With the global rise of startups and small entrepreneurial projects, brands often have a hard time differentiating themselves from the competition. No matter the scale of your startup or the industry you operate in, having a consistent and high-quality content strategy can be pivotal for your success. In this blog post, we are going to share some crucial content marketing tips for young startups.
According to Impact BND however, only 39% of content marketers have a documented and well-organized content marketing strategy. The same study also points to the fact that 71% of customers turn away from content that seems like a sales pitch, with 52% of them stating that companies should incorporate their brand standards and images into the marketing content.
This goes to show that B2C and B2B stakeholders alike know what they are looking for in the content they engage with online. It also represents the perfect opportunity for young startups to carve out their niche audience and grow as a company over time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at several content marketing tips tailored for young startups which will enable you to create a content pipeline and engage stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
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Benefits of Content Marketing for Startups
Before we get started, it’s worth pointing out several benefits of content marketing for startups. After all, every marketing activity should bring a positive outcome to the brand it represents. The same can be said for content marketing and its related activities, so let’s jump right into it:
- Industry Research
One of the best benefits of startup content marketing is the fact that you will inevitably become informed and aware of your industry’s developments. In order to create content for your startup, you will have to follow news outlets, popular blogs and industry leaders in terms of their marketing content and public activities. This will allow you to stay in touch with relevant, up-to-date happenings and breakthroughs, letting you explore new growth possibilities both for your marketing content and startup services portfolio.
- Brand Awareness
As a new player on the market, you will have to do everything in your power to become and remain relevant over time. Content marketing is the best way to put your brand’s name out there without relying on paid ads or expensive offline campaigns. Once your brand is known to the public, clients and B2B stakeholders will be far more likely to engage you with new business opportunities.
- Return on Investment
Lastly, content marketing is a positive investment no matter how it may seem at first. The only way to attract more clients and make further revenue is to create a public image and presence for your startup. According to Social Media Today, 17% of a company’s average yearly budget was spent on content marketing in 2018, with the number poised to rise up to 32% in 2019. Enterprises are starting to see the benefits of publishing branded marketing content which is bound to bring a positive return on investment to your revenue at the end of the day.
Content Marketing Tips
1. Incorporate your Brand into Content
The first order of business in terms of creating branded marketing content for your startup is to quite literally incorporate your brand into it. Elements such as your brand name, product and service titles, online store links, and other elements should find their way into your content. Also important are your fonts, color palette, formatting type, and other technical details that should be unique to your startup.
Create a style guide for your startup and make sure that your content creator, designer or copywriter uses your brand image to its fullest. This will allow the content to be recognized as your own quickly and easily, both by new and recurring audiences.
2. Stay in touch with Trends
As we’ve previously mentioned, each industry develops at its own pace. Whether IT, writing, visual arts or something else entirely, you need to make sure that you are in touch with what’s going on. You can achieve that by following reputable news outlets, blogs, forums,ps and other online resources. Subscribing to trustworthy printed media such as magazines or quarterly publications is also a good idea.
Don’t allow yourself to be out of touch with the latest trends, viral topics, and breakthroughs which could transform your industry overnight. This will make your startup far more attractive to both B2C and B2B stakeholders in terms of following your content and working with you.
3. Create a Content Calendar
As a young startup, you should strive to achieve a stable marketing strategy as soon as possible. The sooner you condition the public to expect new content from you on a regular basis, the easier your job will become as a company. This can be achieved by creating a content calendar for your writers and designers to stick by.
The content calendar you create should include regular, periodic publishing of new content in your startup’s name. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot maintain a steady pace of published content, platforms such as Trust My Paper and Evernote can be used to better organize your writing process.
4. Blog about your Startup
Blogging is a very approachable content marketing strategy which doesn’t require extensive technical skills in order for you to promote your startup. Instead, you can offer opinion articles, how-to tutorials, discussion pieces and general news articles in regards to your startup or industry.
You can use your blog as a means to promote your internal culture and startup’s future goals, further enticing third-party stakeholders to engage with your services. All you have to do is create a blog (if you don’t already have one) through a user-friendly CMS such as WordPress and start writing today.
5. Show up on Social Media
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are arguably one of the most important marketing channels out there. It’s pivotal for your young startup to have a presence on each of these platforms in order to share new marketing content with the international audience.
Depending on your startup’s niche, you can extend your social media reach to include sites such as LinkedIn which are more corporate in nature. After all, the competition will likely fight tooth-and-nail for the spotlight just as you do – there is no reason to be conservative in your choice of social media. Use every social outlet at your disposal to put your startup’s name on the global market.
6. Mix Content Types
There are no rules in terms of what types of content are viable for your marketing efforts. Written content is great for blog posts, news updates, and social media publishing. Video content can easily be created in-house and published to YouTube, with external links on your social media and startup website for good measure.
Mixing different content types will allow your startup to remain fresh and creative in terms of ongoing content marketing. Don’t settle for a single content type, especially if you are a design startup which specializes in social media visuals (for example). Get out of your creative comfort zone and your audiences will follow suit, sharing content with their social circles and engaging you on a professional level.
7. Collaborate with Influencers
While you shouldn’t rely on paid advertisement as a young startup, you can always use a partnership to your benefit. B2B influencers are an especially viable solution for young startups with low resources in terms of a content marketing budget.
Collaborate with other startups, entrepreneurs and local influencers in terms of creating new content marketing pieces. This will showcase your ability to work with others and it will attract even more B2B opportunities to your startup.
8. Mind your SEO
Even though it may not be as creative as content creation itself, SEO still plays an important role in your online visibility. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) determines which links rank higher or lower on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others. If your content is well-optimized, more people will come across your content organically without any need for boosted or paid advertisement.
In order to achieve that, you will have to utilize platforms such as Google Keyword Planner and SEM Rush respectively. They will allow you to discover which words, phrases, and topics are trending in your industry, letting you optimize your content for higher SEO ranking.
9. Interlink your Content
While external links offer added value to the readers of your content marketing pieces, you can use the opportunity to add your own links to the equation. Interlinked content can help you create an internal content network which will lead curious readers from one part of your site or content map to another.
However, it’s important to note that you should never stuff your content with unnecessary links just to create the effect of interlinked content. Find meaningful ways to incorporate older content into new content marketing pieces and you will come off as a well-organized and respectful young startup online.
10. Calls to Action Matter
Lastly, no content piece has ever achieved success without calls to action present. CTAs are a well-known marketing strategy which literally “calls” the reader into “action”. That action can be anything from emotional engagement, product purchase or email subscription depending on your current marketing goals and KPIs.
Creative calls to action will allow for far higher conversion rates when content marketing is concerned, increasing your chances of landing new clients and contracts. Failing to add CTAs to content marketing will make your startup come off as passive and uninviting, leaving you to hope whether or not a reader will engage with your content on their own.
Content Marketing Tips Conclusion
While the development of your core projects and service portfolio takes precedent, trending content marketing can bolster your startup’s chances of growth and global success. Explore the possibilities of different content types in terms of your startup and industry in order to find what works best for your specific scenario. Before you know it, the right audience will find your content appealing and make sure that others hear about your young startup and the exciting projects you have under development.
Diana Nadim is a writer and editor who has a Master’s degree in Marketing. She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research and creates thought-provoking content in various fields. Diana also runs her own 3to5Marketing blog. What inspires her the most in her writing is traveling and meeting new people. Follow her on Twitter.