With almost 2 billion websites online, and with 71% of those belonging to businesses, every business needs to make use of the techniques that will ensure their product, business, and site gets seen by the right people.
In this case, the right people are the ones that are most likely to be interested in your product. These people are known as your target audience, and the most effective way of making sure your product gets in front of your target audience online is via digital marketing. Indeed, there are four forms of digital marketing in particular that every business should be using in 2024. Keep reading to find out what they are, and why.
PPC
PPC or pay-per-click is the first type of marketing your business should be using in 2024. This is because there is a wide range of benefits associated with it. First of all., PCC marketing can be incredibly cost-effective because you only pay for the leads that click through to your site. Additionally, PPC marketing can be very effective because it places adverts for your business above the organic search results. This means your business always appears before others in the search results and so it gives you the best chance of being seen by interested people.
In many ways, PPC is like SEO, because it's concerned with using the right keywords and phrases. However, because PPC is a paid form of marketing, most businesses choose to work with a professional PPC company rather than do it themselves. After all, when you pay for every click you want every click to add value to your business.
Social media marketing
Another form of digital marketing that every business should be making use of in 2024 is social media marketing. Social media marketing is all about having a consistent and engaged presence on one or more social media platforms.
The prime reason that social media marketing can be so impactful is that social media is a major part of many people’s lives. What this means is if you develop your own presence on a platform that people are regularly interacting with, you can also make your brand into something that becomes a daily part of people’s lives as well.
However, unlike other forms of marketing, too much direct product marketing on social media channels can be poorly received. Instead, users will be looking for entertaining and informative content with which they can interact. Videos in particular are a very popular effective form of social media marketing.
Making sure a representative from your company interacts back when people leave comments and ask questions can be great for engagement too. It's also crucial that you select the right platform/s for your business's social media marketing. Remember you need to pick the platforms that your target demographic uses the most because those are the platforms that will give you the best results.
Chatbot marketing
Ever asked a chatbot a question when visiting a website, or using an app? Then you have experienced chatbot marketing. This form of marketing is particularly useful for helping people to get two things they may need to make a purchase. The first thing is reassurance that they are choosing the right products for their needs. The second is providing them with any additional information they may need on your product or business.
Chatbots mean that people can receive first-class customer service at all times of the day and night, so they can help you reach and convert more customers. They can also offer a more personalized experience to any customers visiting your site, meaning that each customer gets exactly what they need.
Lastly, Chatbots can also capture data from customers including email addresses which can be used to remarket specific products to them later.
The last form of marketing that every business wanting to thrive in 2024 should be using is affiliate marketing. An affiliate is a blogger, vlogger, or influencer that teams up with your business to promote your product. When someone buys a product through their link they are rewarded with a small percentage of the sale.
One of the best things about affiliate marketing is that it's easy to get a great match with your target audience. You just pick influencers with the same target audience. Also, affiliate marketing can be a very cost-effective way of marketing your business, because it involves only minimal financial outlay. Instead, the costs are only incurred when a sale is made, and so easily offset.
When you’re a startup business, trying to find the best way to reach ideal customers can be a bit of a minefield. You likely don’t know where to start and the best places to put your budget. You don’t have trial and error to fall back on just yet so you are starting afresh and hoping that what you do works. Luckily, nothing is permanent so you need to experiment and find what works best then adapt as you grow. There are also a number of other ways to market yourself which we will go through in this article. Keep on reading to find out more and get inspired.
Focus on your website
Your website is one of your most valuable marketing tools. It’s where you can sell your services, share your testimonials and write blog posts within your expertise. Suppose you can improve your SEO (search engine optimization). In that case, you are likely to bring in more viewers to your site, which you can then convert into customers, improving your revenue and profits. Why not give ChatGPT Search Optimization a go and see how that can help you?
Don’t shy away from social media
No business is a success without having a good social media presence. Just think about when you shop with new companies, there is a good chance you look up their social media before buying, to learn more about their offering and to see what other customers are saying about them. Make sure you have a social media plan with a content strategy in place. Ensure you are posting regularly and making the content you create engaging and interesting. Instagram and TikTok are two powerful channels that are gaining a lot of momentum at the moment. Hopefully, bringing in more money will help with your cash flow as a startup.
Pay attention to your analytics
Numbers say a lot about how you are doing. They create trends and say if something you are doing is working or if it is not. For example, you should be using Google Analytics on your site, as this will track how many people view your site and the time they spend on it. Pay attention to your analytics, as you can see if people are reading your blog posts when publishing, or whether you need to put some extra strategies in place to bring people to them. When launching a campaign, this is when you should have a keen eye on your numbers.
Consider throwing an event
Events are a consideration as you can use an event to make some extra income as well as market yourself, such as marketing the launch of your new salon or product. You can charge entry for an event, as long as it’s got a benefit to the people turning up, such as a sip and paint, in your new studio. Events are great fun as they bring people together and you can run them once or twice a month. It also gives people a chance to be hands-on with your offering, instead of seeing it online or over your social media channels.
Think outside the box
Thinking outside the box is where all the best results come in. Doing things the same or similar to your competitors may work, but it’s boring and means you have to work harder, to beat them. Instead, do something completely different which will capture the eyes of your audience. Try to use video, capture images and create new market trends that your competitors want to copy, as they know you’re doing well at it.
These are just a few things you can do that can help you to market yourself as a startup. Whether you have a plan in place already and are looking for a bit of inspiration, or if you are starting out completely fresh and don’t have a clue where to begin, this is sure to help. Remember, being a business includes a fair amount of trial and error, so don’t get too stuck in your ways and don’t be afraid to think of something new and give it a go.
What are some top tips you have for how you can market yourself as a startup? Which of the tips above did you find most useful and will be trying yourself? Is there anything missing in our guide on how to market yourself as a startup, that you think we should be adding? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
For a small business looking to strike it big online, building a big following on social media sounds like a dream. The more people looking at your content, the further it’s going to spread and the more people you’ll have a chance to convert. That’s how it works, right?
Not always. A big following is worth nothing if the people following you don't actually engage with your content. It’ll just be a number on a screen, and while that looks impressive on the surface, you'll get little to nothing out of them in the long run. All that work will result in little to no ROI in the end.
Now an interested audience, that’s the real goal. Real engagement showcases this and that’s the thing you want to encourage. After all, active, interested engagement means they’re more likely to like and comment on your posts (surface level), and click through to your website and actually buy what you’re selling (what you really want here).
Let’s make sure you can turn a profit off of the work you do on social media. Different engagement methods work for different platforms, and we’ve got a great post here about getting more interactions on Instagram, but the same set of rules can be applied no matter where you’re posting.
People love having a question posed to them. They love having the chance to put their own thoughts and opinions across. And in the land of social media, unsolicited opinions are rife and everywhere you look! So, why not give people a real reason to let their thoughts flow, and ask them a question with every post you put out?
When you do, you might notice a slow start with maybe one or two comments coming through. But the more you pose questions, and the more you learn to tune these questions to the following you’ve built, the more answers you’re going to get. At the same time, you’ll notice that the views the post is getting, as well as the number of likes on it, have climbed up as well.
You can depend on all of these metrics shifting in tandem, as people aren’t shy about letting content creators know what’s working and what isn’t. Plus, the more engagement a specific post gets, the more likely it is that the algorithm is going to notice it. This then leads to even more views and likes and comments, and thus the cycle goes on and on. And all because you gave your followers something interesting to do.
Understand Your Follower’s Emotions
Emotional marketing is a subset of its own, but emotions leak into every kind of marketing you could put out. If you’re not relating to a person’s emotions when it comes to displaying your product or service’s worth, it’s going to be quite hard to convince anyone to buy it.
That’s why you should understand the feelings behind the reason someone followed you. Is it because they are looking for more entertainment in their life? Is it because they need to bridge the gap about a frustration they have to deal with? What’s going on in someone’s head when they decide to follow you?
Work this out and you’ll be able to make plenty of engagement driving content that appeals to those already interested in seeing it. Emotions are likely to differ from follower to follower, but understanding the most common threads will ensure you’re putting out posts that tug on the heartstrings in one way or another.
Don’t Limit Activity to Your Own Page
Creating social media posts is only half of the equation. When you’re on social media, you need to be social as well! That means actively promoting other pages, including content from users that have tagged you and being active in comment sections where there’s an overlap between audiences.
Reddit is a great social media platform for the latter. Get yourself some reddit accounts, join some subreddits in niches your business can cross over into, and then be active in the comments of posts that relate to what you sell or do.
You’re not here strictly to promote your product or service, but as an authority in the industry (as you’re a business owner operating in it), you could have just the answers someone is looking for. So, share the knowledge and the vibe, and see if you get a few upvotes and replies to the comment you’ve left. If you do, you’ll know what you’ve said is engaging enough to draw people in.
And the more you do this, the more active you are off of your own page and in these communities, the easier it’ll be to draw a following around your expertise. People will come to you because they know you really are that authority we mentioned earlier, which is the basis of ensuring engagement. They’re here to see what else you have to say and/or offer, and they’ll have a level of investment that means they’re sure to drop a like and a comment.
Be Reliable
For our last point, make sure you’re a reliable poster. Get some content out on a regular basis, even if that’s not every day. Once a week perhaps, or two to three times a month. Whatever the schedule turns out to be, make sure it’s consistent. You want people to know there’ll always be something new and interesting to see from you.
Social Media Engagement: What to Remember
If social media followers engage with your content, you’ve hit the jackpot. You don’t need every single person that’s hit follow to like and comment, but you do need to see a good portion of them doing this every time you put something out.
That way you can be sure the content you’re sharing is what they're looking for. And while the numbers will always vary, you’ll have some guarantee that the product/service you’re promoting will be added to cart time and time again.
You should feel proud of yourself for launching your own company and becoming a business owner. However, there is always a lot of hard work that needs to get done throughout your career and you must stay focused on your goals.
It’s never too late to revisit your strategy and rethink your approach to how you want to run your business. If you’re going to find long-term success then you always need to be a few steps ahead and not let distractions get in your way. Here you can review some tips for taking your company to new heights.
Have A Recruiting Strategy
You’re only one person with so much time and energy to give. If you’re going to reach your goals then you need a strong team in place supporting you. It’s a good idea to have a recruiting strategy and figure out what type of talent you want to hire. Be proactive by coming up with job descriptions and participating in job fairs where you can meet new people. Once you have your team in place you want to work hard to retain them over the years. Reward your employees fairly and show recognition for their efforts and abilities.
Implement Technology Solutions
You want to make sure you’re working smarter instead of harder. One way to take your company to new heights is to implement technology solutions. There are many ways technology can help streamline your processes and help your company and employees to be more efficient. One idea is to consider an ERP integration that involves AI technologies to help you get and stay ahead. It’s an effective way to improve operational efficiency and data sharing. You’ll also discover that you and your team are more productive overall when you choose to invest in various technology solutions.
Put Your Customers First
Your customers should be your top priority as a business owner. They are the entire reason you’re in business and have a company to run. It’s important that you improve the customer experience and ensure they have a positive time working with your business. Always provide excellent customer service and make sure there are plenty of outlets for getting in touch with you. Give them a voice by reaching out and gathering feedback from them which will allow you to make positive changes as to how you operate your business and approach customer service.
Develop Your Leadership Skills
Take your company to new heights by focusing on being a strong leader. Work on developing your leadership skills in areas where you may be falling short. You want to make sure that people trust and listen to you and that you have the confidence to make tough decisions in your business as to how you want to move forward. You also want to have effective communication skills and be able to delegate tasks to employees appropriately.
Conclusion
There’s no telling what you can achieve when you have the right moving parts in place and are focused on some of the most important areas of running your business. These are some useful ideas to help get you started down a better path. It won’t be long before you notice that you are able to take your company to new heights and find success.
Sticking to the same old business strategies isn’t going to cut it anymore. We’re in a time where everything’s changing fast, and if you’re not willing to think differently, you’re going to get left behind—far behind. So, how do you break out of the box and approach your business strategy in a way that really stands out?
You know what’s really interesting? Some of the best business ideas come from industries that have absolutely nothing to do with yours. It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble and only look at your direct competitors, but why not take a page from someone else’s playbook? For example, if you’re in retail, why not explore how a healthcare company manages its logistics? Or maybe you’re in tech, but you could take inspiration from the hospitality industry’s attention to customer experience. The idea is simple: cross-industry insights can lead to breakthroughs you’d never expect to work for you.
Mix AI With Human Smarts
Sure, AI is great—everyone’s talking about it and a lot of people are using it. But here’s the thing: you don’t want to rely on it completely. The real magic happens when you blend technology with good old human intuition. For instance, Skill Fusion and their AI-powered tools can help your business improve the content you put out there, but at the end of the day, it’s the human touch that makes it relatable. Think of AI as your assistant, not your boss. Use it to handle the heavy lifting, then add that creative spin only you can bring to the table.
Small Changes, Big Impact
Innovation does not always mean giant leaps. Sometimes, it’s about making small tweaks that snowball into something a whole lot bigger. Micro-innovations—those little changes you test and tweak—can make a huge difference over time. Whether it’s adjusting a process, refining your product, or testing a new way to connect with customers, these small moves can lead to really big wins without the risk of betting the farm. Try a few things, see what works, and keep the momentum going.
Partner Up
Honestly now, you do not have to do everything alone. Finding the right partners can help you open up new opportunities and ideas you never would’ve thought of solo. Maybe it’s a startup with some cool new tech, or a brand in a totally different field that complements what you do. Strategic partnerships can help you get ahead a lot faster by sharing knowledge, resources, and even customers. And honestly, a fresh perspective from someone outside your bubble might be just what you need to succeed.
Flip The Script On Customer Feedback
We all know customer feedback is valuable, but are you really using it to its full potential? Instead of just patching up the usual complaints, try digging a little deeper. Sometimes, it’s not what customers say, but what they don’t say that holds the real gold. Ever notice how people sometimes use your product in totally unexpected ways? That’s an opportunity! Pay attention to these patterns. You might discover a whole new direction for your business, or even a new product idea. When you start looking at feedback as a chance for innovation, not just improvement, you open doors you did not even know were there.
At the end of the day, thinking outside the box is about being open to the unexpected, embracing new tools, and collaborating in ways you hadn’t ever considered. Try these approaches, and watch your strategy transform into something really and truly special.
