New businesses are popping up left and right.
Where does yours Fit into the Mix?
Given the daunting facts of the business world which tell us that 50% of businesses fail within the first year (and exponentially more within the first few years), it often seems that the deck is stacked against new start-ups.
Thankfully, many of today’s budding businesses are seeing success through a “less is more” mentality when it comes to marketing. That is, they are able to simplify their marketing strategies leading to a swifter business that has time to focus on the big picture versus sweating the small stuff.
Whether you’re in the trenches already or are in the planning phases of your next big idea, keep the following three-point checklist in mind as it pertains to marketing your business. You may be surprised at how you can get by with less, granted you know which aspects of your marketing strategy matter the most.
1. Kill It with Your Content
The boom of content marketing should come as no surprise to any modern entrepreneur, regardless of niche or industry. From creating a compelling blog that drives traffic to ranking for keywords, you need to be organized and disciplined when it comes to content marketing.
To avoid wasting time, money and resources, make sure that each piece of content has a purpose, whether it’s educating your readership, targeting specific keywords or building links for the purpose of SEO.
Draft a crystal clear content schedule and spend only what you need to make your content strategy a reality. Don’t just blast articles or film videos for the sake of marketing, but instead strive to achieve a “quality over quantity” strategy by crafting the best pieces possible and promoting them accordingly.
2. Emphasize Your Expertise
Today’s customers want authenticity and expertise from the brands they support. Therefore, strive to educate your readership at every turn and hone your marketing strategy to emphasize education over sales. Through coming up with case studies or presenting free informational products such as e-books to your base, you may be surprised as how you can create a dedicated audience without coming across as a sales pitch.
3. Define Your Roles
Just as you should define the goals of your marketing materials, you should define the roles of your team marketing-wise.
Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes that newbie marketers make is not having clearly defined roles for team members. On one hand, it’s tempting to have multiple team members wear different “hats” in regard to marketing, but your strategy can quickly fall apart when not everyone’s on the same page. On the flip side, your company may not necessarily need a dedicated writer or social media strategist on deck.
Make an effort to emphasize the strengths of your current team members first and foremost before simply assigning someone the role of marketer. Likewise, don’t go off hiring a dedicated social media marketer or content writer unless you’re actually seeing an ROI for such efforts. Chances are you can hire a freelancer to help manage such pieces on an as-needed basis.
While there may be seemingly millions of pieces to any given marketing strategy, there’s no need to fear. Focus instead of creating worthwhile, education content with clear goals in mind and rely on the proper members of your team to carry out your marketing strategy.