The right marketing can get your business started and set it up for long-term success. These unique marketing ideas for startups are ways to kick start your company and get your business going.
1. Encourage customer involvement
A loyal customer base can help spread your brand to those who may not normally see your product. Encourage consumers to share your product on various social media sites using hashtags or handles. Likewise, creating a contest in which users submit photos or posts on social media is an excellent way to generate posts, tweets, likes, and shares for your business.
2. Build name recognition
One of the biggest challenges faced by startups is brand recognition. Get your name out there by giving out bumper sticks or t-shirts to employees or as freebies at events. Likewise, murals, paintings, and chalk on the street can all be used to create name recognition.
3. Engage on social media
Social media is one of the least expensive – and most effective – forms of marketing. It also gives brands a unique opportunity to engage their customers one-on-one. Interacting with consumers like this can help build a loyal base one customer at a time.
4. Identify your target customers
As a startup, you may not have the resources to advertise to the entire market at once. Instead, identify two to three groups of target customers and focus marketing efforts in these areas. Facebook, for example, started for students at specific universities before expanding; now, everyone from middle school students to their grandparents uses the social media service.
5. Outsmart – not outspend
While you may not be able to outspend your competition, being a startup gives you the ability to outsmart them. Most large companies are set in their ways and major changes are rarely undertaken. As a startup, you can morph and adapt your business model, product, or marketing to outsmart your competition.
Marketing a startup can be difficult, but it also gives you the unique opportunity to be both flexible and creative. By using these unique marketing ideas, you can help get your startup off the ground and on the road to being successful!