This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Online Marketing Tips For Startups
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The hunt is on: The goal is a unique business idea that will quickly and efficiently turn a courageous founder into a successful entrepreneur. Never before have so many start-ups sprung up.
There are two main reasons for this: The increasing desire for independence and the low hurdles for starting a business. Expensive offices and data centers, for example, have become obsolete in times of the Internet and the data cloud.
In contrast, a convincing self-image and professional marketing are indispensable and decisive for the success of the newcomer.
Marketing Tips For Startups
Stage 1: Preparation before launch
The basis of online marketing is the website, which above all should meet the requirements of successful SEO optimisation. The first thing to do is to set up the structure (website structure, URLs, website titles, internal links, etc.) properly.
The website content should be relevant and unique in order to be visible in the organic area of search engines or to rank very high for certain keywords. In terms of conversion optimisation, the structure and design of the website should be understandable, trust-building, and user-friendly.
The result: If the user feels comfortable, he will be happy to continue looking around the site and ideally carry out the desired actions (newsletter registration, information request, purchase of a product, and so on).
In order to be able to optimally control the online marketing measures right from the start, they must be measurable. "Big data" are the new raw material of the online economy due to the technical analysis possibilities and should form the basis of all actions.
In order to make data operationalizable, the data structure must be set up in a targeted manner, and smooth tracking must be ensured. The tracking, in turn, should be linked to the merchandise management system so that (later) existing and new customers can be viewed separately from the start. The primary goal is to buy traffic that is valuable (keyword: customer lifetime value).
In addition, users can be mobilized through display advertising before the launch: With the help of banners, users are made aware of the website and asked to register for a newsletter or as a beta tester, for example.
Stage 2: Launch - brand building
Once the website is live, online marketing measures should be used to build brands. The aim is to make the brand known and to guide users to the website. The second phase is primarily about the start-up positioning its brand on the right pages and promoting brand awareness.
Affiliate marketing, i.e., entering into sales partnerships with strong websites, is suitable for this. In content partnerships, an attempt should be made to place content on relevant pages and blogs. Since comparison portals and cashback sites are very popular with users, it is advisable to be present with your products there as well. This leads potential customers to the brand via the products themselves.
To reach as many users as possible as quickly as possible, branding campaigns with banners should be used on high-reach pages. In addition, placements on topic-related pages (display environments) help to refine the target group approach.
These measures introduce the interested parties to the products and the brand and increase the traffic on the site and, ideally, the sales. In addition, social media campaigns are highly recommended, including in video form on YouTube. In order to increase the overall reach, brand and non-brand campaigns should also be placed in the paid area of search engines.
Level 3: Achieve sales and deals
If the company is finally well positioned, the third phase is to increase sales and deals and to turn website visitors into customers. It is important to address the users who have already viewed the website again with products and/or services, for example, via remarketing-for-search ads in the search engines.
In this way, users who have already been to the website can be directed back to the shop with their own advertisements via paid search advertisements.
Display retargeting campaigns are also an effective means of targeting website visitors again and bringing them back to the homepage. Potential new customers should be addressed with performance display campaigns in order to continuously increase the traffic figures on the website.
Continuous optimisation of the website under SEO aspects as well as the external linking of the own website via thematically appropriate content (link-bait activities) is indispensable. The result: The page is anchored in the minds of users and more relevant for search engines.
At the same time, content placements in affiliate marketing should be expanded and, where necessary, used more intensively. Important: All activities in the different channels should be continuously evaluated and optimised based on the existing tracking data.
Level 4: Profit Maximisation
This lays the foundation for the success of the start-up. Now the motto is: increase profits. For this purpose, the online marketing goals should be adapted to the overall strategy and, if necessary, redefined.
First and foremost, emphasis should be placed on continuously optimising tracking and recording all activities along the customer journey in a granular manner (for example, at the publisher level). The aim is to shift or concentrate the advertising budget to where the highest efficiency can be expected.
This can be achieved by using traffic analysis to find out where the most valuable traffic is coming from.
In the display and search engine area, it makes sense to continue the campaigns considering the medium and long-term goals to further increase performance. It is important to optimize the cost-benefit factor and, if necessary, redistribute the budget to the channels.
Continuous tests are still on the agenda for the website: It should always be oriented to the needs of the user and thus gold the traffic through conversion optimisation. In addition, the content should be disseminated through the aforementioned link-bait activities.
This also applies to the affiliate partnerships, especially to the activities at the back of the customer journey, such as voucher and cashback cooperations. The continuous monitoring of the traffic in combination with quickly implemented optimisation measures ensures that the marketing measures contribute to constant profit maximisation.
Conclusion
Every beginning is difficult. To ensure that the founding of a company does not turn into early insolvency, start-ups need a well-thought-out business plan and financial potential, and professional marketing.
Before the launch, there is, above all, the construction of an optimised company website with relevant content in order to be visible in the generic area of search engines.
As soon as the homepage is live, the brand must be made known via online marketing measures, and users must be guided to the website. Once the company has been positioned and frequented, phase three has the task of further increasing sales and converting visitors into paying customers.
Online marketing measures used up to now should now be checked and further developed in order to optimize the cost-benefit factor. This last phase is never completed in the best-case scenario and is an important factor if a start-up is to become a successful company.