Startup Marketing 101: How to Gain Traction and Boost Your Exposure

by Adrian Gulliver

As much as it is fulfilling, running a startup is very hard work. Trying to get your big idea to gain traction with investors is enough on its own, but very soon startup founders realize that getting customers to notice them is a whole other issue. Your concept might be brilliant and your implementation flawless, but that won’t be enough to allow you to have the success you need with your target audience. This is where marketing comes into play – and there are several ways in which you can increase your exposure by investing smartly in marketing ways that will not take up too much of your time, energy, or budget.

Paint a Clear Picture of Your Brand

Even though the startup universe is all about innovation, chances are that you are working in an already existing market. So, the first step you need to take is to make sure that you define your brand correctly – and no one knows how to do this better than the person behind the startup. Your marketing approach needs to explain to potential clients what your company does different, and why it is better than what your competitors are already doing. This is also the perfect opportunity to lay down your company’s values and decide what you stand for.

Source: Pexels

Try to steer clear of following a successful competitor’s recipe for success. This is your moment to find your entrepreneurial voice and make sure that your brand reflects that. Perhaps you are looking to enter an industry where your top competitors are perceived as stable and consistent – but you would prefer that your customers think of you as the creative, thinking-out-of-the-box contender that is always willing to go the extra mile and succeed where others have failed. What sets you apart is what will ultimately drive customers to your brand and allow you to grow. Don’t be the next Uber or the next Airbnb – be something completely unique.

Develop a Sound Digital Marketing Strategy

Never underestimate the fact that we live in a digital world – and even if your product or services do not have to do with that, the Internet is still where most of marketing takes place these days. Even though you are working on a startup budget, you cannot really afford not to play the big game. Every company out there is heavily investing in search engine optimization, which means that you have to find a way to do it smarter than your competitors. As a startup, great SEO is one of your best bets to gain traction fast and start building your brand following to take the next step.

Source: Pexels

Another great way to get exposure is to invest in affiliate marketing. This method is widely used across a range of industries – from tech and electronics, which features affiliates sites like Wirecutter, to niche markets like online bookies covered by websites like Oddschecker, to gifts and retail items that are showcased on affiliate websites like ThisIsWhyImBroke. Just find what affiliate website is doing well in your domain and reach out. That way, most of the marketing effort is left to the website – and you just need to pay up for their services if they end up bringing you visitors.

Focus on Early Adopters – and Go Meet Them

Support is more crucial than ever when you are taking those first steps – after all, most startups fail than those that don’t. Early adoption and support could also have a tremendous impact on your marketing efforts. Make sure that you make the most out of what your follower system has to offer by building a network that will allow them to draw more people in. This could be done in a variety of ways, like launching special contests to enable users to get engaged with your brand and spread the news.

Instead of waiting for them to come to you, identify the platforms where you can reach out to them – and go meet them. This is ideally done on social media networks, but you also need to make sure that you feature ways for them to get in touch with you and let word-of-mouth do the rest. Or, perhaps, your target audience is known to religiously follow certain blogs: make sure that they review your company – or even better, that they feature a guest post by you.

There are many brilliant ways to get as much exposure as you can for your startup – which ultimately will translate into sales conversion and further growth, which is the key to your success.