Corey Bloom — November 28, 2017 — November 28, 2017
You have a great idea for a new startup. You’ve identified a need in your industry, and have a killer product that has the potential to disrupt the market.
However, gone are the days where a great idea will simply attract customers and clients. With all the startups in the world these days, creating a unique, comprehensive startup marketing strategy is critical for success.
But with limited resources and funding, especially in the early days, startup marketing can prove to be a difficult task. Marketing efforts often take a backseat to product, R&D, and development needs.
Thing is, you can have the greatest product in the world, but if you don’t have the tools to market your product, no one will ever get the chance to see it.
This post will give actionable growth hacks to boost your startup marketing strategy and get your awesome product on the eyes of your public.
Startup Marketing Growth Hack #1: Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has changed the way we look at celebrity, social media, and how they intersect with technology. With 70 percent of consumers saying they are influenced by peers in their buying decision, leveraging the power of influencers is a startup marketing strategy that can result in huge returns.
Look no further than Maybelline, who teamed up with 15 beauty experts during Fashion Week in 2016. By partnering with these influencers, they were able to reach 13.9 million consumers across the world, resulting in almost 4 million “likes” on social media. As growth hacking startup marketing strategies go, influencer marketing should be at the top of your list for 2018.
Startup Marketing Growth Hack #2: Product Hunt Exposure
Product hunt is a priceless tool for early age startups to gain marketing exposure. Widely regarded as one of the best places to launch new products, ensuring you have a prepared strategy for Product Hunt is a great growth hack for high intent traffic and customers.
Konsus, an on-demand outsourcing platform, achieved 500% growth from launching their startup on Product Hunt. They came prepared with both an impressive pre and post-launch plan, and were prepared to handle the amount of traffic and buzz that they garnered after launch. By allocating limited, yet important resources to launching your startup on Product Hunt, this startup marketing growth hack strategy is one to have in your arsenal.
Startup Marketing Growth Hack #3: Quora, Quora, Quora
As high-intent social media platforms go, Quora may reign supreme for tech startups. With over 190 million monthly users, Quora has positioned themselves as the place to go for all your Q&A needs. From startup funding, lead generation, and social media advice, Quora has created an amazing community where your in-depth thought leader answers could turn into new customers.
Wishpond, a comprehensive lead generation tool, were able to generate almost 14,000 page views in a month from answering Quora questions. Their Content Marketing Manager offered some interesting insights as to how they accomplished this, such as linking back to posts with in-depth content, as well as trying to answer questions with more than 1,000 views per week for maximum exposure.
Startup Marketing Growth Hack #4: Get Early Users To Become Advocates
There are no better marketers than your own customers We inherently tend to trust more when other people give a positive review of something. In fact, consumer to consumer word of mouth advertising generates more than 2X sales than paid advertising. Having early adopters of your startup become brand advocates creates an air of trust and confidence around your product.
Hubstaff, a time tracker software, shared their story on how they generated the first 25 signups of their business. They found that a combination between word of mouth from friends and family, as well as inbound marketing methods were the key ways they signed up early adopters. It is clear that investing in your early adopters happiness and satisfaction is an important startup marketing strategy for both short and long-term success.
Startup Marketing Growth Hack #5: Consider Co-Marketing Ventures
A startup marketing strategy that is often overlooked in early-age growth are both co-marketing and strategic partnership opportunities. Co-marketing is a great way to collaborate with companies that share a similar audience to yours, but at the same time are not direct competitors. Offers such as eBooks, webinars, and list sharing are just some of the ways to team up with others for growth hacking opportunities.
A great example of a successful co-marketing initiative is between Hubspot and Linkedin. These two B2B behemoths teamed up to create an eBook entitled “How to Use Social Selling Throughout the Seller’s Journey”. By banding together and creating a shared content offer, Hubspot and Linkedin are able to reach a similar audience group, but also tap into each others core user base that they otherwise may not have been able to reach.
Wrapping Up:
Although many startup founders often focus on marketing efforts later in their company growth, certain marketing growth hacks are available early on that are imperative to implement for short and long-term success. Influencer marketing, leveraging Product Hunt and Quora, and participating in co-marketing activities are just some of the startup marketing strategies that can help you generate both early adopters and long-term customers.
What are some of your favorite startup marketing growth hacks? Let us know in the comments below!
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