The 21st century has seen an enormous surge in the number of startup businesses. There is a startup ecosystem out there catering to an audience that helps boost your business. What we have also seen is the increasing importance of marketing, especially SEO services.

Digital marketing today has become a core competence for surviving and thriving in today’s fast-paced economy. No longer is digital marketing a swanky catchphrase, but a defining phenomenon for the trends of the current times.

With the burgeoning online space and multiple digital mediums, there are ample opportunities for everyone to make an impactful presence. More so, the virtue of the online medium is also opportunistic for niche startups. As a startup, you can have an amazing user experience with advanced targeting features and other intricacies within the digital realm.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has left everyone confined indoors. However, this has served as an impetus to several startups. All it takes to go online is a smartphone with a decent internet connection. While getting online is super easy, staying the course and making an effective presence is perplexing.

What to do when online

A lot is happening online already, so much that it is unfathomable beyond the grasp of any single individual. Following are general to-dos that you should adhere to when online. These guidelines serve as the extrinsic factors that are the feature of Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory.

Have a consistent routine

In today’s competitive streak for followers and viewers, one is likely to go overboard without even realizing it. So devise a healthy ecosystem by establishing a consistent routine, including tonality and approach, for your posts and content pieces. A company that does this profoundly is Cupshe, a swimsuit brand. The followers know exactly how to get featured; there is consistency in tonality and approach.

Understand the intricacies of each platform

The digital space today has become a virtual galaxy. Today, people engage with brands, companies, and inspirational figures through various platforms. Hence, to be accessible to your followers and fans, you must be present across platforms (at least the major ones) such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

However, every platform is different, with each having its peculiarity and purpose. The tones and modes of information and entertainment companies differ as well. Moreover, the audience demographics and consumption habits are strikingly different.

Engage in healthy interactions; Brownie points for humor and wit

Before you know it, you are at the forefront of flak and furor on social media. To not let it get to this, you must be considerate and respectful when responding to queries or offering a justification or an explanation towards a certain misunderstanding.

Better yet, if you are best friends with humor and wit, this would be a great place to seek their help. Not doing so would put you at the receiving end of a bad reputation and a flurry of unsubscribers. KFC UK, the fast-food brand, was once at the receiving end of criticism. To which it responded by launching the “find my chicken” bot on Twitter.

Digital marketing strategies for startups

1. Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is the process of increasing your visibility for relevant searches by augmenting your site, blog, or content. Get this right, and it is all uphill from here. Having a basic understanding of keyword search, digital traffic analysis, and ranking is an excellent starting point.

2. Paid Advertising

The advent of paid online advertising has been around for quite some time now. It has become ever more prevalent today. The strategy entails a brand or company creating digital marketing and paying the digital channel for posting and appearing on the platform.

Two profound advertisement models are Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing Campaigns. Both require a company to create an ad and then pay the online medium for its display. However, the difference is that SEM deals with search engines such as Google and Bing, whereas PPC deals with social media sites.

3. Multichannel Marketing

Today the upgraded promotional and advertising lingo reads the right product should reach the target audience at the right time and the intended platform. Understanding the core competence of your product or service and then molding the communication as per individual platforms is the way forward. A brand that has done this rewardingly is Casper, the bedding accessories company.

Youtube – The platform is apt for lengthy videos and demonstrations; it is a holy grail for live streaming

Instagram – The image and video-sharing platform is best for visually appealing products and services

Twitter – Follow trending hashtags and communicate with all your humor, wit, and quirk within the maximum limit of 280 characters.

4. Collaboration and Co-creation with your audience

To augment your online presence on social media and elsewhere, you should let your creative and fun side out. The real challenge here is that the floor is open, and the platform awaits your creative output. Several brands and corporations have collaborated with followers and fans for their online content.

National Geographic, in 2018, collaborated with its Instagram followers as a part of its storytelling strategy. The photographers were given creative autonomy, even for captions. The move gave National Geographic a competitive edge in its social media game.

5. Company blog posts and culture

People on social media are constantly in search of something new and fresh. As a startup, there is immense potential for creativity and to pitch to the audience. One way to reach out to leads and prospects is by putting your company and its culture out there in the open. You can develop a fun ecosystem on social media by providing a sneak peek into a typical day at your workplace; posting behind-the-scenes looks of what goes around at the office is a great start.

Conclusion

The 21st century has witnessed a mushrooming growth in the number of startups. This has been made possible with widespread internet-based telephony and the advent of digital marketing. As a startup, it is paramount to get acquainted with social media etiquette and marketing trends. A good starting point is to understand the peculiarities of each platform. Once done, devise a schedule for social media engagement.

There are numerous digital marketing strategies that startups can adopt. Among the many, the chiefs are getting familiar with SEO and paid advertisement models such as SEM and PPC, having a presence across online channels, and creating quirky company posts on social media accounts.