Leadership: Marketing your startup story

The startup story is filled with the magical manifestation of dreams and desires.

But dreams and desires need nourishment, cultivation and the implementation of breakthrough marketing ideas.

Marketing your startup brings many opportunities to showcase your brand's personality, promote your product or service and make a revolutionary statement. Here are seven tips to punctuate your startup launch:

Construct a Plan

If your initial plan includes flying by the seat of your pants, expect to get grounded quickly. Every business venture, regardless of founding members' success track records, can benefit from a written plan.

Written plans facilitate clarity regarding the startup's mission, strategy and tactics. The key is to create a realistic and comprehensive plan that allows for internal and external flexibility.

Launch Strategically

Introduce your new venture to the world with a cohesive campaign that includes the consideration of the logo, stationery, collateral, website, social media pages, promotional items, video, advertisements, public relations, trade-show booths and more.

Campaigns can roll out in phases, which should be mapped out in advance with a timeline that allows for access and implementation of resources that address tactical topics. For example, start strong with frequent communication to your primary target audience through high-engagement, trusted channels.

Over time, and as resources accommodate, add more types and channels of communication to expand your message to your broader, relevant audiences.

Get Digital

The digital world can level the playing field between established entities and new players. Digital tools include your company website, blogs and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, to name a few.

It is easy to fall prey to the pressure of being everywhere online. Pick your space and dominate the conversation with quality content.

One way is to focus on regular participation as a conversation starter and resource provider in a social media environment such as a LinkedIn group. You can accent your input with company-provided, content-rich articles and/or video mixed with reputable third-party entity content.

Keep in mind that creating and posting videos with quality content can achieve a share rate of three-plus contacts through one viewer.

Use Public Relations

Public relations initiatives such as traditional earned media campaigns and sponsorships will help to establish your credibility and visibility in your industry and beyond. These activities can take place in the real and digital worlds.

Co-Brand

Co-branding your startup marketing efforts with a complementary company is an excellent way for your startup to receive an indirect endorsement and to spread your message farther and faster. A basic co-branding arrangement is when two parties agree to partner in a campaign, each using its respective brand, human and capital resources and creative ideas to accomplish a mutual objective.

An ideal complementary co-brand partner is one that has a solid reputation and is not a direct competitor. The arrangement should leverage both companies to achieve individual and mutual goals.

Remain Consistent

Before you launch your new venture, consider your marketing plan one year beyond the launch date. During this first year, allocate a budget to enable consistent communication to your target audience.

It is more important to be consistent with quality content than to spend everything at once trying to speak to everyone. Remember to start narrow, then go broad tip above.

Also keep in mind that your target audience, business-to-consumer and business-to-business, is really a group of consumers. Therefore, they are bombarded by thousands of brand messages daily and are subject to numerous other daily distractions.

It takes a minimum of 7 to 10 impressions for your message to be noticed and sink in.

In the event that your business should hit a bump, such as temporary economic setback, avoid your first instinct to cut all marketing expenditures. Research shows that doing so will set your business back in the long-run.

In fact, your business will suffer market share, and the investment to return to square one can be substantial.

Get Creative

Now is the time to flex your creativity with new and relevant marketing messages and incentives that help your target audience solve issues while showcasing your startup expertise.

Think big, dare to be different and evaluate all possible options before selecting the best ones for your situation.

Challenge yourself with ideas and methods that are outside your comfort zone, including entertaining disparate viewpoints to spark new ideas.

Startup stories are great stories to tell. Successful ones are even better stories to live.

Remember, your assessment of a missing market need gave you your unique startup idea. There is even more power in a startup idea that is authentic and purposeful in its intention to solve real-world business problems.