Phew...you finally decided to start your venture, and that's a mighty big step. Trust me, I know. I started DigiWitch 4 years back. To be accurate, it's going to turn 4, on August 15, 2020.
Being a marketer, marketing my business would have come easily to me, you would think. I wouldn't have to spend a dime on my marketing efforts, web content, or social media posts, because that's what I do for a living; I write stuff, and I market products and services.
Since you are new in the market, you should start with a welcome post that introduces your brand to your Target Group (TG). Also, let them know the kind of posts they can expect from your feed so that if they like, they can go ahead and start following your website, my social media posts, and my blogs.
The insights I received were pure gold. And that's what I invest in my client's marketing efforts. So, if you want to go ahead and market your business yourself, that would bring you some great learning and insight, for sure.
That said, I would also like to confess something before I go further. Although writing comes easily to me, and marketing ideas flow through me like live currents, when it comes to my own business, I rarely have time to apply the same.
This is because I am all too focused on client work, deadlines, and keeping their engagement levels up. Hiring a marketer who could take care of my work is a thought that has often crossed my mind.
Marketing is a complex affair. Done right, it's your goldmine (yes, I will use the gold reference again, replace it with oil if you like). So, here's me telling you how to get started with marketing your business. Phew...you finally decided to start your venture, and that's a mighty big step. Trust me, I know. I started DigiWitch 4 years back. To be accurate, it's going to turn 4, on August 15, 2020.
Being a marketer, marketing my business would have come easily to me, you would think. I wouldn't have to spend a dime on my marketing efforts, web content, or social media posts, because that's what I do for a living; I write stuff, and I market products and services.
But, my venture was my pilot project. I can proudly say that "never have I ever" experimented on a client's project to learn core stuff. My business has been my training grounds and that worked out perfectly fine. Anything new I had to try, I tried with my website, my social media posts, and my blogs.
The insights I received were pure gold. And that's what I invest in my client's marketing efforts. So, if you want to go ahead and market your business yourself, that would bring you some great learning and insight, for sure.
Ask yourself some questions when you start marketing your business
That would be the first place to start and this is what will lay out the rest of the path. Whether you are handling marketing yourself or you are hiring a marketer (like, your's truly...), you will need to ask some open-ended questions.
Here are a few "must-ask" questions:
1. Why did I start this business?
Crazy as it might sound, you need to ask yourself this. And answers like "making money," "it's profitable," and "This is going to give me high margins." are answers that are NOT GOOD or ACCEPTABLE.
In fact, if this is the reason you are in business, you might need to sit back and rethink your WHY. This is because there's always a chance that those margins might diminish, you might start seeing more competition, and you might even lose interest in the business.
What then?
If you know that you have thought this through and you are heavily invested in it, that's when you should jump into it. Answer the WHY seriously, because this is the WHY you are going to sell to your target audience. If you can't sell this idea to yourself you will not be able to sell it to your target audience or to the content marketer you're hiring.
2. What is my brand about?
Just like you have a name, a countenance, and a face that people can see, meet, and trust, similarly, your product or service will need an identity and that will be your business's brand. So, you will need to put some thought into your brand.
I did not start as DigiWitch, I started as Triquetra Content Services. I spent hours explaining to people what it meant and why it relates to my business. I then moved to run the business under my personal brand and once it grew traction, I re-branded to DigiWitch, and now even without explaining people kind of get it.
According to many, I do some kind of Digital Magic and that works for me. Plus, the logo is basically me in a caricature form, which boosts brand recall and I stick to the logo colors for all my social media posts to ensure consistency.
You are NOT marketing to the world at large. Not everyone is going to buy your products and services. So, you need to sit down and think hard, who are your customers, who are looking to buy your products or services?
According to many, I do some kind of Digital Magic, and that works for me. Plus, the logo is basically me in a caricature form, which boosts brand recall and I stick to the logo colors for all my social media posts to ensure consistency.
That is how specific you need to be. Right from the color, to how your logo communicates your offering to people at large and using that brand/logo/colors to boost recall in people's minds, without overwhelming them.
3. Who is my target audience?
You are NOT marketing to the world at large. Not everyone is going to buy your products and services. So, you need to sit down and think hard, who are your customers, who are looking to buy your products or services?
If you are selling something that's already present in the market, do some social listening and find out who is following your competitors and what they are liking and engaging with.
If your product or service is something totally new in the market, find out what kind of posts your target audience/buyer persona, wants to see and where they want to see it, what's the social media platform of their choice?
Creating a buyer persona can help you with your targeting efforts a lot!
Example of a buyer persona
Jane Doe
25-34 years
Working professional
Active on LinkedIn and Instagram
Likes posts on motivation/hacks/deals
4. What should I post?
Always remember, you might not start seeing likes immediately. Likes are NOT your end goal. Leaving a mark on your audience's mind is.
You are NOT marketing to the world at large. Not everyone is going to buy your products and services. So, you need to sit down and think hard, who are your customers, who are looking to buy your products or services?
Since you are new in the market, you should start with a welcome post that introduces your brand to your Target Group (TG). Also, let them know the kind of posts they can expect from your feed so that if they like, they can go ahead and start following you.
You can then start posting content consistently, every week, at least twice to thrice a week. You can share curated content, as well, as that shows people that you don't just want to bombard them with your content.
Also, your content should be focused on them and not only on your product or service offerings. They should derive value or some learning from every post.
Always remember, you might not start seeing likes immediately. Likes are NOT your end goal. Leaving a mark on your audience's mind is.
So, create quality content that people appreciate. It takes a long, long time to establish a brand in a market, especially one which is dynamic, seeing increased competition every passing day, and fighting changes in the algorithm on search engines and social media platforms. It is difficult but doable if you know what you are doing.
Like I said earlier, it's always better to outsource marketing to an expert so they can take care of consistent and continuous posting of quality content to keep your brand on everyone's radar.
If you have any questions regarding any of the above pointers or would like to know more about how to boost the online presence for your brand or even create one, you can reach out to me at proma@digiwitch.com and we can have a chat on the same.
Do share your queries in the comments section, so I can address them in my subsequent blogs.
Wish you all the very best with your new venture, you are going to rock it!