Why Digital Marketing is Essential for Your Startup?

What is the best business plan one could ever plan for? Quality!

Starting an own business with that full passion and self-confidence is the biggest happiness a person could ever hold onto, but sustaining in the competitive world can be quite complicated. As soon as you start a business you cannot expect instant success, you will, in turn, have to go through a lot of trials and temptations to lead yourself into the path of success.

You would not believe that 50% of the startup businesses will fail in the first five years! The often-related problems are fraud, neglect, lack of experience, lack of management and lack of incompetence.

Usually, the goal of every startup is an experiment, discover and sustain a place in the market as their vision says. Every single hour, minute and second in the present acknowledgeable world thousands and millions of new brands are being launched in the market. The new products being launched needs to have a separate, unique identity for it to stand out with long-standing companies and with millions of marketing campaigns. Good market research along with a SWOT analysis would play an advantageous role for the startups.

The only outgoing hope of being successful in the market is to be than the old business that already exists, otherwise, a good profit can not be anticipated. For example, if you own a startup (booking site) you will always have your plans made in a lean budget, which means that you will have your entire process engaged and made out the most with a limited range of finance.

Did You Know: 70% of new entrepreneurs to start their own business possibly developed their idea from company’s while they were working under someone else.

In a matter of fact, our current life is dependent on the internet & technology where we rely on the internet with whatever questions or answers we are looking for. Since the internet has enabled businesses to interact with their targeted audience in real-time, digital marketing has been taking over the world for centuries which will never fade away but increase in no time!

Here are the topmost reasons why a startup needs the help of digital marketing to sustain itself in the market. Let us take a decent look at why it is necessary.

A start-up needs marketing to reach its targeted audiences. When compared to traditional marketing digital marketing can be done at a much lower cost. For instance, it can cost thousands of dollars to make prints and television advertisements, while an online advertisement may cost only a few hundred dollars giving an expected outcome. Blogs are playing a vital role in the digital world making thousands of readers for the cost of producing articles and paying to create a server.

Lower Cost:

blogs

Did you know: Businesses that blog 20 times or more per month get 5x more traffic than those who blog 4 times or less per month.

To connect with your customers more controversially, you need to be publishing blogs that will benefit you to connect with your customers. With active comment sections, you will be able to know your visitors and their response to your brand, whereas you will be able to respond quickly, targeting your audiences through high quality, relevant contents.

Digital marketing is the gateway that allows startups to reach new clients and incubate relationships with customers by taking away the traditional cost of marketing.

”A brand is no longer what we tell consumers, it is what consumers tell each other.”

Social Media The King:

social-media

If you want to stay synced, updated and connected with your customers, then social media is the latest trend in marketing you can not possibly ignore. If you are a business existing already with a huge fan base then, you can tweet or post on Facebook where your message will instantly be reached to thousands of users around the world.

For example, if you are selling a software product, social media can keep them updated and informed about the newest upcoming updates and releases. Also, helping you to find new customers, educate your customers who already exist and keep them on track. It is important that startups quickly adjust to the changes in social media before they become dead.

The world of digital marketing compromises assets like bookmarking, content marketing, videos, SEM, and a lot more. However, a startup should always keep in mind to only invest in tools and platforms that make sense to their business.

 Content is King:

content-marketing

”Good content is not storytelling. It is telling your story well.”

The quote simply defines that content is everything, which directly means the better your content is, the more time your customers will spend time on your site. This will make them more interested, keep them on track and give them opportunities to become familiar with your brand. Therefore, this will automatically generate a huge conversion rate. It is always a great thing if your visitors stay for a longer period on your website, which can be lead by great content.

Content does not have to necessarily be in the form of a blog. It can be in the form of GIFs, webinars, memes, infographics & images, these all can be part of the startup content strategy. A company’s online content can be something that is even liked or shared.

 

Each share that is made in social media is counted as free advertising and new successful ways to get new prospective clients for the new business. When people go through your content, they will be imagining an impression of your brand’s presence. In case, if they find it helpful for them, then a trusted entity will be formed for your startup. Hopefully giving your brand an enlighten making them think highly of your brand.

 Increasing Web Traffic:

website-traffic

 

What is the most important thing a website needs to be a success story?

Traffic, traffic, and traffic!

Eventually, more traffic means more revenue. Entrepreneurs need good website recognition to grow their startup and develop it further. Hence, more traffic means more brand awareness and good exposure to your website. Some business owners engage in SEO so that they could boost their credibility, visibility, and authority, to generate organic traffic. More website organic traffic than paid traffic can help your business to expand its revenue in the long run. Helping it with hiring new employees, offerings, ideas, and locations.

Apart from this, some startup owners invest in PPC advertising. This helps them to increase their leads to their website. The preferred method you use depends on your businesses need. By looking at the PPC benchmark you will see a good knowledge about your investment and leads who are interested in making a deal with you.

Even though a PPC might bring you a few leads, it cannot simply be the main source of lead generation. A few years ago, PPC advertisements were the main source of advertisement conducted by online marketing. Today, this method has gone out of use and has a far lower impact than the current marketing methods that are being used. Paid advertisements are being so-called in use for promotions than educational ones.

Maturing with the right digital marketing approach:

  • PPC campaigns
  • Video Marketing
  • Email Marketing
  • Social, media marketing
  • Creating a website
  • Search engine optimization

Start-ups can use the above elements apart from the different methods available in the digital world. For a startup, planning has to be carefully focused. When creating a strategy, you have to make your approach carefully. Since emails, advertisements and contents are integrated into each other. From creating a website to posting a post on social media, all the techniques have to be carefully planned and executed.

For a startup operating in a lean budget, SEO needs to be effective. The backlinks acquired from other websites, social media or blogs will help generate more traffic. Each backlink is a clear indicator that a third-party website found on your website to be interesting or useful for them.

At the end of the result, a page with more backlinks will get its page ranked high compared to the pages with no backlinks. Digital marketing will help start-ups identify which preferred products and services should be created to match a customer need.

Final Considerations:

Making a name for themselves and competing against businesses that already exist in the market can be a difficult challenge for a startup. However, with the help of digital marketing, you will be given the opportunity of a wide success story in the long run, even with the ongoing competition.

As soon as your startup is formed, digital marketing needs to be done so that you will be able to reach your customers, convert your leads into sales, and increase your conversion rate. Since technology is rapidly making its growth in the 21st century, and you are at your early stage, remember that building brand and creating great content should be perfect.

Up above, I have summarized, the main key importance of digital marketing for a startup, in short, hope this blog may benefit your startup. Since a startup will essentially face its ups and downs during the first 5 years of its business. Always begin your startup with digital marketing! Feel free to leave your discussions down below in the comment section as I’m looking forward to your ideas too. I bet you will have something more interesting to talk about!

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5 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Start Your Sri Lanka Startup

For how many years are you telling yourself that you are going to start your own business and quit your job one day?

For how many more years are you going to live with the job that you don’t like at all, as you don’t have the gut to put your bright business idea ( If you are actionable ) out there? Whether it’s fear of failure, lack of confidence or resources or not being able to go against your loving parents to give up on your safe job, you are pushing your freedom of money, life’s happiness and entrepreneurial dream further away.

Today is that ‘one day’ you stop procrastinating and start working on the next step to bring your startup dream closer. Because in this post I’ll show you why ‘Today’ is the best day and ‘Now’ is the best time to nurture your startup seed..

After 2015, Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem started to burgeon steadily with newly emerged opportunities for young tech freaks to take their innovative ideas to the commercial level.

With a growth index of 7.4 aspiring startup ecosystem of Sri Lanka(Source- Startup Sri Lanka Report | SLASSCOM) rise year by year prospering the island with more and more startup seeds while generating new career opportunities and contributing to the economy of Sri Lanka

best time to start your Sri Lanka startup

For the determined individuals with innovative ideas and zero interest for typical day jobs, Sri Lanka provides you with everything a startup needs to thrive at your figure tip. It will only cost a strong will power to hustle off until you succeed and a wise strategy in place.

While many complain the government about the policies, financial matters and other challenges, Sri Lankan startup environment has grown immensely. Today, Sri Lanka proudly owns 150-300 tech startups in the ecosystem and 65% of these entrepreneurs exceed 150 million revenue (Source- which is indeed a considerable growth compared to the past years.

With the attention of the government, other organizations, new emerging investors and young successful entrepreneurs with hearts willing to give a hand to the new startups, the startup ecosystem keeps expanding and evolving creating more and more space for ambitious Sri Lankan techies.

Here are 5 things that testify that ‘Now’ is the best time to start your Sri Lanka startup’.
For those who are still waiting for everything to become perfect to put your business idea to action.

 

1.Government support

By witnessing the success, job opportunities created and the economic support startups can add in strengthening the island’s economy, Sri Lankan government has started to pay their attention to help the thriving youngster techies around the island with new policies, law enforcement, banking facilities and more. Though the reliefs are not even close to what they can amend to help young entrepreneurs, it’s safe to say that it’s a good start. Here are some of the best examples that provide testaments that government encourage startups to thrive.

  • Government’s announcement of 200% Capital Allowances for business making investments in the Northern Province and 100% Capital Allowance for Eastern Province Investors.(Source-National Budget Proposal 2017 )

 

national budget proposal 2017

 

  • “Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) has implemented a budget proposal on Start-up funding in 2016, where 26 Startups had been recommended by a committee appointed by the EDB for concessionary loans provided by State Banks”(Source -EDB)
  • Dedicating segment name ‘Start-Up Pavilion’ for startups and innovators to showcase their products and solutions in ‘INFOTEL,’ one of the biggest tech exhibition in Sri Lanka organize by EDB, providing more exposure for startups and innovators.

2.More funding opportunities

Apart from, investing your personal money, applying for a bank loan and asking money from your rich parents and friends, there are several ways to fund your business idea. These are few of them.

  • Startup programs
  • Crowdfunding
  • Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists
  • Grants
  • Zero Interest MSME Loans
  • Catalyst support

more funding opportunities

Image Credits: Readme.lk

Enriched with investors of Sri Lanka and from around the world, Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem now offers you better funding opportunities than ever. With the immense growth and significant achievements and success of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, the ecosystem is grabbing more and more attention of local investors while other international investors are realizing that Sri Lanka is a safe place to invest with favourable geopolitics and healthy economic growth and stability. This has increased funding opportunities for determined tech-stars out there.

3.Supportive organizations and events

Today, if you have the courage to daydream your startup dream, commit to spend weeks of sleepless nights and dare to get burned and rise from the ashes, figuring out the ‘How to‘ part is not that hard with all the newly born supportive organization and events available in Sri Lanka. BOV Capital and  SLASSCOM are some of the organizations that help startups to grow and ‘Startup Weekend’ and ‘Startup boot camps’ are some of the startup events out there waiting to support young people who are looking forward to taking their business idea to the next level.

srilankan startups

Image Credits: Readme.lk

4.Better Mentoring

No matter how great your business idea or product is, lack of knowledge on doing business and management and experience in managing a business take no time to take you down the hill. Which makes getting mentored and receiving guidance extremely important for a startup success.

With the collaborative and supportive community of startup founders and co-founders, experienced industry professionals and successful entrepreneurs who once were individuals with doubt and a business plan, finding mentoring and guidance are not extremely hard in Sri Lankan startup ecosystem as it used to be. In addition, there are many programs that provide guidance and insight in implementing and executing strategies and expanding.

5.More incubation opportunities

This is something many startups find tricky with their tight budgets. As the startup current is still immerging in Sri Lanka, every factor isn’t fully completed yet. And incubation is one of them. From finding a working space to accessing resources 0from developing their prototype to taking it to the market, finding facilities and resources are definitely a great challenge for Sri Lankan startups. But, thanks to few of the industry giants in Sri Lanka and some international companies, Sri Lankan startup ecosystem is receiving more incubation opportunities now. Slingshot , a startup incubator/ seed accelerator developed by Hemas PLC, John Keels X and Yarl IT Hub are few good example for this.

Here is a list of people and organizations who are willing to nourish your seed in various ways including, funding, market reach, resources, mentoring, business skills, strategy and more.

Startup incubators

Conclusion

Without no argument, Sri Lanka is still not a healthy place for startups comparing what we have in Sri Lanka with Silicon Valley or other regional startup hubs. Yet, Sri Lanka offers enough resources and facilities to ensure successful startup seed growth.

When considering all the market opportunities and flourishing funding, mentoring and other essential startup opportunities and most importantly all the inspiring startup successes born in Sri Lanka it’s clear that startups culture will grow faster and faster year by year.

So, it’s crystal clear that ’Now’ is the best time to do the research it takes, makes a solid business plan, practices your pitch and launch a mission to bring your business idea to life before the ecosystem gets too competitive.

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