Marketing your startup

Marketing for a startup can be challenging.  According to this article, marketing success is determined by combining the right channels of marketing content and PR.  Before starting to market a new startup it is important to develop a marketing strategy to build a foundation. The following things need to be handled first.  Choose a market, define keywords, define success, set core metrics, estimate conversion rate, and setting a budget.

Next is using the social media outlets that work best for your company and using them effectively.  This is the most common way used today to try and reach people.  I am sure that most of us will be implementing some use of social media with our applications.  When using social media you want to focus on these things: Choosing the right social media networks, defining the best times to post,  using a keyword list, creating and using an influence list, and setting up a blog.

PR also play a huge role in releasing a startup.  Knowing what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to are the main focuses of PR.  When dealing with PR within your company remember to: Create meaningful position statements, define your startup sensitivities, identifying the right writers for a media list, creating a press kit, and reaching out to journalists.

Once the PR is handled you want to start to think about the content creation.  Although, we will not formally go into content creation, the rest of the article talked about content creation.  When creating content for marketing you startup[ remember to: Create a topic list, know what types of content to publish (Newsletter, video, webinar, etc.), have guest blogging, and capture emails.

Now your marketing strategy is in full effect.  Also, down the road think about testing and iteration.  Your company can set up analytic tools, measure against benchmarks, and brainstorm creative new ideas  You may want to also think about what successful startups have already done drive success.  Focus on selling the solution, having a compelling story , and using all of your resources.

Has your group been using any of these tools when focusing on the marketing side of our project?  I know we are not formally marketing our products, but some of these things come in handy when developing a marketing strategy.

Article: The Ultimate Guide to Startup Marketing