A new company can be hard to market to your niche when you’re starting out.
Recently, I stopped in to shop at a local salon when an esthetician who works there, announced she was leaving to start up her own venture from her house. She was excited to be her own boss and explained what salon services she would be offering in her new business.
Intrigued by her solo venture and the fact that I might be seeking out her services, I asked if she had a website or a business card so that I could contact her.
She didn’t have either, but instead wrote her information down for me and stated that she was going to get her Facebook and Instagram page set up soon. She said she had the basic business items ready such as her company name chosen, her business license, her insurance in place etc.
So, for those of you who know me, this is going to sound like a broken record but…. Facebook is not a website, nor should it be treated like one. I explained this to her and the reasons why, and we continued to chat more about it.
These are the startup marketing tips I gave to her off the top of my head:
Get a logo created.
It doesn’t have to break the bank or be fancy. Fivrr.com and LogoNerds.com are a couple of sites that can create them for a reasonable price.- If you can, get a logo in a large format so that you can make it smaller if necessary. You do not want to have a fuzzy or pixelated image from trying to enlarge it.
- Get a logo in jpg and png file. You never know which one will work better for you. Jpg images are usually more universal but there are programs that work better with a png image.
- Also get a copy of each image format with a transparent background so that you’re not forced to have the white square surrounding the logo when you want to use it on another background.
Get a website! An online presence is a must!
- If you cannot afford to have a web designer, you can create one for yourself using Wixx.ca. Wixx is more user friendly for non-techy folk than most other website creation platforms.
- Start out simple buy creating a list of pages that you want to have on your website – For example: Home, About, Services and Contact. Then fill in the info that you want on those pages. After you’ve go the content created, build it. You can always change the site content with a theme and adding WordPress later when you’re ready to blog.
- Always buy the domain name (url) yourself. DO NOT have a web designer purchase it for you or you will not be the legal owner of it.
Get your social media sites created.
- You need to know which social media sites your niche is going to use. She knew her target market was going to be on Facebook and Instagram which was great.
- Get a spreadsheet or a document ready to record your social media content.
Once you have your logo, website domain name or url and social media site urls you can then get your business cards printed.
Make for sure you add your social media sites to your business cards as well as the links to each profile and your website url. Using just the logos from the social media sites you want to use forces your potential clients to look for you. Make it easy for them to follow you.
Get an account for some stock image sites.
- You may need stock images for your site to help it become more visually appealing but you will need them for your social media marketing. Get comfortable with free images sites like Pixabay.com and Pexels.com. Then get a Canva.com or PicMonkey.com account so you can begin creating some images!
Now, I know that this is not everything that a new company could be doing but for online presence and marketing it’s a start and that’s exactly what it is – a startup business!
Coaches, dietitians and small business owners get to focus on doing what they do best and avoid time consuming tasks that often don’t produce great results, creating frustration and resulting in lost time figuring them out on their own when they work with me.
If you would like to get in touch for a free 30 minute consultation to find out how I can provide that same support to your business contact me here.
