In this digitally evolving world, social media plays an important role in the upliftment of any business.
Take, for instance, Zomato. The company is gaining an edge over its competitors due to its heavy social media presence and dedicated marketing team. But how can social media help startups?
Social media is a powerful tool for startups to connect to their audience, build brand awareness, and attract investors. Over 56.9% of startups have a dedicated social media or marketing team.
Leveraging social media effectively can help you gain that X factor you have been missing.
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In this article, we’ll discuss how to create a winning social media strategy for startups.
Why Do Startups Need Social Media Growth?
In this contemporary world, startups have to work in a very competitive environment. Even in the same genre, you’ll find many startups. To stand apart from others, it's important to have a powerful online presence.
Now that the internet is available to almost every home, social media is a cost-effective and efficient way to spread out their products and services.
Unlike old-school marketing gimmicks, social networks allow startups to engage their clients immediately and alter strategies based on the feedback received at the given moment.
Also, incorporating social media as a marketing tool increases brand visibility, which in turn helps customer acquisition. Other than mere customers, a reputable social media presence boosts the chances of attracting potential investors.
Not only that, there are many other reasons why startups need social media growth.
Identifying Your Target Audience
When you first have your startup idea, you have a clear idea about your target audience, same is with social media. To come up with an effective social media strategy, it is very important to decide your target audience.
For someone just starting in business, they should be able to tell what type of people best fit as their clients, what they do and where they spend their time online.
To do this, startups can research the market, including researching the right keywords people search, looking at their customer data, and even creating profiles of their ideal buyers called buyers personas.
These profiles, called buyer personas, are like building blocks for your startups. They're built using details about your ideal customers, like age, interests, and goals. This helps startups generate social media content that their target audience will like.
Think of it this way: if you're selling fitness trackers to young professionals, your social media shouldn't be about cat videos! It should be about workout tips, healthy recipes, and things that motivate them to stay active.
Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms
There are different types of social media platforms, and not every platform is suitable for your startup. You have to choose the right social media platform based on your target audience.
As Ross Simmonds wrote in his B2B marketing book Create Once, Distribute Forever, “If you already know which channels resonate with your audience, feel free to choose your own adventure; go directly to the channel that is most relevant to you.
A good entrepreneur has to know where his target audience surfs online and what they like to read or watch.
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Here are some examples:
- If your target audience is professionals, focus on LinkedIn.
- If you have to sell your items or services to young ones, try Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat
- If you want to reach out to a large audience, Facebook is a good choice.
- Want to chat with customers right away? Twitter might be your best bet.
What Kinda Content Works on Social Media?
The kind of content that works on social media completely depends upon your startup genre, the target audience, your marketing budget, etc. The type of content you share on your social media shall align with your brand. Here are some of the most effective types of content discussed:
- Visual Content: Images, videos, and infographics are some of the best types of content that may be used to market your startup on social media. This type of content can be best to showcase your product or services.
- Entertaining Content: Nowadays, it is all about entertainment. Content like memes, quizzes, and fun facts can make your brand more relatable.
- Promotional Content: Other things that attract an audience are sales, discounts, and new products. It can produce an immediate response from your audience.
- Social Proof Content: Marketing case studies, testimonials, and customer-generated content go a long way toward winning the trust of your potential customers.
- Educational Content: Blog posts, tutorials, and how-to guides that provide value to your audience can be another type of content to market your startup. For instance, companies specializing in pest control often find success in posting educational content on social media for pest control, which helps demystify their services for potential customers.
Building a Brand Voice and Visual Identity
For some initial years, it is crucial for a startup to establish a brand voice and visual identity. But not many people are aware of these terms.
A brand voice on social media reflects your startup’s values, personality, and tone. It can be casual, humorous, or inspirational. This voice or tone becomes a mirror of your startup.
On the other hand, your visual identity is a fictional identity that represents your startup. It should be cohesive across all social media platforms. It includes using colors, fonts, and imagery that reflect your startup or service.
A good visual identity makes your online content recognizable by enforcing your brand's message.
3 Tips for a Social Media Strategy
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Now that you know the importance of social media on the growth of your startup, here are 3 additional tips that you can inculcate to make your online presence even more recognizable.
1. Collaborating with influencers and partners
Influencers have a good fan following, and employing famous online influencers as promoters can amplify your social media reach and credibility. But choose only those influencers whose values and audience align with your brand values.
Similarly, partnering up with other brands or startups is mutually beneficial. You can do such collaborations either online or by co-hosting and planning joint events, creating joint content, or doing cross-promotions.
2. Engaging with your audience
Communication has always been a good way to promote your startup. It is not enough to merely post content; it is equally important to actively engage with your audience.
Such engagement can be done by liking, commenting, or sharing their content. You can also host Q&A sessions, polls, or live streams to encourage interaction and make the audience feel valued.
3. Leveraging social media tools and analytics
There are many tools and analytics options that you can use to plan your social media strategy. For example, if you use Instagram, you can see your audience's likings, their demographics, and other stuff.
You can also use tools to schedule posts, monitor engagement, and analyze the performance of your social media content.
These tools help you get insights into which types of content perform best, your most engaged followers and how much your social media presence is growing.
Conclusion
I hope you now have a clear idea of how to create a winning social media strategy for startups. Establishing a strong online presence gives you an edge over your competitors.
By following the right strategy, you can help your startup grow. Refer to the above article to learn how to strategize your social media presence on various platforms.
Author Bio
Pooja Bahukhandi is a seasoned SEO executive and content editor with a rich background in digital marketing. She began her career as a teacher, bringing a unique perspective to her current role. Pooja's expertise lies in crafting compelling content that drives engagement and enhances online visibility. With a passion for continuous learning, she excels in optimising websites and creating impactful SEO strategies. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pooja-bahukhandi-1181a623b/
