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PROMOTING YOUR STARTUP
— MUSTS AND MISTAKES
Marketing Communications
Strategies and Tactics Workshop
September 18, 2013
Agenda
• What companies need/want
• Let’s hear from you
• Are you ready?
• Who’s going to do it?
• Exercise: audience & messaging
• Budgeting and priorities
• Musts and mistakes
• Discussion
Every (Start-Up) Company Wants
• Greater awareness
• Higher visibility
• Greater credibility
• More sales
• More sales
• Even more sales
Every (Start Up) Company Needs
• A compelling story
– A short way to tell it (elevator speech, brand
position/promise)
• Customers
• A case study (optional)
• A budget
Are we in the right meeting?
Who is going to figure this out?
• You?
• CEO?
• Sales/marketing director?
• Advisory board?
• Do you need an agency?
Where to begin?
• What do you do?
• Who do you think your customers are?
• What makes you different (your market niche)?
Group Exercise
• What do you do?
• Who do you think your customers are?
• What makes you different (your market niche)?
• Write your ―pitch.‖
GETTING THE WORD OUT
Advertising, PR, SEO, Social Media, Networking
Advertising
• The action of calling something to the attention of the public especially through paid media (Merriam-Webster’s)
• Examples
– Online
– Broadcast
– Outdoor
• Often begins with research to identify positioning and messaging that resonate with the target audience
• You control the timing and the messaging
• Requires persistence to break through the clutter
Public Relations
• Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. (PRSA)
• Also called earned media
• Examples – Media placements & opinion editorials
– Events & stunts
– Corporate communications
– Crisis communications
– Community affairs
• Supports the brand position and messaging
• Third party credibility is powerful
• You can’t control the timing or the messaging
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• The process of affecting the visibility of a website or
a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid
("organic") search results. (Wikipedia)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) includes paid search
results
• Drives traffic to a website or other web presence
• The website must convert
SEO and SEM
Social Media
• Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (like videos). (Merriam-Webster’s)
• Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Earned and paid media opportunities
• Misconception: it’s free
• The debate over ROI rages on
• Consumers and businesses are undeniably engaged
Networking
• The exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business (Merriam-Webster’s)
• Examples:
– Face to face meetings
– Industry events
– Civic organizations
– Sponsorships
– Advisory board
• Critical for any start-up
Getting The Right Mix
• Ideally, your marketing will include a healthy mix of paid
and earned media
• Advertising, SEO & Social = paid media
• Public relations & Networking = earned media
• Most start-ups can’t afford all of these
Budget
• 10% of total sales and revenue (Harvard Business
School Professor, Michael Porter)
• Varies within industries and by size of company
• Some companies spend as little as 3% (Inc. Magazine)
Costs
• Advertising
– Fees for creative development are charged hourly and as a set fee for projects
– Up to 15% of the media budget as fee for media buying is also standard (determined by scope of project, becoming less common)
– Can vary with the project and agency
• Public Relations
– Fees for services (writing, strategy, media lists, pitching and reporting) are organized as an hourly rate, retainer or set fee
– Can vary with the project and agency
Costs
• SEO
– Usually an upfront fee plus a monthly maintenance fee
• Social media
– Advertising
– Content creation and community management may require additional staff, agency support
• Networking
– Membership costs
– Sponsorship costs
– Time
Prioritizing
• Trust your instincts
• Test
• Measure
• Refine
Musts and Mistakes
Musts
• Know who you are and what
you do
• Figure out who your customers
are
• Choose a marketing mix – ads,
PR, social, networking
• Track growth, ROI
• Test, repeat
• Cross the chasm
Mistakes
• Hiring an agency too early
• Reactionary thinking
• Overthinking brand
• Ignoring messaging/the pitch
• Having interns run the social
strategy
• Over-complicating results and
metrics
Discussion