[Beginner – 101] Why Every Startup Needs a Content Marketing Plan and Strategy

As a startup, you have many things to take into consideration when it comes to marketing your new business. You have offline local marketing to consider, as well as online local and expanded marketing. Once you have your online staples, such a well-designed and optimized website, and appropriate social media channels—you may not be sure what to do next when it comes to creating your online marketing plan.

When creating your startup marketing strategy, it is essential to understand the vital role that content marketing plays. Content marketing is not only affordable, but it is an effective form of marketing utilized for reaching both your primary and secondary your target audience—including everyday consumers and B2B marketing.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing refers to online content such blogs, white papers, press releases, social medias posts, newsletters, opt-in email marketing campaigns, videos, and images—that are posted online with the sole purpose of connecting and engaging with your target audience. It is thoughtful and relevant information that adds value—and in turn, increase your company’s exposure. Content marketing is not posting for the sake of posting—but posting to interact, engage, and leave your audience wanting to learn more.

While content marketing is essential for startups, it is such an effective form of marketing that according to a new study by CMI and MarketingProfs—90% of B2B companies utilize content marketing as part of their marketing strategy.

So What Does This Mean For You?

As a tech startup, your content marketing is just as important as in any other industry—and in some cases even more. Online competition is fierce, and content marketing is the best way to brand yourself as an industry leader. It requires much more than simply optimizing pages and posts—but also providing valuable information. Successfully content marketing campaigns are designed with the below factors in mind.

Building Your Brand Equity and Awareness

When a prospective client comes across you online, they will want to know what sets you apart from the competition. This is why it is essential to crafting your online content in a manner that brands you as an industry expert and leader.

Building Customer Relationships and Increase Customer Engagement

As mentioned earlier, your content marketing plan must consist of content that adds value to your target audience. For example, a sales heavy blog post is likely to be less effective than a blog post that shares a story of how your products and services solve relevant consumer problems.

Increasing Trust

As a startup no one knows who you are, so your content marketing plan must include engaging content. It can be utilized to convey your personality, company culture, beliefs, industry knowledge, and your ability to effectively address your client’s needs—all of which are essential for building trust.

A Cost-Effective Alternative to Traditional Advertising

As a startup, your marketing budget may have little room for traditional advertising such as TV or newspapers. This means you need to find effective methods to market your startup, that will provide the exposure you require to get up and running. In the digital world we live in, the vast majority of online content lives forever—meaning the content you post today, has the potential to bring you new business for years to come.

Expanding Your Reach

One of the most impactful aspects of online marketing is that allows you exposure to prospective clients from around the nation—and when applicable, from around the globe. It provides you the opportunity to grow your business well outside of your local area. Your content marketing strategy must include marketing that reaches both your local and remote prospective clients.

Where Do You Begin When Creating Your Startup Marketing Plan?

While content marketing is effective, there are many methods to choose from. While you want to participate in more than one—you may not want to participate in them all. To help you create your startup marketing strategy and plan to consider the tips below.

Define Your Target Audience

You must know who your primary and secondary audience is. This will help you identify how to write and create your content in a manner that solves their needs.

Find Out Where Your Target Audience Is Online

Once you have clearly defined your target audience, it is essential to find the online avenues they are most likely to frequent. What are their preferred social media platforms? What sort of online publications do they browse? What kind of mobile and electronic devices do they use?

Identify Your Startup Marketing Plan of Action

As with most things in life, your chances of success increase when you have a solid plan in place. To create your startup marketing plan of action ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your goals?
• What is your theme?
• How will you track and measure success?
• Will you rely heavily on social media?
• How can you ensure that all of your content is easy to share?
• Will you guest post on blogs or post primarily on your blog?
• Will you send out a monthly newsletter or periodic email marketing?
• Who will provide your content curation and distribution?
• What methods of content marketing should you test first?

Create a Calendar

To ensure consistency, create a content marketing calendar. This includes frequency of content curation, a posting schedule, and researching new tools and resources.

Optimize

Effective content marketing is first and foremost engaging and relevant—but optimization is not to be forgotten. Invest time in identifying current keywords and online industry trends.

Make It Look Good

Your online audience wants to read and view content that is visually appealing. This includes:

• Text that is well spaced, and broken into bite sized chunks with section headers.
• Font and text color that is complimentary, without being blaring.
• Images that are relevant, clear, and make the prospective client want to learn more.
• Videos that are professional, yet fitting—whether this is fun, informative, or creative.

Partner With A Content Marketing Professional

As a startup, your plate is full of all that must be accomplished to get your new business off the ground—which is why partnering with content marketing professionals can prove quite beneficial. Look for specialists who can identify your target audience, and their online habits—as well as insert links to your content on websites of relevant publishers. This will increase your engagement, and drive more traffic to your content—at a much faster rate than going it alone. Outbrain is an excellent choice for distributing your content, and sourcing information about your target audience.

Marketing your startup can be achieved solely by content marketing alone—which is why a startup marketing strategy is required. As your business continues to grow, you may branch out into other methods of online and offline marketing—but the tips above will help you to develop a solid startup marketing strategy that can be the foundation from which you continue to build upon.