4 Marketing Tips for All Startups

by Startacus Admin

When it comes to marketing your business, you’re going to have to do much more than simply dress up someone in a fun costume, plop them on a corner, and direct them to your storefront.For people to come see the “Open for Business” sign, there are plenty of other ways you can go about attracting consumers.

Marketing is an incredibly vital but difficult process that involves plenty of planning, focus, and patience. Startups have an even bigger hill to climb, as they are not blessed with as much data or trial-and-error campaigns that veteran businesses may have. In some cases, you might be shooting in the dark.

Below, we’re going to outline five tips that all startups can use when looking to market their business.

Create a Consistent Brand and Plan

Think about your favorite TV show that you either binge or can’t miss every week. One of the most frustrating occurrences for any TV show is when the pacing and story just feel off. One week you’re supposed to be feelin one way about a certain character, but the next week it seems like a completely different writer came in and changed everything. 

For Star Wars fans, this is like what happened between Episodes 7 and 8.

When it comes to marketing, you need to have a solid plan from the outset and one what will build your brand over time. Remember that your business is providing a solution for customers and you need to be consistent with that solution. 

You’re certainly going to have moments of second-guessing or doubling back and that’s normal, but keep the big picture the same over time. 

Hone in on Your Target Audience and Listen

It would be fantastic if your products and services were sought after by every man, woman, and child walking around on planet Earth, but that’s not the case. 

You need to be really honing in on your target audience and be thinking about what they want and how to best reach them.

Not only are you likely to see better results, but you’re going to be spending less money than if you tried a one-size-fits-all approach. 

While this may seem like a struggle at first, it’s going to become easier over time. By listening to customer feedback, you’ll be able to find which strategies or methods worked and which ones didn’t. Encourage your customers to complete surveys or lead reviews. If you have to, offer incentives for those that leave reviews. 

Not only is this going to help your marketing practices, but it’s also going to build up your SEO and draw in other consumers who read those reviews.

Use Free Tools

When you’re starting up, you probably don’t have coffers full of jewels and gold to fund your marketing campaigns. What you can do, however, is embrace plenty of free tools on the internet to bring in consumers.

The easiest (and perhaps most important) is registering your business with Google My Business. This will help you increase your local visibility, helping bring you to the front page of search engines and being a top result for locals. 

It also helps you link to other important information, such as your website, business hours, contact information, address, and more.

You can use Google Keywords to help determine which words you should be using for your copy in order to build and maintain relevance. These keywords can also help you when choosing a domain name.

Take a look at the Startacus website here. In the meta description, you can clearly see what they do and what we offer. This description is key for not only general web browsers, but also for the search engines.

Since Facebook and Twitter made the screenshot, let’s talk about...

Social Media

If a 21st century business isn’t on social media, are they really a business at all?

Social media is fantastic for interacting with your consumers, offering promotions, and marketing. Users who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend that company to others.

This is a chance for you to reach out to plenty of people in your area. You can connect with local influencers, cross-promote with various businesses, respond to customer inquiries, and inform consumers of any news. 

It’s a great place to publish content on a consistent basis and interact with new customers.

It’s worth noting that not all social media outlets are alike. You’re more likely to find women on Pinterest while more men will probably be hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. Don’t try to blanket cover all of them, but pick those which are more relevant.


Written by: Sarah Saker, a business coach and freelance writer that specializes in helping SMBs setup processes for customer support and predictable growth. When not writing or coaching, Sarah can be found on her (small but growing!) family farm. Connect with Sarah on about.me/ssaker for coaching or writing help.

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Published on: 24th September 2019