Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly
Getting your business off the ground is hard work, regardless of how experienced you are and what industry you are hoping to break into. Those first few months of operation can take their toll, with registering your business, developing a business plan, investing in equipment, etc. The list is endless!
However, one important factor you must consider is your marketing strategy as it is a major element you simply cannot neglect. The marketing strategy you choose and develop is the difference between your businesses unwanted anonymity and having too much work to cope with.
There are many various factors to consider when drawing up a marketing strategy, which means if it is not your forte, you may find it more efficient to outsource the work. Here are a few pointers for you to consider, whether you’re planning on hiring someone else or taking the workload yourself.
Don’t opt for a cheap/free website
Everybody wants to save money on unnecessary costs but going for a free website is rarely a good choice. It may seem like an ideal option at the time, but a few months down the line, and you may realize you’ve invested huge amounts of time into developing content for a site you cannot expand.
Free web hosts don’t offer any customer service, have a limited amount of storage and bandwidth, and the hosts also have full control over your website. That means they can advertise anything that they want to on your website.
Keep up to date with marketing trends
If you don’t know your email segmentation from your Hootsuite, then you probably need to get up to date with the current trends in business marketing. Sites like Entrepreneur regularly publish articles that will help you to develop your marketing knowledge, as well as help plan your marketing strategy. There are so many experts that will provide you with the most effective marketing methods that you don’t need to waste much time trying to understand the jargon and mechanics.
Protect your business
If you are using websites and other online methods for marketing, make sure that you use adequate security measures. You can pay for security features to be installed on your website, or hire data security authorities if you are concerned about your data being stolen and have to abide by government requirements. Also, make sure that you use a secure backup method to protect all of your files, from your marketing campaign materials to your login passwords.
See what marketing tools are available
See of there are any cheaper alternatives before you spend large amounts of money on software packages. You can get good value email marketing campaign templates through MailChimp, design tools through Canva, and video editing tools from YouTube and other sources. Not all professional tools have to cost a fortune, therefore, research before you download expensive design software.
These are just a few tips, but if you follow the marketing experts on business sites, LinkedIn or even YouTube, you will soon start to become a marketing expert yourself.
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