Attention Startups! Free Marketing Guide from Corbec Media

Attention Startups! When you’re first starting a business, it’s understandable to want to do everything yourself. Often budgetary restrictions limit a startup’s ability to hire outside help. New owners may believe they are saving money by doing everything (from coffee runs to content creation). But as your business grows, handling everything will become increasingly difficult. You will need help, and that’s OK. A business colleague once told me you need a finder, a minder, and a grinder in your business. A finder gets the leads, the minder helps you with administrative tasks, and the grinder churns out the product or service. Realize hiring or outsourcing is a part of growth, and growth is always a good thing.

Marketing 101

You don’t have to hire an entire team right away, but several key positions are essential for long-term success:

Freelance writers can handle your content marketing needs so that you don’t have to write every day.
A digital marketing agency can formulate and implement an effective strategy for reaching your target audience online.

For Startups, delegating tasks is especially important if they’re outside your field of expertise or comfort zone. In other words, if web design isn’t something you enjoy doing (or feel like you’re good at), then consider outsourcing it instead—after all, it doesn’t make sense to spend hours fixing something when professionals could do it in no time at all!

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are easy to use and can be very effective. They offer several ways to promote your business, engage with customers, find potential customers, and tell people about your products and services. Remember, you can use social media to open a dialogue, share advice, and develop an ongoing relationship with buyers, sellers, and renters. Check out our quick guide for each platform.

Get in front of as many people as possible to find customers.

As your Startup grows, it won’t always be easy to get out of the office and meet people. However, getting in front of as many people as possible now to find customers with whom you want to grow will put your business on a better footing.

Here are some great resources for finding events to grow your Startup’s visibility:

Conferences: Conferences are great places to interact with peers and learn new skills that will help your business grow. They often have workshops or seminars where you can learn more about specific topics such as marketing or customer service. You might even be able to score a free ticket if the organizer is looking for volunteers!
Trade shows: Trade shows are another way of getting your product or service in front of potential buyers. It can be hard work setting up a booth at these events, but they’re worth it because they’re usually very well attended by people looking specifically for businesses like yours. Plus, since trade shows tend to last several days, there’s plenty of time for networking with other attendees over lunch breaks or after-hours drinks!
Meetups: Meetups are a great way to meet new people who share similar interests. Many cities offer entrepreneurs and small business owners groups, so look around online before heading out into the real world—you never know what might come from an informal conversation over coffee!

Networking Events

In addition to the networking events we covered in the previous section, other types of events can be helpful for small business owners. Networking events such as online speed networking and community breakfasts are great opportunities for meeting new people and putting your business out there. These events are usually organized by local chambers of commerce or economic development organizations, so you can find one near you on their websites.

If you are attending a networking event, be prepared. Come with plenty of business cards, and be ready to talk about what makes your product or service special. Talk with the people at the event and find out what they need. If you need help thinking of what kinds of things to say, you can start with these questions:

Why did you decide to come here tonight?
What kind of work do you do? (Startups should have a interesting and concise answer rehearsed to answer within .30 to .60 seconds)
Be prepared to share some of your recent projects.

Startups or Small business owners should attend at least one networking event per week and any online marketing activities they’re already doing. This will help ensure that your business gets noticed in your local area!

Marketing

Corbec Media offers marketing services especially tailored for small business owners because we want to help you focus on what you do best. Our mission is to be affordable, accessible, and accountable to your needs as small business owners. We love helping startups, and that’s why we designed our free ebook, “A Guide to Marketing for Small Businesses”. At Corbec Media, we are committed to customizing our marketing strategy and our services to fit your needs and budget. Call us at (504) 236-7919 or visit www.corbecmedia.com to book your free growth strategy consultation.