{"id":829,"date":"2018-07-03T11:17:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T11:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evergreenfeed.com\/blog\/?p=829"},"modified":"2026-05-08T10:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T10:05:59","slug":"inbound-marketing-strategy-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evergreenfeed.com\/blog\/inbound-marketing-strategy-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Inbound Marketing Strategy for Startups"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am sure most of you know what the “yellow brick road” is. Bare with me as I am paving a way for an inbound marketing metaphor. The yellow brick road is <\/em>inbound marketing that guides the audience to the Emerald City – or in this case, the check-out point of your startup.<\/p>\n

Well-implemented inbound marketing strategy will build awareness, consumer trust, and familiarity with your business and its operations. Foregoing this step entirely is not a wise decision in today’s environment as many competitors exist who welcome this approach.<\/p>\n

As a budding startup, it’s in your best interest to cultivate brand awareness and fortify assurance – this will be achieved through quality inbound marketing. In the beginning, you are probably craving instantaneous results, assuming cold calls, mass emails, running online ad banners will generate results. This is outbound marketing<\/a> – forget about it.<\/p>\n

Outbound marketing is inefficient, expensive, and temporary<\/a>. Not to mention reaching out to individuals who aren’t familiar with you can be off-putting from the consumers point-of-view.<\/p>\n

Through inbound marketing, your goal is to escort the audience across content that will mitigate their hesitation; sympathize with problems that your audience encounters, offer creative solutions, and they will be happy to do business with you.<\/p>\n

Inbound Marketing is an Ongoing, Worthwhile Process<\/h2>\n

Companies that executed an inbound marketing strategy correctly were 10 times more likely to generate quality leads<\/a> than through the use of conventional outbound marketing methods. Though one thing to take note – you should buckle down for this, as inbound marketing isn’t a quick endeavor<\/a> with over-night results.<\/p>\n

Inbound marketing and content creation will require commitment but in turn it offers a more formidable ROI<\/a> while at the same time leaving a long-lasting impact in the community. Quality content that is delivered to the right audience needs to be informative and beneficial. This will keep the content consumer coming back for more.<\/p>\n

Staying consistent with your inbound marketing efforts is crucial. It’s been shown that the cost-per-lead drops by a whopping 80% after 5 months of constant inbound marketing<\/a>. This is something to keep in mind since a lot of startups operate on a tight budgets.<\/p>\n

Create Personas<\/h2>\n

While reading up to this point, you probably have noticed me mentioning the words “right audience” a few times. Fact of the matter is that you can’t effectively appeal to everyone<\/a> – don’t even try. In order for your marketing efforts to come to fruition, you need to understand your ideal consumer base.<\/p>\n

\"Inbound<\/p>\n

Don’t be afraid to look through reviews on your competitor pages. Look at what your competition is doing well, find out what their customers are unhappy about. For your marketing to be most effective, you need to know your consumer inside and out and what you bring to the table that no one else does.<\/p>\n

Use this information to help create your startup’s ideal consumer – the one your product and your marketing will be aimed at. Having this information at your disposal will allow you to curate most effective content that resonates with the reader.<\/p>\n

(A more comprehensive guide on creating a buyer persona can be found here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In for a Long Haul<\/h2>\n

Operating a startup can come with a lot of uncertainty but it also poses the valuable benefit of flexibility. You are not there jumping through hoops in attempt to appease higher-ups, or running ideas up the ladder in hopes your idea gets approved.\u00a0 Enjoy the malleability you get within the startup.<\/p>\n

This brings me to my next point, long-term goals. Benefits of inbound marketing only come to light in around 5-6 months<\/a>, sometimes even longer. This may mean you will need to be more proactive about your marketing efforts even before you launch your product.<\/p>\n

Your inbound marketing is a long-term endeavor that can create synergy with startup flexibility. Understand that your goals may shift or your product evolves – your inbound marketing needs to be there and reflect the development.\u00a0 Flexibility plays a big part in this regard since you can adjust quickly by avoiding downtime between a content ideas and their inception.<\/p>\n

Cultivating a Presence<\/h2>\n

We covered the benefits inbound marketing offers to startups, but where does it all take place? What platforms should you be hosting content on? Your startup needs to have a clear understanding on the type of content to produce and where to publish it.<\/p>\n

The industry in which you operate may dictate a portion of your publishing and creation approach (i.e. topics). I will go over a few methods you can use for inbound marketing content creation, but remember – not all of them will suit your target demographic equally.<\/p>\n

Various content channels you utilize can be stringed along – in other words, one piece of content can direct the reader to another. Inbound marketing strength lies in your ability to expose the audience to variety of pertinent information you publish, further enforcing your validity and establishing awareness.<\/p>\n

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Each piece of quality content brings your closer to a paying consumer and a product promoter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Culmination of all your content that has been developed overtime will build momentum, generating leads and creating paying customers. Evaluate the available channels you have at your disposal and see what will be the go-to content marketing mediums for your personas.<\/p>\n

Blogs<\/h3>\n

Blogging platforms offer a great solution for content publishing. It’s versatile, easy-to-use, and long-lasting. Create content that is relevant to your industry and offers benefit to the reader – think about reciprocity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While writing your blog, you are able to distinguish yourself from competitors by offering a unique voice and generating value. This leads to readers coming back to peruse content you have created in the past, and longing for additional content you create in the future.<\/p>\n

Content that is found on blogs continues to drive online traffic even long after it’s been published. HubSpot evaluated their blog content and found that over 90% of their blog leads<\/a> came from old posts. Old blog content manages to generate solid leads due to organic search development<\/a> and engagement (i.e. shares) over time.<\/p>\n

Taking up blogging as a means of content marketing is a no-brainer. You’re able to churn up quality leads through useful content creation which only gets more effective as time goes on.<\/p>\n

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\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommon Blog Mistakes and How to Avoid Them<\/span><\/a>\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEffective blogging can pose a few challenges to new writers. Here is what to look out for and what blog mistakes to avoid when taking up blogging.<\/span>\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD MORE<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Podcasts<\/h3>\n

Recently, many businesses have begun incorporating podcast as part of their content marketing strategy. Even blogging platforms such as WordPress have designated podcast publishing plugins you can use for easy podcast submissions.<\/p>\n

With a relatively negligible investment, you can start your very own podcast. Talk about issues relevant in your industry, provide guidance to struggling individuals, or discuss recent developments in your organization. This is a very versatile and interactive content platform with tons of potential – if you’re not too shy.<\/p>\n

Through your podcast, you can guide the listeners to your other content platforms, promote events or products. Just another great way to guide your audience along the inbound marketing funnel.<\/p>\n

If you’re interested, I have created a comprehensive guide to creating your very own podcast<\/a> – go check it out.<\/p>\n

Social Media<\/h3>\n

When I talk about social media, I am not suggesting you to dwell into the paid advertisements social media platforms offer. On the contrary, establishing a presence by creating an account(s) on social media can be another way for you to generate awareness and exemplify social proof.<\/p>\n

Being active on social media allows you to stay engaged in conversation and build a stronger, more personal bond with potential and existing consumers. You can get closer and more in tune with the audience that you wish to attract. Having these interactions can help your startup evolve further product development and marketing strategies.<\/p>\n

Social media gives you a chance to showcase recent achievements; bring followers closer to your operations. Post pictures, updates, news, promotions; this is a great and simple way to give the audience an insight of what your company is really about and the culture that envelops your startup.<\/p>\n

There are variety of social media platforms<\/a> for you to utilize, though not every platform is created equally. Go over your buyer persona to identify most effective social media channels to use.<\/p>\n

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\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to Create a Social Media Plan<\/span><\/a>\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSocial media has swept across the digital marketing world. See how you can implement the best social media plan in your marketing strategy.<\/span>\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD MORE<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Something to ponder!<\/h4>\n

Running a startup is a resource intensive endeavor. Save yourself precious manpower by automating some of your social media marketing<\/a>. You have access to variety of automation tools that will help streamline your social media interaction. Efficiency baby!<\/p>\n

Website<\/h3>\n

Being omnipresent on the web means you’ll also need to develop a strong web page for your startup. Setting up a website helps incorporate variety of inbound marketing steps on a single platform –<\/p>\n