3 Actionable Marketing Tips for a Startup with no Money

With so many big and well established brands competing for market share online, it can be a daunting task for the small business to find a marketing strategy or SEO tactic that is going to give them any edge on the web.

This is true for standard marketing and media buys as well as for organic search engine ranking.

Not to despair, there are always opportunities to build a stable business online. Small business, especially local business can be very nimble compared to the larger business.

As a result, they can often get closer to their target market a lot easier than the big brands can. They can also negotiate and partner a lot quicker than big brands.

Here are three marketing tactics that won’t break the bank, but might just help you brainstorm a way to break free of the, “little man mold”.

Low Cost Tactic 1:

"Friends with Benefits"

This tactic requires you to think laterally about your industry. Rather than look at your customer or competition, look around at those industries and services that somehow compliment or contribute to your own.

How can you engage their services to promote your own and increase your own brand exposure?

Example: A new hair salon targeting 18-35 year old females

Combine your hair salon service with a service that every girl in this demographic is looking for when they get married: A Hire car service. Find a local, perhaps reasonably, new hire car service that would like a bit of exposure themselves.

Offer to advertise their service in your salon in exchange for a free limo ride once a week to a lucky group booking in your salon.

The offer is a free Limousine ride to and from the salon, won by draw, when you you book yourself and three other friends for a salon treatment.

Submit a local press release to promote the idea within your community and at the same time increase the exposure of both business. Run the campaign on the Social Media Platforms of both businesses as well.

Who are the friends and neighbours in your niche? How can you collaborate with them?

Low Cost Tactic 2: 

"Industry Press Release Services - with a Twist"

OK, so it's hardly groundbreaking, but it is still powerful and still free. The trick, in my opinion, is not to write the release yourself but to find someone in a related niche who will write about it for you. Let the marketing become their problem.

Example: Utilise an Industry News Columnist or Blogger

I once came across a retail industry news site that seemed to publish a lot of articles on online retail start ups that were offering something unique. I was running an online ecommerce store at the time that sold traditional board games, many hand made, from all over the world.

The unique concept was that we went back to the countries in which the games originated and asked those artists to make their game, their own, authentic way.

I approached the retail news site about our products and offered to do an interview. The editor liked our unique angle, wrote up the interview and published our store as "retailer of the week".

We got huge traffic and from the article which is still on their site 5 years later. All I did was find a unique angle for our product and answer the questions.

What makes your product or service stand out? Find a new angle and exploit it.

Low Cost Marketing Tactic 3: 

"Talk, Talk Talk... to Influencers"

Every industry has it's influencers, and they are all hanging out online... influencing. You should know who they are if they are in your industry. Having the courage to reach out and talk to them can have surprisingly good results if you are genuine, humble and honest.

Example: "Infographic and Rich Media Sharing"

Infographics don't cost anything except your time. I use Canva. It's free and gives great results.

I am no designer, but not long ago I put together a cheeky article, "First Page of Google, and How I get my Clients there", and then created a fairly simple infographic to go with it.

Luckily, the article went to the first page of Google and is still there - otherwise this would have been a monumental flop! I then managed to put that infographic under the noses of some big names in my industry - the web marketing industry.

Two of them took it up and published it on the front page of their SEO website.

The results of such a high profile marketer taking up my humble infographic had almost immediate results. The link back to my site also meant that my cheeky article remained on Google's first page.

To this day, that article, along with the organic traffic and the referral traffic from that influencer is the number one source of new clients for my business.

What content do you have that you could re-purpose? Do you have a video you could turn into an article? An article you could turn into an e-book?

Whatever your niche, there are always fresh ways to market your brand online. From the personal and contactable nature of your customer service, to the partnerships you form with other small business, there are ample opportunities to create new marketing channels for your business.

Startup marketing requires brainstorming. it requires getting together with friends and business neighbours and collaborating. it requires patience, testing and a commitment to the task.

Big brands are investing big money into their online reputation and marketing and the cost of doing business online has gone up considerably the last five years.

But it doesn’t have to cost a bomb. Grab a pencil and paper and see how your new start up can put these marketing tactics to work for you online.

Source : http://bit.ly/1T7XiCB

Behind The Scenes Of Wonderful Instagram Photos To Make You Rethink Social Media

Instagram has played an enormous role in the social media world since the beginning of the decade. Users capture square-shaped snapshots of their lives to share with the rest of the world, simply with the click of a button.

This social media platform has opened up a whole new realm for individuals to take a photograph, apply copious edits and filters to it, and pinpoint exactly how to design the post to appeal to their audience. Although witnessing a beautifully crafted photo can leave a long-lasting impression on a viewer, the behind-the-scenes work can leave the entire concept looking quite deceiving.

Let’s face it, photo editing has allowed us to drastically modify the appearance of both ourselves as well as objects around us — creating a false sense of perfection and beauty to the untrained eye. Thailand-based photographer Chompoo Baritone studied what goes on behind the scenes of the Instagram world, showcasing these awe-inspiring insights within the not-so-perfect world of Instagram.

Let’s take a closer look into what is really going on!

Capturing a breath of (not so) fresh air…

Filters are not the only thing lending a helping hand…

Baritone captures the true essence of winning…

How to stand out in a crowd…

The truth behind an ocean-side getaway…

Take a step back every once in a while…

Is the grass really always greener on the other side?

We want to extend an enormous “thank you!” to Ms. Baritone for gifting us this peek into real life, allowing us to understand that there is beauty in everything. Even ourselves.

Source : http://bit.ly/1RcQZ2F

3 Social Media Trends to Look for in 2016

It seems as if social media trends change daily. In 2015, we saw major changes to the Facebook newsfeed, the dawn of live-streaming applications, and a whole bunch of content everywhere. To me, it seems clear: businesses have an issue with content. Your clients might be saying, “Wait a minute; we’re creating content just fine,” but here’s an alarming statistic: 69 percent of business-to-consumer marketers created more content in 2015, and 70 percent of business-to-business marketers also created more content.

The alarming word here is “more.” In an effort to battle 0% organic reach on platforms like Facebook, the ongoing strategy has been to create more content to cut through the clutter. But is this really the right path forward in 2016?

My answer to this is simple: quality over quantity. A brand that is too focused on the brand message as opposed to communicating with its consumer is a brand that will fail on social media in 2016. It’s time we really start to understand our consumers, because 2016 will provide brands a real opportunity to harness the power of consumer-driven content and brand affinity.

Here are three big trends I see really taking off in 2016:

1. Channel building.

Simply put, many brands are on multiple channels, but the content strategy isn’t working. Instead of cross-promoting the same content on all channels using the copy-paste model, brands will need to make the switch to a model that speaks specifically to the audience on each channel. Work to build specific audiences on the different channels—because they’re all so different.

We know that the LinkedIn audience is comprised of mostly C-level executives, so let’s help our clients understand that there is a better channel suited for community events, contests, etc. In the same vein, branded content will not generate any organic reach on Facebook unless you’re providing an awesome incentive to engage, so make sure you’re working paid budgets into the 2016 mix.

If a message is important and you want people to see it, be prepared to invest $2 in promotions for every $1 spent creating a piece of content. Don’t just drop a piece of content on a social network and hope it sticks, give each piece of content a runway to succeed.

2. Live streaming.

Content on social media that contains video is proven to be more engaging. Brands are beginning to use videos for customer service outreach and to show personality. In 2016, new applications like Periscope and Facebook’s new “Live” option will allow brands the opportunity to engage on a new level. Attending a trade show? CEO giving a keynote? Hosting a grand opening? Stream it live and give consumers a real look into your client’s brand and “who” they’re all about.

Notice I said “who” and not “what” – the sooner our clients can differentiate between the two, the faster they’ll see success on social media. It’s not about what a brand has; it’s about who they are and how consumers will identify with them. Many marketers think consumers are too busy to consume their content, but if content is relevant, the audience will consume it. Relevancy creates time.

3. Influencer marketing.

About 25 percent of all branded search results is user-generated content. That means a quarter of the content about your client’s brand is not developed by your marketing team. Yikes! Influencers, brand advocates, and even employees are talking about your brand online.

Remember the phrase: “word of mouth?” It’s happening on a massive scale, but your brand can weigh in. Businesses are making more than $6 on each $1 spent on influencer marketing.

I like to think of social media as a live 24/7/365 focus group. Get to know who is talking about your brand in 2016 and build some relationships; your efforts will surely pay off.

Source : http://bit.ly/1R2S50V

50 Best Startup Tools & Resources For 2016

Whether you’re thinking about launching a business in 2016 or you’re already working on growing one, you probably recognize and understand the importance and value of tools. The fact is, you can’t do it all on your own—no matter how savvy you think you might be or actually are. In order to build or grow a startup in 2016, you need to invest in tools that can help you optimize, automate, and improve every working part of your business—from sales and marketing, to employees and customers.

But here’s the problem: there are a TON of tools out there (and more being introduced everyday). So how do you know which ones to choose? How do you know which ones are a waste of time and which ones can actually help you grow your business and reach your goals?

It’s not easy, but we put a list together in an effort to make it a little more manageable. In this post, we’re listing the 50 best startup tools and resources that you should consider using in 2016. You might not need all of them at the same time, but we’re guessing at least a handful of these would be beneficial for you to look into, no matter what stage of development or growth you’re in.

We’ve categorized the tools into 10 main categories: marketing, sales, data, customer support, project management, productivity, back-office, social, employees, and learning.

Take a look at our list of the 50 best startup tools and resources that will help you grow your startup in 2016:

Marketing Tools

These top marketing tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  SumoMe – For capturing and nurturing website leads, boosting traffic, and increasing brand awareness.
2.  Kissmetrics – For increasing website conversions, tracking analytics, and personalizing experiences.
3.  Adwords – For spreading the word about your business on Google through advertising.
4.  Optimizely – For running A/B tests that help you optimize your website and influence interactions.
5.  Content Marketer – For promoting your blog content, connecting with influencers, building relationships, and increasing traffic.

Sales Tools

These top sales tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Drip – For sending trigger-based and educational-based email campaigns.
2.  Close.io – For automating the tedious tasks associated with closing deals.
3.  Yesware – For automating and scheduling email communication.
4.  AppDataRoom – For designing sales presentations that can be used on-the-go.
5.  ToutApp – For automating and scaling your lead nurturing & sales processes.

Data/Analytics Tools

These top data/analytics tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Google Analytics – For tracking web traffic and goals and for optimizing experiences.
2.  Maptive – For quickly data interpretation and action upon complex location-based data.
3.  Moz – For optimizing SEO, word-of-mouth, and brand awareness.
4.  Chartio – For organizing and understanding business intelligence data.
5. Social Analytics

Customer Support Tools

These top customer support tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Groove – For helping and interacting with customers.
2.  HelpScout – For nurturing and improving relationships with customers.
3.  Zendesk – For building a help center and providing live chat.
4.  Intercom – For automating and optimizing prospect interaction and customer support.
5.  Help.com – For customer support and lead management.

*Note: these 5 tools are very similar—but they are all great options if you’re looking for building or scaling customer support! Each offers something a little different. Spend time exploring all five and pick the one that you think will align best with your business and goals.

Project Management Tools

These top project management tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Basecamp – For project management and communication across multiple teams and departments.
2.  Asana – For project management and communication within your company or department.
3.  Trello – For personal project management or smaller team-based project management.
4.  Evernote – For personal project management.
5.  Voxer – For team communication.

Productivity Tools

These top productivity tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  RescueTime – For tracking your time, eliminating distractions, and optimizing your daily productivity.
2.  AnyDo – For building personal and professional task lists.
3.  Toggl – For tracking time and optimizing productivity across your team.
4.  Google Drive – For sharing documents, collaborating with team members, and working from anywhere.
5.  Pocket – For saving helpful resources and reading them at a later time.

Back-Office Tools

These top back-office tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Zenefits – For managing all your HR needs in the cloud (payroll, benefits, compliance).
2.  BambooHR – For centralizing employee information and managing your team.
3.  Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll) – For all your payroll, compliance, and benefits needs.
4.  Xero – For your accounting needs.
5.  Square – For accepting payments from anywhere and managing your team.

Social Tools

These top social tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1. Buffer – For scheduling your social media updates.
2.  Buzzsumo – For curating top-performing content.
3.  Canva – For designing graphics for social media, blog posts, and your website.
4.  Flare – For increasing social shares and engagement.
5.  Narrow – For building a targeted following on Twitter.

Employee Tools

These top employee management tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Slack – For communicating with your team and departments.
2.  TinyPulse – For keeping a pulse on employee happiness and loyalty.
3.  AnyPerk – For showing employee appreciation and praise.
4.  When I Work – For building employee schedules and communicating with your team.
5.  Jazz – For hiring and onboarding your employees.

Learning Tools

These top learning tools will help you grow your startup in 2016:

1.  Coursera – For helping your employees grow in their careers.
2.  Udemy – For mastering a particular subject before hiring someone else to do it.
3.  edX – For learning more about your industry.
4.  Clarity – For mentoring and coaching.
5.  YouTube – For entertainment and miscellaneous education.

Don't forget to download the Fresh Ideas News app.

Source : http://bit.ly/1jecZva

The Latest Rules of Social Media Marketing

Social media is no doubt an ideal way for you to acquire new fans/followers and engage with them. It’s also an ideal tool to boost the reputation of your company/brand. In a way, social media has become an integral asset in marketing your business.

But how are you going to maximize its tools for your company?

Listed below are some new do’s that you should follow when it comes to your social media marketing so you’d be able to achieve your goals in no time.

Social Plan

Do you have one?

Most of us don’t.

Social plan is essential to make your social media marketing more powerful.

It’s a plan that compiles all fresh contents on your social media. You can create a daily, weekly or a monthly theme.

With a plan, you’ll have consistency. This will also allow you to send out your social updates at the right time.

When your audience knows when you’re going to post your content, they’ll go back to your site and wait for your next awesome piece of content.

Then again, what you post should provide them value. Else, they’re going to leave or unfollow you.

Even though you have a social plan, you should still monitor your channels.

Don’t just post and leave. You want your social media accounts to be as professional as possible as they reflect what your brand is.

That said, you’d want to monitor your channels and take out those spammy comments or inappropriate remarks.

Monitoring your channels will also help you find some comments and questions posted by your prospective clients.

When you’re there monitoring, you can make an instant reply and begin a real-time conversation with them.

Content Should Reflect Your Brand

It simply means that your content must provide value to your audience by sharing content that’s information and educational.

This gives them a sample of what they can expect when they visit your site. It also gives them a preview of what type of information is housed on your own site.

You already have followers. So, give them a reason to click through your link and visit your site.

But never assume what your audience wants. Just because you share your content on your social media accounts doesn’t mean that you’ll increase your CTR.

For that reason, you should know the profiles of those who interact with your content. In this way, you can share content that attracts attention to your potential customers.

Test the Times and Types of Content

A good social media marketer will always test the best time to post content in a social media channel. In this way, you’ll know what content works and what needs to be improved.

As you survey the activities on your social channel, you can generate useful pieces of information that may increase engagements and schedule your post during optimal times.

The best time to post is different from one company to another. That said, it’s necessary that you know your audience.

You can do so by using Google Analytics and check out your demographics, location and so on and so forth. Use these pieces of information to get to know more about your followers.

Source : http://bit.ly/1P7peIf