A majority of startups lose steam in the long run. In fact, up to 90% of startups don’t get to become the “next big thing.” While there could be many reasons behind the failure of a large number of entrepreneurs, two of the biggest factors of failure in a business are the quality of a product or service that you offer and the quality of your communication. It doesn’t matter if you have a business idea that’s going to change the world (for the better), if nobody knows you exist, what good is having the idea in the first place?
It is true that as the business landscape continues to grow, larger and more established companies are either eating up their competition or buying them off, thanks to their deep pockets. But the good news is that startups can survive alongside the big fish and thrive with the help of an effective marketing strategy that efficiently utilizes all marketing resources.
Developing Relevant Content
It’s no longer enough to just have content on your business website. Since an increasing number of companies and digital marketing services are using content to drive traffic, the race for more eyeballs has never been more difficult. But, only those who are able to provide top-quality and relevant content consistently will gain the respect and the sale of their customers.
As a business owner, it is important for you to realize that the content that is displayed on your business website or shared on social media leaves a trail and becomes attached to your brand name. You would want to have high quality content that not only offers your audience value, but also helps position you as an authority in your niche industry. This means, you become the go-to guy for getting reliable information on a particular niche. While relevancy, authenticity and authority are developed over time, it helps to start producing quality content from the get-go.
Building a Diverse Content Portfolio
There’s no denying the fact that the content you develop will make up the backbone of your marketing strategy. Since the content’s aim is going to be more than just inform, but inspire, entertain, and get the audience to take an action, your marketing strategy will need to utilize different forms of content that will be shared on various platforms and forums.
For instance, free content will be in the form of articles/blogs, press releases, and newsletters, while gated content is eBooks and other premium content that will be an exchange between the consumer and the producer of said content. Paid content can either be a $5 eBook or an online course that your audience will have to pay for to use.
An online marketing strategy needs to be made up of multiple types of content, including infographics and videos to attract an audience, along with tweets and Instagram/LinkedIn posts that will help in enticing the audience.
Own Your Digital Properties
Sure, having an online presence with your business website, a blog, or an e-commerce store is crucial to doing business since they make up your core assets, being absent from social media outlets is equally, if not more, important. Surprisingly, many businesses make the mistake of treating their presence on social media outlets as an afterthought, which can be a big mistake.
While it is important to have a brand website, businesses also need to feed and nurture their audience on various social media platforms. Rather than choosing one or two platforms where you think you have the largest audience, it’s best to make sure your brand has an active presence on all platforms. In other words, no chance to interact and mingle with your audience should be ignored. Since many businesses find it difficult to keep track and update their social accounts due to time restraints, it would be wise to hire a digital marketing company that can do all the heavy lifting for you.
Brand Positioning
The online perception of a brand is everything and can easily make or break your marketing efforts and make a dent in your bottom line. It is not enough for businesses to simply have a presence online, that presence needs to make an impact on the audience. Business owners need to ask themselves if their brand is memorable or forgettable.
Does the content they create help in driving business growth or has the opposite effect? What about social sharing of your content? Does the content you develop get more attention than your competitors? What type of content attracts the most attention? Since online marketing is all about getting your content in front of the most eyeballs possible, it pays to know which of your content works, and what can be tweaked for better results.
Measuring the Data
Creating high-quality content might help drive traffic to your business website, but the data is what’s going to help you measure the impact of your efforts. Data is the black gold of digital marketing and is your most important asset. That’s because the data you collect tells you exactly how your content is performing across multiple social media platforms, including your website and affiliate sites.
Measuring data will give you a better understanding on which type of landing page works best on your audience, which products or services get the most clicks, and what’s the demographic of your audience. Businesses that are successful always keep track of data and use the insights they gather to tweak their services, and more importantly, make sure they are not forgotten by their customers. This is where digital marketing services such as Blue Atlas Marketing comes in to ensure your digital marketing strategy is firing on all cylinders.
The challenge for any business, especially startups and entrepreneurs who are just starting out in the digital landscape that’s continuously moving and morphing, is to make your digital presence stand out. Hiring the services of a digital marketing company can help you do just that. This is mainly because a digital marketing company has its finger on the pulse and knows exactly how to get your brand noticed in an increasingly noisy world.