What to do if no one knows your industry exists
Chasing down solid online marketing tips for brand new industries is hard. Australian start-ups, up and coming industries, even innovative twists on old small business favourites can struggle.
It can be difficult to find your audience. You’re often dealing with a situation where people are making do. Or they don’t even know they have a problem or desire.
You’re innovating, so your ability to reach out the audience influenced by the newness of the concept. And your mowing the grass for you and your competitors at the same time.
Here’s how you get a new industry to stick using online marketing tips
Creating your definition
Ok, as cliché as it sounds, the key to success is to look at –
· Who your audience is (know your customers!)
· What you offer that is special (e.g. what makes you better than their current workaround?)
· When you solve their problems (e.g. date, in response to the problem etc)
· Where you need to be (e.g. the advertising, the physical locations, stockists etc)
· Why are you doing this? (no seriously- what problem are you solving for your customers?)
You also need to look at why potential customers would care about your products and services.
It’s all good and well to say you are the most caring end-of-life doula in the world, but what does that care entail? And what emotional benefit does it give your customers and their family?
You might be a great new app that helps people with their personal finances, but what sets you apart? How are you distinct to say an accounting program or winging it in detail?
Online marketing tips don’t come better then always answer your customer’s “what’s in it for me?” moment.
Create your story idea
Next, you need to move onto creating the mix that entices your customers. In Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath, it is:
Simplicity + a Concrete visual
+ Credibility (personal or otherwise)
+ Emotional fulfillment + Story
= Sticky idea
Take this example and look at the concept of Australian death doulas:
Did you know it’s impossible to die in a medical environment with the amount of Baby Boomers we have in Australia?
Death doulas add the extra level of support, so you can have end of life on your terms and are trained to advocate and help you through the process.
That means your family can have peace of mind without worrying about your wishes, planning and organisation. And you die on your terms.
It’s a bit scratchy, but you can see how the concept unfolds. You need to know what you tie into.
When pitching, one of the great online marketing tips is to use analogy.
For example, we’re the “Prada of pets”, you can imagine its upmarket pet clothing.
If I said, “it’s Hello Fresh meets Neighbours”, it might be describing healthy home delivery food cooked by your neighbours and shared across the town.
Bringing two concepts together like this creates instant recognition.
Whatever route you take, make it stick in their head.
Content marketing is your friend
If you are the information source for your business and industry, you create the audience education. Content marketing is a great way to do this.
Content marketing includes blogging, videos, whitepapers, newsletters, podcasts and slides. It is also online marketing tips about your business, social media, chat bots, and any kind of content that educates and persuades your customers. Whatever you can think of that people watch, read and listen to, content marketing is there.
It’s about owning the story and setting the stage yourself. Ye olde position of authority idea where you look after the narrative.
Content marketing suits the personality of your start-up or small business, depending on what you do and how you do it. You can also select what you do based on your team capability and interest levels.
Your customer service representatives have the inside track on what customers care about. Why not ask them to produce tips for social media or for input into helpful blogs?
If you are a one-person business, writing might be time consuming. But you might be the sort of person who loves talking about challenges in the industry. Recording a podcast could be your best option.
Whatever content marketing endeavours you choose, make time for it. Please don’t attempt content if you are going to bail after a few months. Build the story and make the audience aware of you.
Deliver something that the content consumer cannot get elsewhere. That includes ideas, industry trends, tips on using your product and the whole she-bang.
Make it valuable enough that you are the first point of call in any situation.
Look for public relations opportunities
PR won’t fall in your lap. You have to chase opportunities. You also have to create story ideas and content worth sharing.
Think like a journalist. They are time poor, always looking for new leads and want to be able to pitch interesting story ideas. Again, you have to answer “what’s in it for me?”.
Be the journalist’s ally by:
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Making sure the topic is noteworthy
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Doing your research and find the journalists that write on your topic
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When you pitch the story, get to the crux of the story fast
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Why it matters has to be in the first line of your pitch or the first paragraph of your release. Serve it on an enticing platter
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Make your press release easy to skim and the low attention span
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Forget waffle, jargon and industry speak
Create a “short sentence that’s long on engagement”. Enjoy the difference when it comes to the press explaining your idea.
Make friends within the industry
Ok, so you might not have a direct industry to call on as a small business or Australian start-up. But take a leaf out of the death doula book and look around you.
Death doulas have to survive through being visible to-
· Large scale organisations such as hospitals, palliative care, aged care facilities and hospices
· Individual doctors and healthcare professionals
· Community sectors they service – e.g. places where the elderly frequent such as RSLs, Men’s Sheds
· Grassroots support groups – e.g. cancer groups, childhood terminal illness support groups
· The natural death movement – i.e. green burials and other such places looking for change
· Existing estate and funeral planning people – e.g. solicitors, funeral parlours etc
· Alternative healthcare – e.g. reiki, massage, spiritual healing etc
· Churches, priests and religious organisations, informal and formalised
· Direct consumers and their families
It doesn’t all come down to online marketing tips. Sometimes, it’s online research and a lot of pavement slogging. Get out there. Go to industry events, knocking on doors, picking up the phone and making friends.
Forget about competition. You have to build an industry first.
Finding like-minded businesses and/or places that share the same audience helps you all.
If you tell a businesses story or they tell yours, the industry benefits. Customers are always going to choose the right option for them.
Still hungry for offline and online marketing tips?
Still not sure what your next steps are? I have used my product development background to create a foundation marketing plan. It’s something you can use for your Australian start-up or small business to cut through the clutter.
It comes complete with research and an understanding of the landscape and competitors in the industry. It takes a deep dive into your customers. It also checks out the best marketing activities based on this research. Most of my foundation marketing plans give you 6 to 12 months of ideas and activities. And as it’s tailored, it can be written to cater to a team, a junior staff member or solo execution.