Whether you are bootstrapping or have some financing from investors, your money is often tight when getting a startup off of the ground. It might seem as if there’s just no money for a marketing and advertising strategy. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. Startup Content Marketing can help you get the word out, engage new customers and retain existing ones.
While your fledgling company might not have the big bucks to spend on a nationwide TV ad campaign or a multi-publication print campaign, there is one form of marketing that’s budget-friendly and effective: content marketing. One survey found that nearly 90 percent of startups are using content marketing, and that 70 percent of startups were happy with their results. Get the full scoop on startup content marketing, and find out how your brand can make use of it.
5 Benefits of Startup Content Marketing
Content marketing has a lot of benefits to offer startups, ranging from cost to effectiveness. Take a look at a few of the benefits of startup content marketing:
It’s more affordable than you think.
Content marketing is one of the most affordable types of marketing out there. According to the 2017 State of the Creator Economy study (SOCE), marketers often expect content marketing to cost anywhere from 1.5 to five times what it really costs.
It increases your brand’s presence.
Another benefit of content marketing is that it increases your startup’s online presence. When you produce content, you have more to share on social media and put on your brand’s website. The more you have on your website and the more frequently that site is updated, the better your SEO and the more likely you’ll be to end up on the first page of the search results. The more content you have to share on social, the more likely people are to share it and like or follow your startup.
It establishes your authority and expertise.
People want to work with companies who know what they are doing. Producing and publishing content on topics that are relevant to your industry or that help people solve a problem lets an audience know that you have a grasp on what’s going on in your industry, and that you know what you’re doing.
It increases trust in your brand.
According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising survey, branded websites are the most trusted type of owned media. Roughly 70 percent of people say they trusted the information they found on a brand’s website. If your company’s site is bursting with information and content, people are going to be more likely to put their trust in you.
It helps your business grow.
About 66 percent of startups stated that content marketing was a major driver of growth in their business. About 34 percent of startups credited content marketing with being the main driver of growth.
Examples of Successful Startup Content Marketing
Looking at how other startups have successfully used content marketing to grow their businesses and increase their brands’ presence can give you an idea of how to make content marketing work for you.
Blue Apron
According to Inc.com, Blue Apron, a meal kit company, experienced 500 percent growth over the course of a year. Inc.com attributes that growth to the meal kit’s use of content marketing. Instead of just publishing and distributing recipes with the meal kits it sends to people, the brand also produced a series of behind-the-scenes content. Each piece works to explain the history of a dish and demonstrates how to use specific techniques called for in its preparation.
Glossier
Glossier is kind of a flipped script when it comes to startup content marketing. That’s because the beauty brand began as a beauty blog/website, Into the Gloss. It only later added actual products to the mix. The brand’s understanding of content marketing and use of content from the get-go allows it to enjoy considerable growth and a devoted following.
Design Pickle
Design Pickle offers customers unlimited designs for a flat monthly fee. The brand used content marketing early on in its life — specifically guest blog posts. It credits those guest posts with helping it land its first 1,200 customers.
How To Use Startup Content Marketing
When it comes to putting together a strategy and plan for startup content marketing, there are a few things your brand should keep in mind.
The most important thing to think about is what you want to get from your content marketing. Is your goal to convert new customers, get more leads, or simply let people know you exist?
Next, you’ll want to think of how you’ll measure the success of your content marketing. What key performance indicators will you look at to figure out if content marketing is inching you closer to your goals?
Finally, you’ll want to create a plan for producing and distributing content. Determine who you want your audience to be. Then, think of the type of content that will best meet that audience’s needs. Also think about where your audience is or where it hangs out online. That way, you’ll know what channels to use for sharing and distributing the content you produce.
It’s rough out there for a startup, and many businesses never make it. But using content marketing can help your company find success and differentiate itself from the crowd.
