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For any startup, the initial phase is when they need maximum traction for the minimum of expenses. While some startups burn a major portion of their financing in getting this traction, some startups use smart content strategies for the same results.

Here are 5 content strategy tips for startups, that would help in saving expenses but still provide the desired results in terms of traction.

1. EMAILS

Email marketing offers literally no-cost marketing for a startup.

It’s an easy way to attract customers and engage with them on the long term. Use whatever it takes to provide value to them – newsletters, offers, discounts, valuable content etc.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING (SMM)

This is a no-brainer. The power of social media in creating value to businesses, especially startups, needs no introduction.

Yes, you would need to get creative and spend time, but as a startup, you’re already doing that. Where possible, do not outsource your SMM, but focus on building an in-house team.

3. BLOG

Creating valuable content, again and again, is probably the most effective marketing strategy right now.

Dig deep into content marketing and focus on providing valuable content to your customers. Once they see the commitment you have in providing them value, they will be your loyal customers for all times to come.

4. PAID ADS

While this does require you to spend money, when done smartly, it need not lead you to burning your pocket.

Be it Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads or any other kind of paid advertising you are getting into, do your research well. Understand your audience and their needs. This will help you to plan the spending on your ads better.

5. USER GENERATED CONTENT

While you are building your startup, creating valuable content all the time can be of issue if you do not have a specific person for that.

Enter your customers.

Through contests, bragging rights, hashtags and whatever strategy comes your way, inspire your customers to create content for you.

Are you a service startup? Request your customers for a testimonial and post it on your website.

Are you a software product startup? Reward a user who has found a bug in your app and thank them on social media.

Are you a hardware product startup? Start a competition for your customers to post pictures with your product on social media.

But remember, end of the day, no matter how effective your content strategy is, make sure your product/service also adds value.

No strategy is better than having an amazing product/service that provides solutions to your customer’s problems.

Inspired from an article at Bluleadz.com
Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash

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On 11 May 2020, Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand PM addressed her nation regarding an update on the COVID-19 situation.

A day later, on the 12th of May 2020, the Indian PM Narendra Modi did the same for his country.

Even though I didn’t watch either of them live, I did view recordings of both their addresses and even went through the transcript in detail.

Narendra Modi addressed the nation in Hindi. Since am well familiar with the language, I viewed the recording in Hindi and reviewed the transcripts in both Hindi and English. Jacinda Ardern’s was obviously in English, so no confusion there.

As a communication professional, I love analyzing the speeches world leaders or company executives make. At times I learn a lot from how they communicate around an issue or matter, and at times I critically evaluate what they missed and what they could have done better.

The following blog post is a mix of both. It is a critical look into analyzing leadership communication by two well-respected world leaders.

It’s not always that we get different world leaders to talk about the same concern. But in this scenario when we do, it makes it easier to compare their communication effectiveness, especially in crisis periods.

It brings about a more balanced critique and ensures that we are not comparing apples to oranges.

I’ll be evaluating the whole of their address on a 50 point scale – 10 factors, evaluated against a score of 5. These factors have been taken into consideration based on the context of the existing crisis.

  1. First words
  2. Empathy
  3. Acknowledgment (of present scenario)
  4. Connecting with people
  5. Information
  6. Clarity
  7. Future actions
  8. Tone of voice
  9. Jargons (lack of)
  10. Call to action
Continue reading

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If you know me well, you also know the fact that I take my writing very seriously.

And if you don’t know me well, please do understand that I take my writing very seriously.

So, after writing professionally for years (since 2009 to be exact), if someone tells me that I have a grammatical error or if my content is plagiarised, it does give me a heart attack, and, to an extent, hurts my self-inflated balloon-sized ego.

And there’s where this story leads to.Continue reading

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We all consume content. Everyday.

It might be through watching videos on YouTube while sitting on your couch, reading your timeline on Twitter during your daily commute, scrolling through your Facebook Feed during the lunch breaks in office or reading on your Kindle before you sleep.

But what do you consume?

Or rather, do you consume something of value?

A very good friend of mine once told me –

You and your thoughts are the sum average of the things you read…. of the things you consume. Because it showcases how you use your time. How you value it.

 

And it couldn’t have been more true.

Do you spend multiple hours a day sifting through cat videos for a good laugh? Do you read about the latest gossip in Tinseltown and who has married whom or which celebrity got a new tattoo on what part of his body? Do you scroll through all the twerking videos on Instagram and imagine yourself to be the next Musically superstar?

Well, maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I don’t judge you for that. But I have always believed that our brain trains our thoughts based on what we feed it.Continue reading

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marketers can learn from waiters

A couple of days ago, I was out with my friends for coffee. The ambiance was great and we set off chatting up about everything and anything. The waiter came up to take our order. While some of us ordered our lot soon, there were still confusions among some of us as to which was the better option on the menu. The waiter coolly listened to what each person was trying to order. After a minute, he took the liberty of explaining the differences between each drink and even suggested to the guys what they might like based on their preferences.Continue reading