LAVEH BLOG

Marketing Strategies for Startups in Tech

by Taline Badrikian

You’ve worked out the bugs, designed your materials and thought about your brand – but are you really ready to launch? People who plan their marketing strategies for startups in tech are typically doing so at the last minute or as an afterthought. But doing this work in advance can help you avoid costly mistakes when you launch.

You’ll spend valuable time and money marketing your launch, so some well thought out marketing can conserve resources during this time when you might be strapped for cash.

 

Incentivize Sharing

Run a contest, offer a (truly) free trial or even some additional perks for those who share your posts or topics on social media.

By offering incentives for sharing, you can extend your reach without having to ante up cash for sponsored posts on Twitter or ads on Facebook. According to Mashable, using a contest to incentivize followers and build engagement on social media can help your startup take off fast – provided the incentives you are offering are truly appealing to your prospective followers.

 

Focus on Content

Opening your virtual doors with nothing to see or do will cause the prospects you’ve worked so hard to attract to wander away.

Building up a library of content for visitors to read, use, and interact with gives them something to do when they follow your Call to Action and visit your site.

Infographics, how-to pieces, photographs, case studies and more can be used to add value to your site and should be in place before you launch.

 

Target the Right Networks

Is your new tech startup focused on providing a service or product to other businesses? Then LinkedIn is a natural match for your marketing efforts; promoting your product on Pinterest is likely a waste of your time.

If your new tech toy appeals to millennials, then Snap Chat, Instagram and other popular visual based networks are the ideal channel match.

Take a look at your original market research and target demographic to reveal where you should concentrate.

 

Think about Stealth: Open Market or Under Wraps?

While you’re laying the groundwork for your launch it’s natural to want to start building buzz, but there may be some good reasons to keep your tech under wraps until the reveal.  

For marketing purposes, building buzz and awareness with teasers can help boost anticipation for your launch, provided you time it just right. Go too early and you could be giving competitors and third party vendors too much insight, too soon. You don’t have to be so vigilant that you sabotage your marketing efforts, but be aware that more than prospects are viewing your materials – competitors are, too.

 

Don’t Rush to Market

A first impression can make or break you. If your tech is buggy or doesn’t perform, it can be tough to recover and have people give it a second chance when it’s improved. Commit to a full marketing plan when you’re ready, but launch actual General Availability (GA) only when your product is perfected.

A quieter, beta launch may be better if you’re not entirely sure your product is ready for prime time or the GA stage. Both Disney’s Circle and turntable.fm launched without a lot of fanfare and were able to work out some issues without drawing excessive bad publicity thanks to strong marketing campaigns but “under the radar” product launches.

 

Launching any kind of marketing campaign poses real challenges and obstacles; but marketing strategies for startups in technology require additional considerations, from “where” to target your efforts to how much information to reveal about your technology.

 

 

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Topics: Startup Marketing

Taline Badrikian

Written by Taline Badrikian

Taline is the founder of Laveh Inbound Marketing. Using modern marketing concepts without the hefty price tag, Taline has a history of leading small businesses to explosive growth.