You’re new to the wide world of business and have a new, big venture you want people to know about. How do you get your idea out there? How do you get your brand, products, and services into the hands (and heads) of those who need them most?
You turn to marketing. But, what type of marketing?
To get your company and its offerings in front of those who matter, you need to employ marketing strategies specific to doing business in today’s world and specific to your company’s—and your customers’—personalities. The marketing techniques you choose will be different from those that your parents employed when they launched their businesses. And, they will likely vary from those that other companies are using.
While today’s new companies must harness the power of technology to be seen, they also have to use a combination of time-tested marketing strategies that work intuitively. Let’s take a look at a few marketing tips that are available for today’s first-time entrepreneurs:
Market According to Your Personality
Scott Gerber, syndicated columnist for Mashable, says of new business owners: “Many aspiring entrepreneurs foolishly believe that all they need to do is sign up for a Twitter account, blog about special offers, and hand out a flashy-looking brochure, whereupon leads will come pouring in. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
If you don’t use Twitter, if you don’t know what Twitter is, and if you don’t think you’ll ever interact with anyone through Twitter, perhaps Twitter is not the best marketing tool for you. The top marketing tools for a business are the ones that fit in with a business owner’s, his company’s, and his customers’ personalities. You definitely should be interacting with your customers, and potential customers, online today. But, if it’s more intuitive for you to connect through Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, or other social media outlets, consider putting your focus on those.
Hire Talented People
Even if certain marketing outlets aren’t your cup of tea, consider hiring someone who is well versed, so that your company can benefit from them. If you don’t want to be on Twitter, but feel comfortable putting someone else in charge of connecting through this social media outlet for you, go ahead and take the steps to make that happen.
Hire people who know how to do what you feel is right for your business. Ultimately, you have to decide which outlet is right for you and your customers. Do keep in mind, however, that you can delegate the details of marketing efforts you don’t want to deal with to others who specialize in those strategies.
Offer Free Content
People love free things. So, whether your company is in travel, food, real estate, technology, or another industry, you can offer free bits of information to potential customers. Consumers devour free content. And, it helps you build trust and position yourself as an industry master.
Nik Sharma, of AddNow says, “If your brand isn’t pushing out content on a daily basis, how do you expect consumers to find your website, or once they find it, how are they going to find out what you’re all about and what you do?”
To succeed as an entrepreneur today, you need to engage in today’s marketing games in ways that speak to your potential customers. We’ve touched on just a few ways you can do this. If you want more marketing tips and advice for connecting with customers, do as much research as you can and test as many channels as possible.