2020 Guide to Marketing a Startup in Melbourne

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Are you a startup in Melbourne? Wanting to increase awareness of your brand or service?

It’s 2020. Almost every business today has an online presence. In fact, being online is now a necessity.

And for that reason, you need a solid digital marketing strategy.

Quick Overview.

Whatever strategy relies on an “online channel” is to be considered digital marketing.

These channels include search engines, emails, social media and other websites. And you can set different goals as to how you’ll use each channel.

You can use them to reach new customers, connect with old ones, all while growing key metrics.

For an example, look at platforms like Facebook and Google. They host billions of users, and they have a large customer pool to fish from.

Or how about having your own website? You can set up a blog or business website to benefit from Google’s search traffic.

Basically…

You need to have a digital marketing strategy.

Below, we’ll outline 8 steps to make that a reality. Follow them, and enjoy a boom in business!

Be Present on Social Media.

It’s a basic step for all businesses.

Almost every company has a social media presence. In fact, this is a prerequisite to attracting new followers.

Why?

When marketing yourself, you need a “go-to” location for clients to follow you. And that’ll be your business page.

Another thing is branding. Social media platforms house metrics that indicate business trust (such as follow counts, reviews, likes, etc.).

So it’s a good way to invest in building your reputation. From there, you can use your social media status as a launch pad for further marketing activities.

Plus, you need a pool where you can send out ads to your first clients. And there’s no better starting point than a popular platform.

Speaking of Popular…

Avoid new social media channels. Avoid websites that have yet to gain traction.

We recommend sticking to the most popular, (those being Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn).

Popular social media sites have more sophisticated advertising systems. You can better target your audience without paying money for the wrong viewership.

And speaking of social media advertising…

Use the Social Media Ad Service.

It’s one of the most effective ways to advertise your existence.

Social media use makes up a big part of internet use. And if it isn’t used for chatting, then it’s used for collecting information.

Some Stats.

Let’s look at a platform such as FB.

In 2018, 68% of Americans reported getting their news on social media (source).

As for daily use, FB gets 35 minutes of each person’s day (on average) – while YouTube gets 40 minutes (source).

Plus, there’s the accessibility to consider. People use social media anytime and anywhere. They use it on the way to work, hanging out, and while being at home.

The Pros.

Social media ads improve your targeting accuracy.

Facebook advertising is an example. You can send out ads based on country of residence, jobs, education, sex, age groups, and much more.

Then there’s Instagram, which is perfect for visual advertising. You can continuously post pics and memes as a way of showcasing your products.

Try Influencer Advertising.

Influencers are content creators with a large following.

You can pay a sum (making you a sponsor), in exchange for shout-outs, a mention, or a collaborative online effort.

You’ll mostly find influencers on YouTube and Instagram. Those are the platforms that offer lengthy online content with an entertainment/informative value.

Why Influencer Marketing?

Because it’s quick.

It reduces your need to hustle as a startup. Sure, you end paying a sizeable fee for good exposure.

But, you can equate that money to the hours wasted getting your first clients.

Plus, there’s a “trust advantage.”

People who trust your hired influencer are sure to try your product (especially if the influencer themselves like it).

How to Approach Influencer Marketing.

You can have an influencer tell your business’ story (or the story behind why you made your product).

Stories have shown to raise traffic 15 times faster than average advertising approaches (source, page 1).

And when combined with influencer marketing, your business will get traffic fast!

Marketing Campaigns Using E-mails.

Like social media, e-mail is a common digital marketing platform.

But unlike social media, it isn’t for chatting. Nor can you send out frequent posts to for daily views.

Email is for staying in touch with customers – ensuring they return for more.

As a startup, your focus should be on e-mail collection. You need to entice people to sign up to an “email newsletter.” And you can do so by…

• • Providing a free e-book.

• Providing special services to subscribers.

General Tips on Email Creation.

Keep your emails simple, short, and informative. Also, don’t spam marketing gimmicks with every message.

You can hire a professional to plan out a campaign for you. Or, you can do it yourself if you have email writing experience.

Also, don’t send emails too often. You shouldn’t be sending emails more than twice a week (or thrice if you have a big product/sale to launch).

Search Engine Advertising and SEO.

You can use Google to advertise your business (called Google Ads).

Similar to social media advertising, it’s a PPC system (you pay only when someone clicks). You also gain access to keywords tools that hone in on a target market.

It’s a way to build brand awareness if you have a website. Since websites lack the traffic pool that social media has, you’ll rely on good Google SEO to get clients.

Speaking of SEO…

You can’t keep running a business on social media only.

You’ll need to setup a website, which will act as an online store/checkout for your products.

It’ll also act as a blogging section (where you can showcase your industry expertise). It’ll also be the place where you setup your email newsletter (Step #4).

That aside – SEO is what makes a website successful.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is where you structure content to appease search engine algorithms.

It makes your website more likely to rank on Google’s first page, and higher on said pages.

Start a YouTube Channel.

Don’t want to go through the trouble of starting a blog? If so, use YouTube.

YouTube is one of the best platforms for digital marketing. It’s a source of info and entertainment.

Plus, it’s a place where you can “add a human touch” to your business.

How So?

You can present the content yourself. You can give your traffic a peek into the person behind the business.

You give your viewers an identity to trust. And you make it more likely for people to return.

Plus, making videos is always better than using text content. In fact, using video increases product purchases by 144% (source)!

Content Marketing.

Maybe videos aren’t your forte. If so, stick to writing.

Here, quality is key. Becoming popular online requires you output well-written articles.

Why?

Content writing is the primary skill that powers your digital marketing activities. And good writing translates to good email writing, sales pages, and proper script writing.

Also, good content makes you more noticeable. You will be more unique, and you’ll have value compared to your online competitors.

Plus, SEO is all about adapting good quality content. Because Google tends to devalue content that isn’t written properly.

Mobile Marketing.

People use the internet on their phones daily. In fact, mobile currently accounts for 51-52% of online traffic (source).

And this makes mobile marketing a vital element in marketing.

Plus, it isn’t as “content intensive” as other forms. With mobile marketing, you can get away with good visual content.

Mobile Targeting.

You can do SMS, MMS and in-app marketing.

And unlike social media marketing, you don’t target by demographic. You target by app use.

Pick the apps that are relevant to your business. Also, make sure you pick popular apps to maximise your exposure.

Final Tip: Try Loyalty Programs.

The previous tips get you customers. But you still need ways to keep them around.

Loyalty programs does that job. Through loyalty programs, you provide privileges (in the form of coupon or points) to customers.

Then, you enable customers to trade points/coupons for prizes or discounts.

You can do so through a specialised app. Or, you can setup your online checkout system to accommodate those loyalty programs.

In Summation.

Consider the previous list as a starting point.

Digital marketing is much more complex than what was mentioned. Each of the previous steps can be optimised depending on your industry and business model.

Also…

(Recommendation): Hire a Professional – It Saves You Time.

At minimum, you need a basic understanding of how digital marketing works. Beyond that, let a pro do the job.

You need an expert to take care of the details. Because as a startup, you’re managing much more than digital marketing (financials , staff, product development, etc.)

An expert has the time (and the need) to stay updated with digital marketing trends. Business owners lack that luxury.

They also have the time for laborious aspects of digital marketing (such as scripting content, doing keyword research, find marketing channels).

Would you like to see some fast results?

Now, there’s money to be made by applying the marketing ideas you’ve read about in this post… Lots of money! Seriously…

But, to get that money into your bank account , you’re gonna need to apply AND probably customise these ideas so that they will work in your own unique situation.

If you want to take a shortcut and save yourself some trial and error experimentation in doing that, I can help you get up and running, quickly…

FREE CONSULTATION

If the few ideas I’ve shared with you so far make sense, then I’d like to offer you a FREE consultation so you can see how my practical, results orientated approach can give you an advantage over your competitors, win you more sales and clients and then turn those first time buyers into loyal customers that will bring tens of thousands of dollars in lifetime value.

And, this time, a FREE consultation means exactly that, a free consultation – not a ‘free’ sales pitch.

The world is full of ‘pay-me-then-I’ll-show-you-what-I-can-do’ people … but I’m not one of them. During your free consultation I’ll work with you to identify the very best strategy for you and your business and then show you exactly how to implement the strategy.

I’ll hold nothing back during our consultation.

Frankly, my goal is to impress you.

Why – because, if I can show you how to get better results and make more money from our very first session working together, then you might just want to put me on your team.

And putting me on your team is remarkably easy and affordable.

From as little as one half day per month we could be putting marketing right at the top of your list of priorities, ensuring that you hit your targets and achieve your business goals quickly.

You’ve nothing to lose. So give me a call today on 03 9068 6905 to book your free consultation. Or you can shoot me through a message here: : https://digitalbond.com.au/strategy/