Dominating Digital Marketing as a Startup
Launching a startup in today’s economy is arguably a very brave move to make. With great amounts of competition in most industries and people still spending carefully as we climb out of recession, trying to establish a new company is certainly tricky business. However, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible to build a successful something out of just an idea plus a whole load of dedication and enthusiasm.
As the prominence of social media and the potential of search engine marketing to make or break a business grows, digital marketing continues to develop in importance. Recent research has suggested that currently only 8% of startups will outsource their digital marketing activities to an external professional agency. Additionally, 65% of startups have never even considered seeking training when it comes to creating a successful digital marketing strategy. Although such services can take a huge chunk out of the budget, the rewards will almost certainly be worth the initial expenditure.
If you are one such company who has decided to go at it alone and conduct all of your digital marketing in house with zero to minimal advice, then there are a few things you can watch out for. The first of which being the mistake of allowing too much time for marketing plans to reach fruition. The internet is a constantly changing and developing place so allowing for more than a few months for a particular strategy to bring results is a huge mistake. The fantastic thing about online advertising is the massive potential for instant results. As soon as an advert goes live it can be immediately seen by millions of people and then forgotten the very next day. Expecting that this same advert will continue to bring leads and sales for months to come is likely to leave you disappointed. It is a much better use of your resources to create multiple adverts targeting various audiences and behaviour traits and then continuously analysing your results to make fresh, stronger adverts on a regular basis.
When considering the budget for your digital marketing campaign it is very important to be flexible in the first few months. You might be deterred from continuing to pump funds into your campaign if you are not seeing results straight away but it could certainly pay to sit tight. If you sell a product that requires a regular purchase, such as a weekly specialty food delivery, then the value of acquiring a lifetime customer can be great. Additionally, if you sell products that customers are only going to buy once every few years, like an appliance, then the one off spend from a small amount of customers could still justify the cost of the campaign. Don’t forget that advertising is also about building your brand and spreading your message as much as it is about making sales.
Biting off more than you can chew will often leave you stuck, and approaching one platform at a time is a sensible move. Master Facebook before you move onto Twitter or establish a solid Adwords campaign before you invest in anything else. By starting small and working your way up you will get a genuine understanding of the varying benefits of each platform and be better equipped to tailor your adverts for success.
By starting slow and staying steady as you move forwards you will have a much more organised and efficient shot at digital marketing dominance. Do your research and seek the advice of those who have advice to offer! The key is to find what works best for your product or service through extensive testing and analysis and not being afraid to make the relevant changes to your strategy.
By Alix Jones
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