7 Creative Ways to Market Your Startup

Are you a startup founder who is having trouble building their first big wave of traction? If so, I promise you're not alone!

Virtually every founder needs to balance an endless number of priorities when they start their business. In my experience, the reason 10% of startups fail in the first year is they don't do enough to get through the noise and connect with their target audience.

The good news is that if you know about this and have the right strategies lined up, you can avoid this pitfall and take your new business to the next level.

With this in mind, here are seven creative ways you can promote your startup, reach out, and build the traction required for your business. I've used these for quite a few of our recent projects and have seen tremendous success.

I firmly believe this is possible for you, too. So, let's dive in!

Spend More Time on Social Media

Social media sites are now a must-have marketing strategy for businesses across all industries.

For context, it's estimated that around 93% of all internet users log in to social media at least once a month. It's also worth mentioning that the average social media user spends 2 hours and 19 minutes on these sites every day.

Crazy, right?

Now, combine all of that with the fact that Google is now placing content from social media in its search results more than ever before. That means having an active presence means not just a way of connecting but also visibility.

However, what really makes the difference with social media is consistency. Creating a posting schedule, regularly commenting, and even responding to direct messages with your audience will help you grow your social presence and trust with soon-to-be customers.

If you want to grow your startup, I would say social media is the most important thing you can do right now. As you'll see, some of the other tips I'll discuss down below tie directly back to this theory.
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Embrace Influencers and Affiliates

On that note, working with influencers and affiliates can really help you project your voice when you're just starting out.

I'll bet there's a list of influencers or other content creators you follow regularly. Well, your audience is in the same position. If you want to win over new people, start partnering with creators in your industry and ask if they're willing to talk about your product or service.

Offering an affiliate program can speed up this process. People are more willing to take action if they can get a residual income from their work. When you consider that around 16% of eCommerce sales in the U.S. and Canada are from affiliate marketing, it's not hard to see why this is an inviting incentive.

But first, you have to find creators whose values and content actually align with your brand. I think the most important thing to remember here is you don't need someone with millions of followers.

In fact, it's better to work with influencers with a smaller audience since their followers are often there because of the specific niche. If your product or service fits into that niche, it's a perfect match for driving new people to your website.

Run a Giveaway

Giveaways are an excellent way to attract new people to your startup and drastically improve visibility. Quite simply, everybody loves stuff for free. Similarly, most of us are intrigued by the idea of winning a giveaway!

The key to holding a successful giveaway is to set up rules that result in people sharing your post and specific landing pages while also sharing it with their followers.

For example, you can give people three ways to enter. The first is by simply clicking enter, the second is by visiting the giveaway landing page, and the third is by sharing it with a specific hashtag.

All of these signals will help get more eyes on your giveaway, which means more participants and greater awareness, even after the event ends.

You can choose a prize you like best. Something from your website is a good option, but if you want to reach as many people as possible, a general prize, like an Amazon gift card, is a safe bet.

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Make Your Website More Interactive

Your site is for more than selling products. Ideally, you want people to stick around and, engage with your content and become more comfortable with your brand.

With this in mind, static, uninteresting sites will turn people away, while interactive elements keep them engaged.

One of the best ways to increase the interactivity of your website is by adding a live chat option where potential customers can ask their questions and get instant answers. This will also instill confidence in people who are visiting for the first time.

You could also add hands-on product demonstrations, reactive surveys, and videos that keep people on each page for longer than the time it takes them to scroll from top to bottom.

Another good option is personalization. It makes a site more relevant and engaging by using tools, now mostly powered by AI, to recommend products or tailor content for every single visitor. These interactive features not only increase conversions but also leave a lasting impression on people who visit your site.

Showcase User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGV) is, without a doubt, one of the best ways to build trust. And when you're just starting, you need people to trust you if you want them to hand over sensitive information to become an email subscriber or customer.

My advice is to turn to your small group of established customers and followers to create UGC around your brand or products.

Examples of this type of content include customer testimonials, which you can later add to your website, or even doing something like using a brand hashtag.

There are a ton of options to choose from, too, regardless of whether you sell physical or digital products. If you're the founder of a software company, for instance, you can do a case study with one of your first customers that found success.

All of these trust signals attract more people, and as folks try your product, more will leave to create UGC, which will keep the cycle going.

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Add a Referral Program

While we are on the topic of leveraging existing customers, it's a really good idea to create a referral program early in your brand lifecycle. A referral program is a system where customers are rewarded for bringing in business from their friends, family members, or colleagues.

You could offer them discounts, gift cards, or special privileges for referring new customers. Some businesses take this further and set up tiered systems, whereby the more people a customer brings in, the more rewards they can earn.

The key is to keep things simple and enticing. When the customers see the benefit of bringing in others, then they're more likely to become brand ambassadors and help you grow without much extra effort on your part.

Combine referral programs with other marketing strategies I mentioned in order to really make them work. For example, a refer-a-friend giveaway is an excellent way to get new people to visit your website who come with built-in trust because they know the person who recommended your company.

Partner with Reputable Brands

Partnering with established brands can really help new startups reach new audiences and build credibility. The key is to find businesses that are complementary to yours, not competitive.

Let me give you an example: If you have a startup dealing in fitness gear, then partnering with a local gym or nutrition company would be perfect. Partnerships come with a lot of benefits:

1. They help you tap into the audience that may not be aware of your brand but is already interested in what you are offering.
2. It increases your credibility by association; customers will trust you more when they see you working with a company they respect and trust.
3. Partnerships can help create meaningful connections within your niche, so more opportunities may arise in the long term.

Whether it's co-hosting an event, orchestrating a joint promotion, or bundling your products together, collaborations can help you move much faster than doing it by yourself.

Final Thoughts

All successful startups embrace marketing early. They know that there's no quicker way to connect with their audience and grow than by proactively working to get in touch through many different channels, like social media, email, and their website.

The tips I've outlined today will help you build a marketing framework that you can adjust based on your industry and long-term goals. If you want to make sure you're doing the best you can, make sure to track your marketing analytics so you can figure out what's working and what isn't.

Before long, you'll have an organized plan where you gradually grow organic traffic, subscribers, and of course, customers.