The initial work and functioning of a startup feels like walking on eggshells. One wrong move can lead to irreversible damage and some right moves can give you an early customer base. During such a critical phase of your business, avoiding digital marketing is similar to losing on a number of opportunities and customers. But, many businesses think that digital marketing is an extra burden in terms of money.
In reality, if you look at it, the cost is less and the returns can be more in digital marketing, and here’s why we believe this.
Importance of Digital Marketing for Startups
According to a recent research, it is believed that 17% of failed startups are a result of a poor marketing strategy. Read further to know why digital marketing is essential for any startup.
1. Increase Engagement
Your digital strategy can pull your customers closer to your brand. The technology has certainly enhanced the user experience and using this advantage, you can develop an early base for your users. Your target audience can know the USPs of your product or service, and you can know the response these services will generate.
2. Cost-Effective Method
Digital marketing is extremely cost-effective. The money and time that you spend on traditional marketing instruments are a lot more than digital marketing. Your marketing and sales employees don’t have to physically reach to customers, sell them products, and convince them to believe in your brand. All this can be achieved online with an internet campaign and some ads. Obviously, there is a lot more in digital marketing, but for the starters, you can only start with social media campaigns, SEO, and content marketing, which will not cost as much as traditional marketing.
3. Create Brand Value
Even if you end with very few conversions and no money after running a digital media campaign, you can be assured that you have reached out to people. Many people now know about your brand and they may want to contact you in the future for services and products.
In fact, with the growing value of your brand, these people may instantly buy or acquire your services after seeing the campaign ad again.
4. Track Return-On-Investment
In a traditional campaign, you can only track ROI once the campaign has ended and you have analysis reports in your hands. But, in digital media, you can track things in real-time with the help of tools. You can see how much money you have spent, how many leads it generated, did it increase traffic, and what is the overall impact. This also lets you change your strategy mid-way to improve final results.
Things to Keep In Mind
While it is evident that digital marketing is important, what are the things that contribute to a successful strategy? Here are a few factors you need to take care of in your digital marketing strategy.
a. Content Marketing
Content is necessary but attractive, interactive content is the key. You don’t have to write long blogs and post full story of your brand on social media. But, it is essential to market content which speaks out to your audience.
For instance, if your startup sells eco-friendly sanitary napkins, you can write about period problems faced by women. It is not always about promoting your brand. Sometimes, you just have to educate your customers and deliver valuable content to them to increase engagement.
b. SEO Planning
SEO done right reaps you long-term benefits. If you focus on SEO from the very start, it will help you in the future as well. So, optimize your website, website URLs, content, and social media posts. However, it is essential to note that search engine optimization is not just about keyword stuffing. Actually, keywords are a small part of SEO. So, consider other factors as well such as readability of your content, value, and length of the blog post.
c. Mobile-Optimization
Mobile users are ever increasing simply because it is too simple to access information on mobile when compared to desktops or laptops. Hence, mobile optimization should be one of your top priorities, as once this experience is ruined, your customer is unlikely to return. No one will make extra efforts to open your website on the browser. You have to make it convenient for your small screen users.
Conclusion
Technology has become a part of our lives and now, it is not possible to remove this element. Startups can either utilize technology to grow or stay behind in the lane. Hence, pick up in the race and step-up your marketing strategy.
Great and an informative article!