It’s been found that 90% of startups fail, and for the companies that do manage to succeed, marketing plays a huge role
No matter what job role you’re working in, having a basic knowledge of startup marketing is smart. It’s common for team members to help out in multiple areas when a company is getting started, and knowing your stuff will make any marketing you do 10x more valuable.
Even if you’re in an area like product development or customer service, having a decent knowledge of marketing will help you to make informed recommendations to other team members.
Ready to learn three key terms?
Keep reading.
Brand identity
Brand identity might sound confusing, but it’s pretty simple - brand identity is everything that makes up a brand. This can include everything from logo and brand colors to tone of voice, product offering, social media presence, and more.
Having a strong brand identity is what makes a startup stand out from competitors, stick in customers’ minds, and appeal to the right kind of consumer.
Two brands could be selling identical products, but have very different brand identities. One might be playful, casual, and fun, while another could be serious, formal, and traditional.
Having a clear knowledge of your brand identity will help you to make the right decisions day-to-day - whether it’s the way you interact with other team members, how you deal with a customer service issue, or the way you word a post for social media.
Content marketing
Content marketing is the process of creating useful content to attract users to your brand, rather than paying for traditional marketing methods, like advertising.
Content marketing falls into the category of ‘inbound marketing’ because it encourages customers to come to you, rather than putting material in front of them, which is called ‘outbound marketing’.
It’s been found that content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing, yet generates more than three times as many leads. This is great news for startups, which often have plenty of time to work on marketing, but not much money to invest.
By creating an industry-specific blog and posting useful content regularly, you’ll soon see an increase in website traffic, leads, and sales. Blogging is something which can be shared among team members - as long as everyone has a good knowledge of how it works.
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing the content on your website to ensure that your search engine rank is as high as possible.
If your startup website hasn’t been around for long, it probably won’t be ranked highly in many searches, making it difficult to attract customers.
To get started with an SEO strategy, you need to decide which keywords to target, then create content that includes these terms. If you’re selling shoes, you might target a keyword like ‘best flips flops’, and then write a blog post titled, ‘How to Choose the Best Flip Flops on a Budget.’
A basic knowledge of SEO is essential for any team member who publishes content on the website. If you want to go above and beyond, click for more detailed information on the different aspects of SEO.
With studies showing that 92% of adult internet users use search engines, you can’t afford to ignore SEO.
Did you think that marketing was irrelevant to your startup job role?
Think again. A startup where every team member has a good understanding of marketing is far more likely to succeed, especially in the difficult early stages.
