Startup Guides > Marketing Made Easier - Follow These 10 Tricks from The Pros

Marketing is the life force of any startup; without it, the company will not succeed.

Here is a list of the top ten expert marketing tricks to help breathe life into your business:

SOCIAL MEDIA

1. Boost your posts. Give your social media content a boost. Businesses are finding it more and more difficult to get their message heard. So, give your content a paid boost via social media marketing. For less than $100, you can potentially get your message out to thousands of users who may be looking for what your business offers.

2. Load up on data, and do it quickly. Use the ability to test ad efficiency in real-time. Create hundreds of ads and change one element per ad. You'll quickly see what works and what doesn't without breaking the bank. Double down on the ones that work, and shelve the ones that don't.


3. Repost, retweet, and engage. Don't just post stuff about your company. Engage with other companies, your customers and thought leaders in your market or industry. Repost their posts, retweet their tweets, share and add your thoughts. Respond to posts that aren't directed at you and give your thoughts on those. New connections and followers will start flowing your way.

Speaking of social media and marketing, you can also visit 40Billion.com which is a fast-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in the promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses - including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion to promote crowdfunders and their campaigns or projects.

ADVERTISING

4. Explore pay-per-click advertising. Google isn't the only show in town when it comes to pay-per-click advertising.

Google has the most volume when it comes to their ad network. But they're far from the only option. Bing provides great results for businesses targeting the baby boomer generation. You can also look into Google Search Partner Networks for other opportunities for higher ROI.

5. One ad per keyword. If you're running a campaign with a dozen keywords and only have one ad, then you're throwing money away. Create specific ad groups that target single keywords. Then create two to three ads for that one keyword. See which ad works best, then run with it.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

6. Don't brag, provide real value. The greatest secret in media and public relations right now is that the press - and your potential customers - are most interested in the value-added information that will help them succeed in a given area, not in hearing promotional information from you. By thinking of your readers' needs first - not your own self-interests - you could receive business traction and audience engagement beyond your wildest dreams.

7. One sentence. This is a pro tip that's extremely obvious, but often completely ignored by entrepreneurs everywhere: You should be able to explain your startup in one sentence. That's it. No exceptions.

SEO

8. Poach your competitors' mentions. Create a Google Alert for your competitors' brand names. Find out where they are being mentioned and in what context. Then, see if there are opportunities to be mentioned alongside them. Many times, journalists and editors will write about one brand and be open to including a similar brand for comparison.

EMAIL MARKETING

9. Create concise subjects. Get an immediate lift in email marketing revenue by reducing your subject lines to only one word. Choose that word carefully. It should induce irresistible curiosity, while staying relevant to your message. With the right word, your open rates will get a skyrocketing boost. Do some testing to really dial it in.

OUTDOOR ADS

10. Think outside the box. Get creative when working with a budget and with advertisers. E.g., you can try a pay-for-performance billboard on one of the busiest stretches of a local road or an interstate. Then only pay the billboard agency if a sale results from that billboard. You'd be surprised what you can get accomplished if you only ask.

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