There is an ongoing misconception among startup entrepreneurs that the moment you launch your product, people will get attracted to it naturally. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in reality.
“If you build it, they will come.” This motto has been debunked by many successful business leaders. They argue that such advice can bring disastrous outcomes for a startup, even before it launches.
While starting your own business is already a risky and laborious task, building your audience from scratch can be quite as challenging. Behind every follower gained is an effective brand marketing strategy. Sadly, not a lot of startup owners realize this critical effort. To ensure the long-term success of your startup, you need to build your customer base first.
1. Focus on your market and know their preferences.
One of the most critical mistakes that are rampant among startup entrepreneurs is that they aim to target every individual for their marketing campaigns. While it is good to get your business out there, there is a high chance that your product is not reaching the right audience, putting your time, effort, and money to waste.
When coming up with marketing strategies for your new product, set your eyes on your target audience. Focus on examining their priorities, engagement and buying behaviors, social media activity, and other preference details. This will help you to improve your audience attraction strategy and dominate the right market for your business.
2. Enhance your online presence.
With the rise of digital technology and social media, it is no surprise that almost everyone across the globe is online every day. Nearly 4.57 billion people globally are active Internet users. That’s about 59% of the global population, with China, India, and the U.S. dominating the market. In the U.S. alone, around 81% of adults go online daily.
Boosting your digital footprint can help your brand stay visible to the public. Start by creating a compelling social media feed. Social media has become one of the most popular online activities, with 3.6 billion active users worldwide. These figures are expected to surge further to 4.41 billion in 2025 as more people shift to digital platforms for work and entertainment.
Enhancing your social media presence can help you widen and target your audience reach. Come up with interesting, relevant, and original content that will drive social media traffic. Take advantage of the craze by putting up videos to entice more users to visit your feed. Conducting polls is another interactive option, which can help you create better campaigns. Coming up with fun and trendy challenges may also help; they can make you go viral in an instant.
Once you have that going, the next step is for you to post consistently. Social media users crave new content constantly and quickly. Inconsistent posting can give your followers a perception that you do not have enough content to share, defeating their purpose of following you in the first place. But this does not mean that you should bombard your followers with random content every single hour. Publishing a blog, photo, or video content once a day may already be enough to boost your presence online.
Aside from social media, investing in online forum software can help you create avenues for discussions among your target audience. Online discussions can give you an idea of what your target market prefers, which can help you improve your offerings in the future.
3. Seek new partnerships while maximizing your current network.
When it comes to publicizing your new business, one thing that will never go out of style is the traditional word-of-mouth technique. Ask your friends and family to spread the word about your new product. Persuade them to like, follow, and share your pages with their followers and peers. This strategy can help your business reach a wider audience with no extra cost.
Aside from this, partnering with influencers and relevant brands can effectively boost your audience reach and entice more people to support your business. Studies have shown that influencer marketing is growing faster than digital ads. Tweets from influencers have increased the buying intent of consumers by nearly five times. Additionally, around 40% of individuals have purchased a product endorsed by an influencer. This can be incredibly beneficial for startups that have been struggling to win over potential clients.
Launching your business is already a milestone. But not knowing how to attract the right audience could lead to devastating results. Growing your audience from the ground up does not happen overnight; it requires patience, strong will, some costs, and a lot of strategizing. But once you hit your target market and begin seeing the returns, it will all be worth it.