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The Cheapest Yet Most Effective Ideas to Promote a Startup
StartUp journeys are Inspirational from every perspective. The most inspiring aspect at times is the resource crunch and management of resources to achieve maximum Output. This often needs great ideas to scale which have low budgets. Here are some terrific ideas for marketing your startup. Read ON!
Startups are known for having a razor-thin budget for promoting their business or product since most of their money goes into development costs. That’s reasonable given how many don’t even have the budget to pay everyone a salary; some give away shares or stock options instead.
The need to market a business for little or no money is leading to many desperate ways to promote a venture. However, startups cannot afford to waste time and effort, even if the promotional method is cheap.
Here are the cheapest yet most effective ideas to market your startup.
The viral video is a powerful marketing method for several reasons. First, you could create one with nothing but a cell phone camera or decent digital video camera, a little thought and hitting the right social media chord. Thus, viral videos range from cheap to free. It also has the potential to literally reach millions if it takes off.
The relatively little time it takes to shoot a comedic skit, a behind the scenes video, an interview or product demo makes it possible to try several different viral videos out, while the existing tools for studying SEO and customer demographics let the creators see the reach of each video. In short, it is easy to create several videos and watch their success in real time, using tools the creators are likely familiar, with while promoting your brand or your product.
What if you aren’t sure what type of content to create? You could host webinars on your website made by other experts while including your own people in the discussion. Now you’re attracting traffic interested in the keynote personality while promoting your product or service from branded T-shirts to title slides. Or, you could post the funny moments and great questions from classes and sales lectures you’re already giving, as a viral video to promote both.
The side benefit of this approach is that you already have the videos (or could start recording them) and can create a viral video that promotes your other content. If popular, you can build on it like having a Q&A session where people ask you questions that you don’t answer in the main lecture. This is a natural place to backlink to the original videos while gaining content your followers or customers will value.
Creating promotional packages with binders is also a great way to promote your business. Company Folders has a variety of binders that can be customized for your brand suitable for any budget. Clear view binders are a particularly good option for those seeking personalization; you can insert a professional branded cover page in the clear pocket on the front. This is more cost-effective than many other forms of custom printing because you can easily change the cover page and the binders’ contents should you need them for a new project.
Prospective clients, customers and investors will notice the personalized touch and appreciate your efforts, while the materials inside the binder remain organized, clean, fresh and wrinkle-free. Binders with pockets also create extra storage capacity and help keep specific documents separate from the others for easier access. Ring sizes range from ½” to 4”, which provides more flexible capacity than a staple or paper clip, as well as a sleek, professional appeal.
Content marketing is cheap if you have information no one else does. If you can write about topics no one else does, you could start building up a following. Note that you don’t have to come up with a totally revolutionary concept. You can learn from the “talent stack” promoted by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, which combines a set of talents or expertise you’re better than average at to become an expert in a niche no one else can dominate.
This is why you find startups combining Six Sigma quality with streamlining healthcare services or low-cost hardware plus drones to build a “matter-net” to deliver things to people who otherwise wait days for the delivery of essential drugs. Find a niche like this that you are uniquely qualified to write about and you’re building up your reputation as a professional while generating a following you can promote your product or service to.
If you don’t want to create and maintain a blog, the next best solution is writing white papers and articles for industry publications. Many of these publications enjoy guest contributions they can stick in where they have a gap in the magazine, and you can legitimately promote your business in your bio along with your credentials. And you’re creating awareness of your brand and service with likely customers.
If you have the skillset and a topic that lends itself to that format, creating an infographic is another option. Infographics, unlike content, cannot be scraped, and when copied directly, still contain your information. The sheer complexity of the image results in it being shared on social media and referred to with backlinks since others cannot excerpt it in their own blogs, write 500 words about it, and outrank your original content. Infographics also stand out as evergreen content since they don’t age quite the way text on a website does.
Another alternative is guest blogging on related niche websites with an eye toward the unique skill set you have or your product. In this regard, you can blog on any site somewhat related to your product or service while they promote your content to their audience.
Work with influencers doing interviews and product demos, and they’ll leverage their social media skills to boost your brand and site backlink toward the top of the search results. One way to create these connections is to look for influencers asking for interviews and then do one. Another option is leaving insightful comments on their blogs that turn into conversations, and eventually, articles and interviews.
HARO is short for “help a reporter out”. Reporters are often seeking the opinion of experts in a field when they’re doing stories. And you can get free publicity in national magazines and websites by registering on HARO as the expert in a given area. Not only does this cost you nothing but your time, but the backlinks they can provide are given extra weight by search engines. Your social media profile will dominate the search results for that category when a query on your name shows a dozen media interviews.
Sponsors of charities and contests get attention for doing so. This can be expensive, which is why we mention co-sponsorship. Now you’re giving out fewer freebies or contributing only part of the money toward an award while getting equal attention from the press for the effort. Don’t forget to contact newspapers and industry publications to let them know what you’re doing since this generates media mentions that search engines like.
As you can see, marketing your startup doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Use the power of viral videos to gain traction for your brand. Using cutting-edge content, you can post in other publications or co-create with social media influencers can also give you a boost. Co-sponsorship is also a low-cost way of promoting your business or service while getting media mentions.
The need to market a business for little or no money is leading to many desperate ways to promote a venture. However, startups cannot afford to waste time and effort, even if the promotional method is cheap.Here are the cheapest yet most effective ideas to market your startup.
The Viral Video
The viral video is a powerful marketing method for several reasons. First, you could create one with nothing but a cell phone camera or decent digital video camera, a little thought and hitting the right social media chord. Thus, viral videos range from cheap to free. It also has the potential to literally reach millions if it takes off.
The relatively little time it takes to shoot a comedic skit, a behind the scenes video, an interview or product demo makes it possible to try several different viral videos out, while the existing tools for studying SEO and customer demographics let the creators see the reach of each video. In short, it is easy to create several videos and watch their success in real time, using tools the creators are likely familiar, with while promoting your brand or your product.
What if you aren’t sure what type of content to create? You could host webinars on your website made by other experts while including your own people in the discussion. Now you’re attracting traffic interested in the keynote personality while promoting your product or service from branded T-shirts to title slides. Or, you could post the funny moments and great questions from classes and sales lectures you’re already giving, as a viral video to promote both.
The side benefit of this approach is that you already have the videos (or could start recording them) and can create a viral video that promotes your other content. If popular, you can build on it like having a Q&A session where people ask you questions that you don’t answer in the main lecture. This is a natural place to backlink to the original videos while gaining content your followers or customers will value.
Binders
Creating promotional packages with binders is also a great way to promote your business. Company Folders has a variety of binders that can be customized for your brand suitable for any budget. Clear view binders are a particularly good option for those seeking personalization; you can insert a professional branded cover page in the clear pocket on the front. This is more cost-effective than many other forms of custom printing because you can easily change the cover page and the binders’ contents should you need them for a new project.
Prospective clients, customers and investors will notice the personalized touch and appreciate your efforts, while the materials inside the binder remain organized, clean, fresh and wrinkle-free. Binders with pockets also create extra storage capacity and help keep specific documents separate from the others for easier access. Ring sizes range from ½” to 4”, which provides more flexible capacity than a staple or paper clip, as well as a sleek, professional appeal.
Cutting Edge Content
Content marketing is cheap if you have information no one else does. If you can write about topics no one else does, you could start building up a following. Note that you don’t have to come up with a totally revolutionary concept. You can learn from the “talent stack” promoted by Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, which combines a set of talents or expertise you’re better than average at to become an expert in a niche no one else can dominate.
This is why you find startups combining Six Sigma quality with streamlining healthcare services or low-cost hardware plus drones to build a “matter-net” to deliver things to people who otherwise wait days for the delivery of essential drugs. Find a niche like this that you are uniquely qualified to write about and you’re building up your reputation as a professional while generating a following you can promote your product or service to.
If you don’t want to create and maintain a blog, the next best solution is writing white papers and articles for industry publications. Many of these publications enjoy guest contributions they can stick in where they have a gap in the magazine, and you can legitimately promote your business in your bio along with your credentials. And you’re creating awareness of your brand and service with likely customers.If you have the skillset and a topic that lends itself to that format, creating an infographic is another option. Infographics, unlike content, cannot be scraped, and when copied directly, still contain your information. The sheer complexity of the image results in it being shared on social media and referred to with backlinks since others cannot excerpt it in their own blogs, write 500 words about it, and outrank your original content. Infographics also stand out as evergreen content since they don’t age quite the way text on a website does.
Another alternative is guest blogging on related niche websites with an eye toward the unique skill set you have or your product. In this regard, you can blog on any site somewhat related to your product or service while they promote your content to their audience.
Work with influencers doing interviews and product demos, and they’ll leverage their social media skills to boost your brand and site backlink toward the top of the search results. One way to create these connections is to look for influencers asking for interviews and then do one. Another option is leaving insightful comments on their blogs that turn into conversations, and eventually, articles and interviews.
HARO
HARO is short for “help a reporter out”. Reporters are often seeking the opinion of experts in a field when they’re doing stories. And you can get free publicity in national magazines and websites by registering on HARO as the expert in a given area. Not only does this cost you nothing but your time, but the backlinks they can provide are given extra weight by search engines. Your social media profile will dominate the search results for that category when a query on your name shows a dozen media interviews.
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Co-Sponsor
Sponsors of charities and contests get attention for doing so. This can be expensive, which is why we mention co-sponsorship. Now you’re giving out fewer freebies or contributing only part of the money toward an award while getting equal attention from the press for the effort. Don’t forget to contact newspapers and industry publications to let them know what you’re doing since this generates media mentions that search engines like.
Conclusion
As you can see, marketing your startup doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Use the power of viral videos to gain traction for your brand. Using cutting-edge content, you can post in other publications or co-create with social media influencers can also give you a boost. Co-sponsorship is also a low-cost way of promoting your business or service while getting media mentions.
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Any facts, figures or references stated here are made by the author & don't reflect the endorsement of iU at all times unless otherwise drafted by official staff at iU. This article was first published here on 18th December 2017.
