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

– Print

– 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