Starting a business is much easier today than it was even 10 years prior, but that also means there’s a lot more competition among entrepreneurs. Startups are no longer reserved to tech-fueled companies backed by major investors. They’re small businesses, often run out of people’s homes with an operating staff of one.
Whether you dream of being an independent business owner or dream of hiring and running a large company, you need marketing to make waves and get your name out there. Here are a few tips on how to stand out and get your new business noticed.
Get on Social Media
Gone are the days when running some ads on Google could fuel an entire business. If you want to grow fast, you’ll have to be active on social media. You don’t need to be on every platform. That would be overwhelming and, in many cases, counterproductive since you only repost the same content. Do some audience research and target the platforms that your ideal customers use the most.
Make Sure Your Website Is Pristine
From its design to its content, your business’s website has to be flawless. If you’re in e-commerce, this can’t be emphasized enough. Your site will take the place of a physical shopping experience for most or all of your customers, so it must be optimized to carry buyers through the entire buyer’s journey.
Improve Your SEO
The sales funnel will begin with attracting customers, and that’s done through SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is integral to not only driving traffic but also making your website more effective for your audience.
An SEO company can help set up your entire site by optimizing its layout, code and writing to attract the right clients or customers. You can learn a lot on your own, but it can be a tremendous undertaking for someone who’s just starting out.
This is why professional companies are so valuable and can give you a competitive edge. You may want to work with an SEO company specifically, or you may choose to work with a marketing company that has an SEO partner. Because SEO processes are constantly evolving, some marketing companies partner with an SEO company to provide you with a wider range of marketing options.
Use a Content Planner
Making content a week or month in advance helps you free up time to focus on important operations without compromising your marketing efforts. Schedule social media content and blog posts to get a bird’s-eye view on your strategy. Do you have a consistent theme or cohesive voice? Are you using targeted hashtags that expand your reach and help the right people see your posts? Plan to be consistent above all else. Your brand has to establish itself as reliable and trustworthy to build positive relationships with your target audience.
With some early planning, you can craft a marketing strategy that helps promote your business before it has even launched. New companies have a lot of work to do, but advertising can enhance rather than distract from all your efforts. By making a strategy and working with a few choice professionals, you can help you build a strong foundation for the future.