So, you are looking to start a business…specifically an online one, and you’re not sure where to start or how to market it? We all know that in the last decade businesses have had to evolve their marketing strategies to adapt to not only the globalisation of industries, but also to the digital era. On top of that, business is now also having to compete against record breaking numbers of competitors as companies shift their primary point of sales to online due to Covid-19. So how are you going to make your business stand out? Let’s say you wanted to launch an online thrift store. Have you looked at how your competitors are marketing themselves? Are you even aware of who your competitors are? We all know about thrift shops associated with good will charities or religious foundations, but have you heard of online thrift shops such as Depop and Thred Up? These sites are both built on the model of providing a platform for users to sell second-hand items at their own price. What you need to do is identify a point of difference between your company and those just mentioned. One significant weakness with Depop and Thred Up is that their online presence relies very heavily on its users rather than creating a separate, customer centric persona for the business itself. This is where your business has the potential to thrive. To market this persona, there are a variety of social media marketing tactics you can utilise. Instagram & Facebook: Most businesses already know that Instagram and Facebook are great places to showcase the products they are offering. However, many do not take advantage of the fact that it is also a great platform to engage and interact with their clients. In a podcast titled The Fitness Business Podcast, Sara Kooperman, “CEO of SCW Fitness Education and WATERinMOTION (Brodrick, 2019), highlighted that although lots of followers and likes is helpful in reaching a broader audience, it is the engagement with existing customers that helps to build strong, loyal relationships between the client and the company. Some ways you can do this is:
LinkedIn LinkedIn is a great way for your business to network with other start-ups so that you can both support and promote each other to a wider group of people (Zimmerman and Ng, 2020). Not only does this demonstrate that your business is legitimate to new customers, it also gives you the opportunity to showcase that you are here to support likeminded people and businesses, helping to enforce a similar attitude and behaviour in your customers. Mail Chimp Although Mail Chimp is primarily used “to send newsletters and automated emails to grow your business results” (Belin, 2020), you can also use this platform to assist you in planning and scheduling social media posts on Instagram and Facebook, with captions and hashtags. Having frequent, scheduled posts is a great way to grow your audience as it maintains engagement and shows the platform’s algorithm that you are a frequent user of the site, meaning that they are more likely to boost your posts above other content. Hashtags are another great way grow followers as “create great visibility for a campaign, and help you reach your target audience by using relevant hashtags that you know your audience is already following” (Kathryn, 2019). Influencers One thing Thred Up does do well is utilise social media influencers to promote their brand. Often times you will see content creators talk about Thred Up in their YouTube videos or Instagram stories, creating a sense of trustworthiness for this brand. Influencers typically have a “massive reach” (GRIN, 2020) meaning that they “have the power to increase brand exposure and boost brand awareness” (GRIN, 2020). Therefore, if you have enough funds to do the same, it is well worthwhile as it enforces a sense of trustworthiness as well as the opportunity to reach a vast number of potential customers. To sum it all up, there is not one specific way your company should market themselves online. However, when considering the variety of marketing tactics to use, it is important to consider your competitors and observe what they are doing well are where they could improve. If you find a weakness in their tactics, this could be a great opportunity for you to show your point of difference!
References Belin, A., 2020. What Is Mailchimp And Why Do You Need It?. [online] Emailaudience.com. Available at: <https://www.emailaudience.com/what-is-mailchimp/> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. Brodrick, C., 2019. The Fitness Business Podcast: Marketing Tips For Every Budget With Sara Kooperman. [online] The Fitness Business Podcast. Available at: <https://fitnessbusinesspodcast.com/217-marketing-tips-for-every-budget-with-sara-kooperman/> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. Depop.com. 2020. Depop. [online] Available at: <https://www.depop.com/> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. GRIN, 2020. Why Influencer Marketing Is An Important Part Of Today's Businesses. [online] GRIN. Available at: <https://grin.co/blog/why-influencer-marketing/#:~:text=Influencers%2C%20owing%20to%20their%20massive,exposure%20and%20boost%20brand%20awareness.&text=Collaborating%20with%20influencers%20helps%20you,meaningful%20online%20conversations%20about%20it.> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. Newbird. 2019. 5 Reasons Why Instagram Hashtags Are Important. [online] Available at: <https://newbirddesign.com/5-reasons-instagram-hashtags-important/#:~:text=Hashtags%20create%20great%20visibility%20for,your%20followers%20with%20each%20other.> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. ThredUp. 2020. Browser Support. [online] Available at: <https://www.thredup.com/> [Accessed 4 September 2020]. Zimmerman, J. and Ng, D., 2020. The Benefits Of Using Linkedin. [online] Dummies. Available at: <https://www.dummies.com/business/marketing/social-media-marketing/the-benefits-of-using-linkedin/> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
2 Comments
SHIXUAN DOU
9/13/2020 05:14:15 pm
Great work! Very informative!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
ArchivesCategories |