Startup Advice – Branding & Presence

In our previous post here, we talked about some of the things you need to have in place before going all out with a business, brand, or service launch. Here we will talk about the next set of things you should consider when it comes to going from startup to streamlined operation.

The world is a big, competitive place. If you are running a business, unless it is a very niche, local business, it’s likely you’ll face competition from companies operating out of everywhere from Cleveland to LA. How do you stand out from the crowd?

Become a thought leader

Thought leadership basically means being able to answer the questions of your customers, your target market, or your audience in general. Thought leaders are seen as pioneering trendsetters in their field, and they are THE “go-to” people whenever anyone gets stuck. If you are a thought leader, your opinion counts, and your footprint lasts.

Develop yourself as a thought leader by providing useful information to your customers, conducting research of your own, refining your online presence on business Facebook page or an official LinkedIn account to showcase your knowledge (be sure to include relevant, beneficial content), and promote your content in the right places, in the right way. You can read more about becoming a thought leader in our post on this very topic here.

Get your social media strategy right

If you click here, you will find a very detailed article on the importance of social media marketing, and how to do it right. In a nutshell, social media is a great tool for promoting your business and for developing more meaningful interactions with your target audience. Various social tools from Facebook to LinkedIn can help you stay relevant and in the minds of your customers, and social strategy is becoming an increasingly important part of the overall marketing strategy of successful companies.

Blogging

Blogging goes hand in hand with becoming a thought leader, as well as with promoting yourself across different platforms. If you are able to provide your visitors with relevant and up-to-date information, and if you run and maintain a web page or online portal that is modern and easy to navigate, you will be able to ensure that your visitors have a pleasant experience whenever they visit you. They will then be able to recall you by name, and perhaps even share their experience with others. Also, if your blogs contain relevant information or answers to standard questions (or even articles about specific, hard-to-find details relevant to your field) then you will be on your way to becoming a top-tier industry specialist. However, you have to make sure you always develop fresh, interesting content, otherwise your brand name will take a hit.

The easiest way to being remembered is by always being around. Whether you achieve that via tweets, targeted sales emails, memorable Facebook posts or regular blogs is up to you, but the key goal is to always be no more than just a click or a call away. Perfecting your approach to the three aspects of online branding and content creation discussed above is a critical component of business success.

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