Building buzz around a tech startup is an essential part of marketing that many companies tend to overlook or push to the future, and even funded startups struggle with knowing exactly how to focus their marketing for optimal exposure and differentiation in a fast-paced marketplace. This is especially true for financial services firms, which face unique challenges in advertising their offerings on major social media platforms. This guest post from Wheelhouse.com Editor, Jeni Rogers, shares insight on the marketing tools and tactics funded tech startups - including financial services firms - can leverage to expedite brand recognition and company growth initiatives on major social media platforms.
> Check out the following blogs for more information:
THE QUICK 5 STEP GUIDE TO TECH COMPANY BRANDING
5 STEPS TO ACHIEVE MARKETING SUCCESS FOR YOUR TECH STARTUP
This guest post from Wheelhouse.com Editor, Jeni Rogers, shares insight on the marketing tools and tactics funded tech startups can leverage to expedite brand recognition and company growth initiatives.
It’s important to build recognition of your company name and brand by announcing big moments for your business via press releases, including:
* Funding updates
* Leadership position changes
* Big names joining the company
* New product or service offerings
* Innovative use of technology that’s setting you apart in the tech industry
Seeking out news article interviews and opportunities can also be very beneficial to getting tech companies in the headlines. When you release interesting information through press releases, interviews may come to you. However, there's a higher likelihood that you'll need to pitch media outlets that cover your industry to secure interviews or guest articles. It takes a little effort, but can help your brand get more exposure and provide the clout you need to be competitive.
Sponsoring an industry event is a great way to market your startup and can be a part of your ultimate marketing toolkit for rapid growth. Find events or conferences that your target partners, clients, or customers attend, then contact the company hosting the event about sponsorship opportunities. Typically, there are many different levels of sponsorship (from bag inserts or posters to booths and event parties and networking gatherings) that you can choose from that fit into your budget and help you create content that gets your company in front of the people who will be most interested in what you're offering.
Online reviews and testimonials are the modern equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing, and they are one of the first things that prospective clients or customers are going to examine to decide if your company is trustworthy and your products or services align with their goals.
When you're just getting started, you may not receive reviews or testimonials without asking. You should regularly ask your growing base of clients and customers for honest, authentic feedback and testimonials, and make it easy for people to submit reviews on your website and social channels. Using tools like Google Analytics and portfolio management can help you track and organize these reviews to better understand your customer base and improve your business. Once you have a base collection of reviews or testimonials, you can begin featuring them on your website and on social media to bolster your marketing. This approach enables businesses to build credibility and trust with potential customers.
In addition to the organic ranking results you can achieve via content, press releases and news articles, you can also embrace paid advertising opportunities on search platforms like Google and Bing to laser target your ads to people who will be interested in your company (or who may already be looking for exactly what you offer).
Marketing your tech startup (with results) will require efforts that reach your target buyers in a variety of different channels. Your business needs a strong online presence, so you should make sure to build out your website to include a blog where you can post regular content and updates. The search engines love blogs and you’ll be able to rank organically by posting regularly and keeping fresh content flowing online, around your brand.
Email and social media marketing are also important marketing tactics to employ in your startup, especially when using a content marketing platform. As you build up your list of subscribers and followers, it's vital to stay in touch and keep them interested in your emails and posts. To take your email marketing strategy to the next level, consider leveraging an online platform like Union Square Ventures. These platforms can provide valuable insights and resources to help you optimize your campaigns and increase engagement with your target audience.
Whether you run a financial services firm or any other tech related business, email, social, and content marketing will be labour intensive if you are trying to manage it all manually or aren't tracking the results of your different marketing efforts. Investing in a Marketing Automation software solution can help your business save time, automate key marketing initiatives, and analyse results to show you what's working (and what's not) so you know how to best allocate your marketing budget.
Author Bio:
Jeni Rogers is the Editor at Wheelhouse.com, where she studies business software innovations and trends and drives content initiatives with her amazing team.