Many tech founders spend their time and money developing and perfecting their product with little attention being paid to marketing until it’s too late. Being first to market has little value if no one knows who you are. Building brand awareness prior to launch is of utmost importance for start-ups looking to make an early and lasting impact. Often times a product hits the market with little to no fanfare, a larger company picks up on the idea, produces a similar product backed with robust marketing campaigns and pushes the start-up out of the market. Making yourself known and building an online presence prior to launching your product will ensure your company doesn’t get crushed by larger entities. If people already know who you are, being first to market will carry weight. Here’s how to do it.
Website Design
Purchasing a domain name is the first step in building your website. The name should align with your company name and not be too long and cumbersome. Building a responsive website loaded with dynamic content and calls to action will make your company appear legitimate and help you to generate and nurture leads. Keeping your navigation simple, paying close attention to page load speed and taking care of technical SEO is a good place to get started. Content on your static pages should be clear and concise, optimized for SEO and be produced by a reputable copywriter. High quality images and videos, fonts and graphics are all aesthetic pieces that will help with your credibility. If you’re having an outside company build and host your site, be sure you have all the logins and information necessary to keep your site up and running should you choose to stop working with them.
Blog Content
Developing content for your blog is the best way to build SEO and strengthen your online presence. Your content should be both educational and entertaining with a focus on solving your customers pain points rather than promoting your products. Each blog should contain your target keywords as well as links to reputable and relevant outside sources. This will give credibility to your writing and encourage those you link to, to share your content. Including a variety of different media including written blogs, videos and infographics will help your blog stay fresh. Gathering links to your website is one of the best ways to improve your SEO. Consistently producing quality content and networking with other bloggers and publications will help you to attain those links. Including calls to action on each blog post that link to premium content offers will help you convert your visitors into leads. Having a library of eBooks, whitepapers and case studies is essential to ensure your company blog works as a lead generation tool.
Social Media
The first step is to build out your company profile. Social media is often the first tool used by start-ups to build brand awareness but simply posting a couple times a month is not enough to get noticed. Be sure to include high quality images, logos, contact information and a mission statement. Developing a social media content calendar will help keep your posting consistent and fresh. You should aim to post four times per day across all channels using a mix of blog posts, industry articles, quotes, statistics, videos and graphics to make your pages worth following. Using personal accounts to share blog articles to relevant industry groups has become essential to maximize your organic social media reach. Following and engaging with your customers will encourage them to follow you and engage with your posts, thus increasing your reach exponentially.
Trade Shows
Trade shows are a great way to increase exposure, find partners, gain customers and even establish financial backing. Whether you choose to present or simply attend, industry events help you to get your name and ideas out there. If you’re presenting, be sure to sharpen your sales pitch and show a detailed knowledge of your product and industry. Design your booth with a variety of visual elements that encourage attendees to stop by. Giving away small branded items and holding a drawing for a larger prize are great ways to generate leads and determine a potential customer’s interest in your product. Have written materials and business cards in large quantities as to put your contact information in the hands as many attendees as you can. After the show wraps up, network with those you met with briefly. Once you return home, be sure to follow up via social media, email or telephone.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising such as Google Ads or sponsored social media content should be used to complement your core marketing activities. Using paid ads on their own can be effective in the short term, but long-term success is developed through content creation and relationship building. Once you’ve developed your company blog and several pieces of premium offers paid ads will prove to be much more effective. Paid advertising is great for finding highly qualified leads who are already at the bottom of the funnel, but they are unlikely to close unless the rest of your marketing efforts measure up. Buyers typically view 5-7 pieces of content before making a purchase decision so having quality content already in place is a must.
