In this article, we have curated a list of the top 5 digital marketing strategies for startups in 2021.
Do you know the biggest reason why a lot of startups fail to take off? No, it is not the absence of a brilliant idea. It is the absence of intensive digital marketing strategies.
Digital marketing has proved to be a game-changer in the last few years for startups as well as corporates. With the help of digital marketing strategies, brands have been able to market their products and services efficiently in a cost-effective way.
In 2020, a lot of businesses had to shut down. But brands that adopted digitization and digital marketing strategies were able to increase their presence and survive with the help of digitalization.
Whether you are a startup founder or a mid-sized company, it is advisable to have digital marketing as a skill to help your business grow. You can learn digital marketing through an online digital marketing course or even go for corporate training in digital marketing for your organization and employees.
Having said this, let us understand what a digital marketing strategy is.
What is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan of action designed to achieve specific marketing and business targets. It includes selecting the right online channels to communicate with your audience to achieve the targets in a pre-defined budget.
When a digital marketing strategy is created, a lot of planning goes into it. Every step of the marketing process is planned.
At times, startups and brands can create a backup strategy that can be used in times of crisis. Creating a substitute strategy is considered to be a broad approach.
Now that we know what a digital marketing strategy is, it’s time to know why a digital marketing strategy for a startup is so important.
Why is it important for startups to have a digital marketing strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is meticulously planned. As a startup, when you have a well-defined marketing strategy in place, you have clarity in where you are headed and where you are investing your money.
A key component of a digital strategy is tracking your progress. At every step, you can track the progress of your strategy and make changes whenever you want or whenever you feel that it is not working as per plan.
Likewise, with a digital marketing strategy for your startup in place, you can have a look at the things that are working the best and you can capitalize on them and make the most out of them.
Combining the right channels of communication, identifying your target audience, and consistent content, you can come up with digital marketing strategies for your startup to meet your business and marketing objectives.
Let us now go to the top 5 components of digital marketing strategies for startups in 2021 that can help your startup achieve marketing and business objectives at a low cost and at the same time give you a good return on your investment.
Also Read: Digital Marketing Tips for Bootstrapped Startups
Top 5 components of digital marketing strategies for startups in 2021.
Table of Contents
1. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing means using social media platforms to build awareness of your brand online and engage with your audience. The ultimate objective of social media marketing is to have your audience visit your website.
Social media marketing is a very useful strategy and used by many businesses across the globe. Usually, it is easy to do and with a strategy in place, it can do wonders for your startup.
In social media marketing, you need to know where your target audience is the most active and select that platform.
The next important step is creating and posting content that is relevant to your brand and engages your target audience. You can use something called a content calendar to organize your content.
2. Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website with informative and valuable content that attracts more visitors to your website and helps you rank higher in search results on Google.
SEO is about getting organic traffic on your website without putting any money into it.
Every website on Google intends to optimize itself to rank first on search engines and this is pretty much possible at low costs with the correct research and quality work.
There are three different components in SEO – on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
To have a high return on investment (ROI) from SEO, all the three components need to be equally balanced because each one complements the other.
You can learn more about SEO in this online SEO course.
3. Email Marketing
If you are a startup, email marketing is a must. According to Economic Times, For every 1 dollar put into email marketing, you can make 40 dollars in return.
Every successful startup has leveraged the power of email marketing. It is a must-have tool as a part of the digital marketing strategy for your startup.
How many times have you created an account on a website, received emails from them, and made a purchase by going to their website from an email? Often, right?
Emails with a quirky subject line and a clearly defined call to action can help you get more traffic as well as lead to an increase in sales.
Email marketing is very easy to learn and you can learn it online in a small amount of time to help your startup grow with this Online Email Marketing Course.
4. Video Marketing
Video marketing is a great way to engage with your target audience across social media platforms.
Videos are very engaging as they are visual and have sound effects as well. As a startup, you must create more videos to have your target audience look at them and engage more with your content.
Recent trends have shown that short videos are working well on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. They are having a wider reach and as a result, brands are seeing an increase in the number of followers and increased engagement.
Video marketing is cheap. What you need to make a good video is not a large budget. You just need to have a good idea and correct execution.
You can use video marketing better by learning how to optimize videos to get a better reach with some low-budget video marketing tips.
5. Referral Marketing
According to research that was conducted, 92% of buyers trust personal recommendations and referrals.
Referral marketing is a form of marketing in which your customers spread the word about your product or service and in return, they might get something.
A classic example of referral marketing is that of Google Pay. When a new user signs up on Google Pay, it prompts them to refer their friends in return for a cashback or a reward when their friend makes their first purchase.
Referral marketing should be a part of the digital marketing strategy for your startup. In a country like India, customers love cashback and discounts when all they have to do is refer someone.
Must Check Out: Content Marketing Strategies During Covid-19
Takeaway
Digital marketing is not a static thing. It is dynamic and ever-evolving in nature and it is not limited to just a few things.
Apart from the above-mentioned components of a digital marketing strategy, there are other components as well that can help you formulate digital marketing strategies for your startup.
You may not have access to abundant resources in the beginning, thus the strategies mentioned above are budget-friendly and will help you kick start your marketing efforts in the right direction.
Digital marketing is here to stay and companies & startups that are going to have a sound digital marketing strategy time and again are bound to succeed in the long run.