As a startup, you don’t have the luxury of hiring an agency to manage your marketing. You must be able to multi-task and wear many hats – but how can one person be expected to master SEO, SEM, emailing campaigns, PPC ads, influencer marketing, branding and social media (let alone develop an integrated marketing strategy)? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s easier than it sounds. With these 10 steps today’s marketer can go from novice to ninja in no time.
Remember that there’s no one formula for developing a successful integrated marketing strategy; each business is different (which is why I like using the term ‘successful’ over ‘right’). The bottom line is: if it works for you – it’s right!
Marketing is all about trial and error. If you don’t try new strategies, how can you expect to find something that works? And even more importantly, if you don’t experiment with new strategies, somebody else will do it for you – somebody who is passionate enough to learn everything there is to know about marketing just so they can steal your potential customers away. Check out our related article teach for India.
If you’re a startup, chances are you don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing. And that’s okay, because the possibilities for marketing your business without going into debt are endless – and they can be pretty effective too!
1 – Prioritize
There is no point in doing everything at once. In fact, many companies make this mistake and end up not doing anything correctly. Take your time to develop your strategy and prioritize activities based on their cost-effectiveness and potential outcome.
2 – Optimize for Mobile
In 2015 it was reported that Google searches from mobile devices outnumbered those from desktop computers by approximately 52%. With this stat alone I think its safe to say that every digital marketer should optimize their websites for mobile devices.
3 – Optimize for Local Searches
Local searches are incredibly important as you only have to look at Google Maps and local business listing websites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, to understand the impact of using geo targeting in your marketing.
4 – Invest in Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can give your brand a great return on investment (ROI). The key is knowing which platform will work best for your campaign – that’s where trial and error comes into play!
5 – Use Native Advertising Instead of Banner Ads
Banner ads just don’t cut it anymore; they’re intrusive and annoying. Native advertising, on the other hand, provides value to the customer while also promoting your brand. This is the way of advertising in 2016 and beyond!
6 – Hire an Experienced Digital Marketer
If you’re finding it difficult to manage your marketing strategy on top of everything else, then maybe it’s time to hire someone who can do some or even all of these tasks for you. Just be sure that you find someone with experience in your industry if at all possible – this will ensure that they really know what they’re talking about!
7 – Use Visuals To Attract Attention
According to studies conducted by Buzzsumo, content with visual elements (such as infographics) is shared up to three times more than text-only content. Make sure your visuals are related to the content in some way – or at the very least relevant to your brand.
8 – Survey Your Customers
Make sure you’re asking the right questions when gathering feedback from your customers… for example, I once heard about a company who actually asked their customers how much they were willing to pay for their product. While this approach may seem okay on paper, it’s not particularly helpful when developing an integrated marketing strategy because if someone is willing to pay for something, that means they don’t necessarily need you! Instead of asking ‘how much are you willing to pay’ ask ‘what would convince you to pay?’. This way you can gather useful information which will help guide your development process.
9 – Utilize Tools & Services That Can Help You
There are heaps of apps, websites and services available which can help you develop your marketing strategy. And the great thing is that all they require in return is a small investment; most provide free trials to make it worth your while! For example, Google Analytics lets you track how people are interacting with your website (including what content they like and don’t like), while Mailchimp can manage your email listserv.
10 – Make Sure You’re Using the Right Metrics To Track Your Campaigns
If you’re not measuring metrics then there’s really no point in conducting any marketing activities at all! When tracking things like visits to specific pages on your website or level of customer engagement with newsletters, remember to set goals prior to launching your campaign so that you have tangible data to work with.
The above steps are an overview of how I would approach developing a successful integrated marketing strategy for my startup, jogger. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, these tips can help you utilize digital marketing more effectively and get ahead of the competition… jog on!
