Tag Archives: Digital Marketing

How to Create a Social Media Profile For Your Business

How to Create a Social Media Profile For Your Business

As a startup or small business owner, you have to be smart with the resources you have.

Oftentimes, traditional marketing doesn’t exactly fall within your budget. That’s why social media is a great alternative in generating the results you want to achieve.
It’s not only low-cost, but it also gives you direct exposure to current and prospective customers

So, you’ve formed your business and want to start marketing through social media. Now what?

Here are a couple tips to think about when creating your profile:

Start with a Social Media Strategy

Even before selecting which channels you’ll use, you need a detailed strategy that will keep your marketing efforts on track. The first step is to figure out how you want to portray your brand. For best results, align your social media approach with your company culture and make sure it addresses your business goals and audience needs. Always strive to establish your brand’s own identity on social media so that your company can stand out among its competitors.

Choose the Right Social Networks

There are many different social media platforms to choose from today – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram – and depending on your strategy, you should be able to determine which ones are right for your startup. Look specifically at the target age group of your audience, the location of your business and the nature of your services when making the decision. One last tip: keep social media profiles limited to a couple of networking platforms. This way, you can easily monitor them, keep them up-to-date and interact with your followers more closely.

Build a Community

For long-term growth and success, the best thing you can do is build an online community of supporters who give your startup additional exposure and promote brand awareness. You can do this simply through personal interaction, relationship development and customer satisfaction. In general, customers greatly appreciate companies that put in effort to engage with their followers and connect with their audience.

Listen Instead of Talking

The biggest mistake you can make on social media is not listening to your followers. When used correctly, social media platforms allow you to garner valuable feedback. Respond to comments, mentions and feedback even if they’re negative. Social listening is an excellent tactic to monitor what people are saying about your brand.

Experiment

Sure, going the traditional route in terms of strategy is great, but every now and then, it’s great to think outside the box – as long as what you’re doing doesn’t compromise your brand’s integrity. Being creative and innovative will generate new ideas and develop the mindset you’ll need to resolve any problems later on.

Evaluate your social media strategy regularly

Startup companies can get overwhelmed by the fast pace and growth, but it’s important to take a step back every now and then to measure and analyze your results. Tracking performance data, such as growth, engagement and sharing, is the best way to identify which tactics are working and which ones aren’t. Things change with time and social media is no different. Therefore, it’s important to assess your startup’s social media business plan regularly to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of your profiles.

A Few Last Words

Social media takes time and energy, so don’t be disappointed if the results you want don’t automatically unfold. Be patient and devote the appropriate amount of work into each account. With time, your profile will reap the benefits of company visibility and audience engagement, which eventually leads to paying customers and investors.

If you have a question about social media for your Startup or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

The 12 Best Startup Accounts To Follow On Twitter

The 12 Best Startup Accounts To Follow On Twitter

The Startup Garage team scoured Tweeter to bring you 12 diverse Startup resources full of rich content, active engagement, and follower traction worth following.

1.Funders and Founders@FundersFounders 19.7k followers

Are you a visual learner? @FundersFounders easily explains Startup Entrepreneurship visually through simple, fun, informative infographics that will help you thrive as an Entrepreneur.

2. Tech Cocktail @TechCocktail
51.9k followers

An online hub that brings the tech & startup ecosystems together on and offline.
Covering Startup news, how to’s, and upcoming events.

3. CB Insights @CBinsights
12k followers

A Venture Capital Database with detailed research reports, that helps track the world’s most promising private companies, their investors, acquires and the industries they compete. 
Helping entrepreneurs make smarter, faster, wiser business decisions.

4.Seed Sumo @SeedSumo
5,300k followers

A Superhuman Startup accelerator based out of Texas. @SeedSumo delivers a wide variety of worthy tweets, trends, and mentorship.

5. Startup Digest @StartupDigest
66.7k followers

Locally grown fresh Startup events in your area and around the world sent directly to your inbox. Designed to keep you in the Startup know.

6. Mashable – Startups @mashstartups
100k followers

Digital Culture news at your fingertips. An essential Startup resource for inspiration and fun, curated by a staff of rad contributors, who have set out to empower others.

7. 500 Startups @500Startups
354k followers

“Meet our badass, global family of startup founders, mentors, and investors” need I say more.
This startup accelerated was founded by Paypal and Google alums and lives and breaths Silicon Valley.

8.Derek Andersen @DerekjAndersen
13.3k followers

The founder of @StartupGrind (another resource to take notice of) As he grinds and hustles through the Startup community. *SideNote: He recently turned up his Instagram game introducing StartupGrinder, for a “behind the scenes” perspective.

9. Forbes Woman @ForbesWoman 294k followers

Success Tools and Tweets for today’s ambitiously entrepreneurial women. Tweeting through the lens of the world’s most interesting woman.

10. Startup Quote @startupquote 34.7k followers

Well you guessed it… Quotes that only an entrepreneur would love & other innovative wisdom to ponder. *Side Note at the time of writing this article @Startupquote has been on Twitter hiatus since May 18th 2014. Technically bouncing them off our list, but still worth referencing in times of need.

11. AlleyWatch @AlleyWatch
10.9k followers

A platformed designed to foster the Startup community. Providing invaluable information for every state of the Startup lifecycle, from the dreamer to the serial entrepreneur.

12. Product Hunt @ProductHunt 85.6k followers

Products that are set to disrupt the market in some shape or fashion. Be warned browsing these tweets may leave your brain swirling in a sea of ideas and innovation.

Be sure to check out “28 Essential Hashtags To Use For Your Startup Business”

Social Media A Startup Must-Have

5 Reasons Why Social Media Is Key For Startups from The Startup Garage

Social Media A Startup Must-Have

5 Reasons Why Social Media Is No Longer Optional For Your Startup Business

Reason #1) Have you heard of a Website?

Does your Startup business have a one?
Chances are unless you’re stuck in 1994, it’s fair to say any successful business on and offline has a website.
Social Media Platforms are the WWW.’s for a new generation.
A generation of people, who know the power of the World Wide Web, and value instant connectivity both locally and globally.

Reason #2) “Your network is your net worth”

Well, what if your network was endless? We’re talking Billions of people Network/Networking just fingertips away.
Individuals exchanging key Resources, Connections, and Knowledge.
Investors, Advisors, Customers, Partnerships and even your Competition… all-waiting for someone to strike up a conversation.

Reason #3) Brand Equity

Behind any successful Startup there is a well-cultivated brand.
Wikipedia said it best, “Brands are one of the most valuable assets a company has.” The consumer’s perception of a brand increases both financial and market appeal. Social media provides the ultimate stage for a Startups brand personality to develop. As well as a massive instant audience ready to grow, evolve and help mold the business.

Reason #4) Startups = Innovation

As a Startup company it’s essentially your social responsibility to stay on top of technology and cutting edge trends. You are The Early Adapter, The Visionary, and The Magician, who predicts and creates the future for the rest of us. Social Media tops the technology and trend lists, providing a turnkey foundation to build Startup empires.

Reason #5) “Like” it or Hate it, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and others are our present and future.

The names and features might change, but their presence and influence in our lives are unavoidable.
 

Have questions? Feedback? Intrigued?
Tweet us @Startup_Garage We’re happy to help.
 

Whether you have a question about your Startup or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

5 Ways to Increase Landing Page Conversion

Landing Page Optimization from The Startup Garage

5 Ways to Increase Landing Page Conversion

Trying to maintain high web visibility is difficult. Trying to gain high levels of conversions once you have high web visibility is even harder. For any business to succeed, they need to have a high conversion rate which isn’t always easy considering that they only have a few seconds to capture a visitor’s attention.

If you are finding that your business’ site is struggling with conversions, ask yourself if your site contains all of the following elements:

Important Content in Plain Site

If your visitor is resorted to searching for contact information, you will most likely lose your conversion. You don’t want to force your visitors to have to scour the internet for the information they need. Instead, you want to make sure that it is front and center so that it is not only easy to find on a desktop, but also on a mobile web browser.

Simplicity

Don’t overwhelm your visitors with a ton of tabs, pages, photos, and content. Try to keep your landing page as simple as possible and with easy and comfortable navigation features. This will allow visitors to find the information they want and need more easily which will increase the likelihood of a conversion.

Make Every Word Count

Because site visitors typically only spend a few seconds on a webpage, you need to make sure that every visible word counts. If you have a title or header, make sure to briefly explain what other information that page may make available. You need to provide as much information as possible in as little time as possible which means making every word count.

Urgency

Visitors are never going to understand why they need your product or service unless you tell them, and they are never going to feel as if they need it right then, unless you make them feel like so. Make sure that your few words used on the site convey a sense of urgency so that you are more likely to increase conversion rates.

Remember Mobile

More and more internet users are starting to browse the internet through their smartphones. If you want to increase your conversion rates, then your business site needs to be mobile friendly. Make sure that the site and the information you want to see first is able to pull up on multiple mobile web browsers so that visitors are more likely to stay on your site.?

If your site doesn’t contain any of the above elements, that could be what is keeping you from high conversion rates. Sites that take too long to load or are difficult to navigate are often frustrating or overwhelming to visitors, which will have them clicking the back button quicker than you can think about it. If you want to increase your conversion rates, make your site more simple and give your users easy access to the information they want at all times.

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Whether you have a question about increasing landing page conversion, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

Getting the Most Out of Your Digital Marketing Campaign

DIgital Marketing Strategy from The Startup Garage

Getting the Most Out of Your Digital Marketing Campaign

Let’s face it, most small business owners don’t have a clue about what it takes to run a successful Internet marketing campaign. With smartphones and Internet searches taking the place of traditional advertising, it has become harder than ever to break through to new customers. Loyal patrons of small business establishments are leaving their old stand-by’s behind because of deals they found online.

Your business probably already has a website; either made by a professional or an accountant looking to let his or her creative side loose. But there is much more to running a successful digital campaign than setting up a basic landing page. Here are some of the strategies you need to implement for your business:

Blog Posts

By writing a blog with well-written articles, video posts and pictures, you can easily gain more attention to your business and rank higher in search engines. People don’t even have to see what you are writing about for you to improve your search engine ranking. By using carefully selected keywords chosen by a ppc agency, Internet users will see your company’s website higher on pages like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Mobile Marketing

While having a desktop or laptop browser ready website is still vital, more and more people are looking for businesses on their mobile devices. When designing a site for yourself or hiring a creative agency, make sure to have a mobile website that is compliant with most mobile operating systems. You will want to have it designed using HTML5 and all of the most vital information up-front.

Location Tagging

An important part for both desktop and mobile marketing is the use of location tags in your site’s meta-data. Using meta-data will bring your searches up higher when people are searching for a specific service or business in your area. When people are on their smartphones, the geo-location and GPS device will bring up your location based on the user’s proximity.

Groupon

Using Groupon to increase your online awareness is a double-edged sword. You can get your business prominently featured on social media and an extensive email list. You can also increase brand awareness and foot traffic to your place of business with coupons. However, you run the risk of not gaining repeat business from Grouponers and losing a lot of money. Therefore, users should use Groupon at their own risk.

Social Media

Along with all of these strategies, you should also be engaging in detailed social media conversations with your customers on Facebook and Twitter. Use social media as a way to provide better customer service and alleviate any situations disgruntled followers might be having with your establishment.

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Whether you have a question about getting the most out of your digital marketing campaign, or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!