Get your name in front of the people that matter most in order to grow your startup.
Calling all entrepreneurs and startup stars: SwayDM has your back when it comes to the latest marketing growth hacks. Growing your idea for a product or a business can seem daunting, and you may not even know where to start. So before sharing what we believe to be the top 5 marketing trends for 2022, let’s review the basics.
Marketing 101 for Startups
Which came first, sales or marketing? Actually, they go hand-in-hand. You have to entice customers and get them interested in your product or service before hitting the “add to cart” button.
Every successful marketing strategy has these elements:
Know your target audience
Not everyone is your next customer, client, follower, or fan. Take time to identify your target audience. Is it women, ages 35-50? Are you trying to reach an entire region – the pacific northwest – or a smaller area, like the I-4 corridor between Orlando and Tampa? What about shopping behavior, education level, income, and other lifestyle factors? Once you establish your first cohort, you can tailor your messaging and craft a unique marketing strategy for that particular audience.
Identify their pain, problem, or need
Acknowledge your target audience’s needs. Do you have a lightweight concealer to conceal birthmarks and scarring? Are you a tech company looking for clients who are tired of dealing with offsite support? Recognize the pain that your audience feels, echo that in your messaging, and present a clear solution.
Becoming the right solution
Create content from a place of authority to show how you can solve your client’s problem. Demonstrate how your company is different or better, and why you are the best choice. List the benefits and advantages customers get when they buy your product or use your service vs. your competitors.
Stay in touch
Most startups invest heavily in reaching new audiences. But once you have an established client base, it’s a good idea to keep in touch with them. Getting referrals from your existing customers is one of the best ways to grow your company.
5 Marketing Trends Startups Should Know
Once you have an essential marketing strategy, it’s time to explore new ways to grow your business. We’ve identified five marketing trends that startups should consider to zoom ahead of the competition.
1. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a partnership between companies and social media personalities to increase brand awareness within a specific target audience. And whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, social media influencers have the unique ability to speak directly to your target audience.
Influencer marketing is effective because it incorporates word-of-mouth and social proof. Consumers are more likely to believe in an influencers post or review than direct advertising from a business.
- Nearly 60% of marketing professionals believed that influencer marketing is the most effective method to reach target audiences
- 71% of marketers said that influencers drive more traffic than other forms of advertising
- Influencer marketing is great for attracting attention. However, it’s harder to track your ROI (return on investment) with influencer marketing alone.
2. Cross-Promote
You’ll capture more attention when you cross-promote your marketing efforts across platforms or influencers. Each social media platform has its strengths and weaknesses. And cross-promotion allows you to share a consistent theme to create greater awareness.
You can also cross-promote with a company that complements your business. For example, partner your budding cosmetic line with a local wedding photographer. You double your exposure, increase brand awareness, and reach new markets.
A word of caution…
Cross-promotion does not mean duplication. Take the time to fine-tune your message, graphics, music, or text for each platform. You can share original content created for a specific channel, too. For example, if you’re tweeting about a new Facebook video, add the link to drive users to the video on Facebook. Make it easy and natural for people to follow you from one social channel to the next.
3. Blogs
Successful digital marketing is more than clever tweets, stories, and posts. Blogs that are engaging and provide relevant and useful content give potential customers a reason to stick around. The longer you can entice a visitor to engage with your website, the higher chances you have of converting them.
According to a Hubspot report, companies with blogs generate 126 percent more leads than competing businesses without a blog.
Do’s and Don’ts for Blogs:
- DO post original content with answers and information your target audience wants
- DO include graphics to support key ideas and headers and/or lists to help break up the content
- DO include relevant SEO (search engine optimization) keywords and phrases to boost organic search results
- DON’T post without researching and cite sources when appropriate
- DON’T be negative or use absolute statements (i.e, never, always, impossible). Create content that is uplifting and gives users new perspectives to consider.
- DON’T post too infrequently. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, try to stick to a regular cadence that your audience can rely on.
4. Improve Accessibility
You want to cast as large a net as possible for your product. Yet many businesses forget about the 61 million disabled Americans who could be potential customers.
Accessible content means that all people, regardless of their abilities, can browse, download, and buy online. Making your marketing as inclusive as possible helps you grow your startup. It also polishes your reputation because it establishes your startup as genuinely all-inclusive.
Instagram, Squarespace, and other social media platforms have already added accessibility features. It’s only a matter of time before the rest follow suit.
Accessibility Marketing Hacks:
- Contrasting Colors – People with cataracts or those who are color-blind have a difficult time distinguishing colors. You can incorporate color contrast guidelines into your logo and other marketing identifiers.
- Alt-Text – Simply adding a short description to photos and graphics helps visually impaired users better understand what you are trying to communicate with your images
- Generate Captions – Instagram and YouTube give you the option of to add closed-captioning to videos, which helps hearing impaired users understand the content
5. Paid Search
Startups don’t have the longevity to rise to the top of organic search results overnight. Enter paid search advertising, which lets you target visitors with pay-per-click (PPC) pricing. You can target keywords and phrases according to gender, geographic location, income level, interests, and other modifiers so that your ads are eligible to display in search results for the chosen criteria.
PPC advertising can reach thousands of people who may already be aware of your brand or product, or it can generate demand for those who may not know what they need, but are looking for a solution to a problem. And since you only pay for the “click,” and not for views, paid search can offer outstanding value for startups who want to accelerate their marketing.
How to Get More from Paid Search Ads:
- Use specific keywords and phrases. Instead of “concealer,” use “waterproof concealer,” or “concealer for women of color.” The more targeted your search parameters, the more likely you’ll convert visitors searching for your product into customers.
- Include a call to action (CTA) in your ad. The best CTA’s inspire users to take action, often include a sense of urgency or competitive offer, and can be written to invoke specific emotions.
- Play the long game. Startups usually have modest marketing budgets. Instead of blowing your budget on prime keywords or channels early on, consider starting with a lower budget across various channels to see where higher conversion rates are happening, and how users are responding to your ads.
Integrate SwayDM into Your Marketing Strategy
SwayDM is a one-of-a-kind direct messaging platform that cuts through the clutter to focus on authentic interaction with your core audience. In a world of constant online access, SwayDM is a communication gatekeeper that lets you monetize your time and attention. And because SwayDM is a pay-to-use service, you can make money just by answering messages that matter the most.
Use SwayDM in your startup’s marketing strategy or your personal side hustle. You can promote your SwayDM profile on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, your website – anywhere you market to your core audience.
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