to share content to viewers across several platforms, but these items can help play a role in your startup’s appearance organically when one searches for keywords and your business. Social media platforms for your startup should not be a personal sounding board; they should contain succinct, engaging messages designed to increase user interaction and promote the mission your startup is trying to carry out.
A great example of this is through crafting relevant content for posting to your startup’s social media pages focusing on the “pain points” and current state of the problem you are attempting to conquer. Creating awareness about the problem your venture is aiming to solve can better position your startup to attract those interested in your content and relevant postings. Moreover, these forums for posting relevant content can also assist in establishing an interactive community around your product or service—giving potential users a stake in asking questions and learning more.
Another free way to create relevant content and assist in organic ranking is by creating a company blog that promotes content regarding the market you are trying to help and white papers about the state of the pain points. Using this tool strategically can be a good outlet to build awareness as well. A rule of 90/10 is useful, suggesting 90% of content should be problem/market relevant, and 10% mentioning your specific startup.
#2 – Paid advertising options.
There are many firms and even individuals who sell marketing and SEO services to startups especially. More often than not, the principles they deploy can be learned and practiced by yourself with some education and personal learning around common tactics and strategies.
HubSpot
I recommend taking advantage ofHubSpot’s online Academy program, where one can enroll in earning an inbound marketing certificate upon learning the lessons offered through materials and videos posted on the HubSpot website. Not only will you become “Inbound Certified” upon completing the online exam, but the content taught in the course is valuable material regarding attracting leads, enabling proper focus to qualification, and ensuring customer retention and delighting. The basic tenets of the inbound marketing methodology are very relevant for many startups today, especially considering the shift away from merely traditional marketing techniques of pushing content towards the inbound focus on drawing them in with engaging content and a more personal approach.
Google AdWords
Additionally, Google offers its own certification programs online across several categories consisting of AdWords and Analytics examinations. By taking the AdWords course, the lessons offer a focused look into the significance of AdWords and how campaigns can be structured to maximize the particular outcomes desired. As a complement to this, the Analytics course provides an in-depth look at some methods of assessing performance through site traffic and methods necessary to optimize the collection and use of gathered user data from your startup’s website as it obtains more traction and potential customers.
By holding oneself accountable for learning the principles at work behind the world of SEO and ad campaigns across many of the online channels, dollars can be better directed to areas with the highest likelihood of contributing the best return on investment (ROI) per dollar spent. Some of these firms may charge several hundred to thousand dollars each month for services quite possibly able to be mastered with some effort and focus.
Trial-and-error is sometimes needed, but marketing is vital to growing a business and quite interdisciplinary. Even if your startup is on a college campus simply running ads on Facebook to local students, knowing what the analytics and performance is telling you adds a world of value beyond the numbers. Knowing your cost-per-click (CPC) through AdWords is a good thing, but understanding how to optimize the campaign’s effectiveness and target the right people can be the difference between money well spent and money that falls victim to that aforementioned black hole that so easily consumes a startup’s limited budget.
About the Author:
Daniel S. Williams is an Advanced-Standing Senior in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. He is the CFO of startup Xperii (a SaaS platform) and has worked with several other startups in the past.