This document provides an overview of marketing strategies for startups and growing companies. It begins with an introduction comparing modern marketing approaches to past approaches. The bulk of the document then covers various digital marketing tactics, including search engine optimization, social media, email marketing, and tracking results. It emphasizes following the buyer's journey with content and offers. The presentation concludes by recommending allocating 10 hours per week to marketing and building an online portfolio and audience before launching products.

1. FROM ZERO TO HERO:
MARKETING FOR STARTUPS &
GROWING COMPANIES
#ACC2015 Lily Leung
Twitter: @LilyLeung

2. From Zero to Hero: Marketing for Startups & Growing Companies
“I haven’t been everywhere, but
it’s on my list.”
–Susan Sontag

3. 55
visits
155,364
visits
Jan 2012April 2010
exploreforayear.com

4. YOUR
VISION
THE PIT
Despair, doubt,
anxiety, fears
CHALLENGES: No Leads, Customers :( BREAKTHROUGH:
New Strategies, Tools
Tactics
ACHIEVEME
NT
CELEBRATIO
N!Marketing
Hero’s Journey

5. Today’s Agenda
1. Marketing: Then vs Now
2. Buyer’s Journey
3. Getting Started with SEO
4. Getting More out of Social Media
5. Email for Conversion
6. Your Marketing System
7. Closing Thoughts
8. Questions

6. Who currently does any type of
online or digital marketing?

7. MARKETING: THEN AND NOW

8. Source: Corporate Executive Board,
Gartner, Forrester, 2015
vs.
57%
80%
2015 2020
% of the way through the buying
process before a customer
engages a sales person
Now:
Buyer-Centred,
Buyer In Control
Then:
Seller-Centred
VS.

9. Now:
Buyer-Centred, Multi-
Channel, Multi-
Dimensional
Source: Dimensional Marketing,
Deloitte University Press, 2015
Then:
Seller-Centred
vs.
VS.

10. Now: Data-Driven,
Targeted Offers, Low Cost
and Attribution & ROI
Then: Spray &
Pray, Expensive
for Small
Business
VS.
Cold Calling
Direct Mail
Mass/Ads
Website Analytics,
Email Analytics,
E-Commerce

11. Now: Google – top 5 search
results account for 67.6% of
all clicks
Source: Google Organic Click-Through
Rates in 2014, moz.com
Then: Directories,
Yellow Pages,
Encyclopedias
vs.

12. Do Have a Website?
 Is It Only About Your Products?

13. Image: useronboard.com
People Don’t Buy Products,
They Buy Better Versions of Themselves.

15. Definitions: HubSpot.com
Buyer’s Journey
Prospect is
experiencing a
problem or
opportunity.
Prospect researching
options and approaches
to solve
problem/opportunity.
Prospect is compiling
list of products to
narrowing down
options to make a
purchase decision.

16. Image/Definition: HubSpot.com
Buyers go through 57% of the
buying process before
engaging a sales person!

17. Neutral:
• Educational Blogs
• Reports
• Whitepapers/Guid
es
• Tip Sheets,
Checklists
• Case Studies
• Live interactions
• Product
Brochures
• Comparison
Guides
• Webinars
• Comparisons
• Free Trial
Consultation
• Demos
• Price Estimates
• Offers
Wants… Wants… Wants…

18. Example: Where Should I Go On Vacation?
e.g. Top Trips to Take
in 2015; Trending
Vacation Spots; Must-
See Places in Europe
e.g. G Adventures
Brochure; Air Canada
Vacations Brochure;
Sample Itineraries
e.g. Price of XYZ Trip;
Specific Flight Prices;
Book Flight & Hotel and
Get % Off; Extra Reward
Points

19. Google Keyword Planner
(free):
https://adwords.google.c
om/KeywordPlanner
Finding Topics People Care About, Driven by Data

20. Content Ideas for “Boring Industries”
(That Are Also Easy and Fast to Write)
1. Answer commonly questions or
objections from customers
1. Create a checklist
2. “25 Resources/Links For…”
3. “Common Problems With X & How
to Solve It”
1. Upcoming market trends

21. Content Ideas for “Boring Industries”
(That Are Also Easy and Fast to Write)
1. Answer commonly questions or
objections from customers
1. Create a checklist
2. “25 Resources/Links For…”
3. “Common Problems With X & How
to Solve It”
1. Upcoming market trends
2. Topic Generator Tool
What Do Real Estate Agents Do?
How is a Condo Different From a
House?
Checklist for Buying Your First
Home
25 Resources for 1st Time Buyers
Closing Costs People Forget & How
to Estimate Them
5 Real Estate Trends in Toronto for
2015 and Beyond
hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator
EXAMPLE: REAL ESTATE

22. Use Content to Capture Leads &
Move Prospects Down the Buyer Journey
• Email forms on blogs
• Email forms on downloadable guides
• Start sending consideration stage content
• Email forms on blogs
• Email forms on downloadable guides
• Start sending decision stage content
• Decision stage content
• Offers, Quotes
• Follow-up/contacted
BUYER JOURNEY SALES FUNNEL

23. Example: Salesforce.com
1. Awareness
2. Consideration
3. Decision

24. Example:
Buffer – Getting Traction With Content
• Bufferapp.com &
blog.bufferapp.com
• Signed up 70,000 users in 1st
year. Content marketing
accounted for 70% of signups
• No “sales” team, but has a
content team

25. MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS:
YOUR WEBSITE

26. • Wordpress.org (not Wordpress.com)
• 1-Click installs on HostGator, GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc.
• Add & edit content
• Add & edit forms
• Email forms, forms for guide downloads
• Tracking: Google Analytics (free)
• www.google.com/analytics
• Wordpress plugin: Google Analytics for Wordpress
Website Basics & Must-Haves

27. Google Analytics (Free)
www.google.com/analytics

28. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

29. If you make a website and no
one sees it, does it still exist?

30. QUIZ: What % of people online use search
for purchases (B2B)?
a) 45%
b) 60%
c) 75%
d) 90%

31. 90% of B2B researchers who are online
use search to research business
purchases. 71% start on a generic query
first.
Source: ThinkWithGoogle.com

32. Google Rankings: 100’s of Ranking Factors
Source: SEO Ranking Factors 2014 Study, searchmetrics.com

33. Quality Content: Write for the Reader First
Formatting Tips:
• Heading for page title (<h1>), heading for sub-headings (<h2>)
• Bolding, bullets, images, links to other pages and external sites
• 3-5 sentences per paragraph; 40-55 characters wide

34. 47% of Consumers Expect a Web
Page to Load in 2 Seconds or Less
Page Speed Tools
• https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights
Source: How
Loading Time
Affects Your Bottom
Line,
KissMetrics.com

35. Don’t Forget Meta Tags & URL Formatting
Meta Tags Tools:
• Wordpress: Yoast SEO plugin
• http://www.portent.com/serp-preview-tool
• Page/Blog Post topic should be in the Title & Description
Title (Not the Same as Page Title!)
- About 55 Characters
Description (SERP)
- About 150 Characters

36. Social Signals
• Positive correlation between shares & rankings
• Enable buttons on your content
• Wordpress: AddThis, Digg Digg

37. Authentic and Relevant Backlinks
• Ideas: Alliance/Industry Groups, Guest Blog on Related Sites
• See who links to your competitors for ideas:
https://moz.com/researchtools/ose
• Don’t buy links!

38. Changes to Mobile Search Results
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
• www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobil
e-friendly
Mobile search results changing April 21,
2015
Search results on smartphones already
show “Mobile-friendly” icon indicator
Source: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca

39. Example: “office supplies toronto”
“office supplies toronto”
From 5+ page to 1st page

40. Google Business
Google My Business (Free)
• https://www.google.com/business

41. Google Business – Step 1
• Adding your business: Free but Gmail account required

42. Google Business – Step 2
• Fill out details; wait for confirmation call or postcard/mail with code

43. SOCIAL MEDIA

44. Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?
Source: HubSpot Inbound Certification, 2014

45. Source: HubSpot Inbound Certification, 2014

46. Major Social Networks
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Google+
Instagram
Pinterest
Slideshare
YouTube
Vimeo

47. Free, But Cool Social Media Tools
Scheduling
• Buffer.com (web + app) – “buffers” updates; schedule same tweet
multiple times
• Hootsuite.com
Twitter
• Followerwonk.com – advanced Twitter search
• Tweriod.com – best time to Tweet
• https://ritetag.com/hashtag-search – #hashtag volumes
Built-in Analytics
• http://analytics.twitter.com
• Facebook, LinkedIn page analytics

48. QUIZ: How many people make purchases each
month based on blog content?
a)1 in 20
b)1 in 10
c)1 in 4
d)1 in 2

49. Source: ResearchNow.co.uk, 2014
1 in 4 people buy something each month
based on blog content.

50. 1. Awareness
3. Decision 2. Consideration
3. Decision
Brands Are Increasingly Working With Bloggers &
Social Media Influencers

51. Tips for Approaching Bloggers
1. Bloggers who are your ideal customer or influencer
2. Follow and connect
3. Offer something worth sharing/mentioning

52. What Not To Do
“We ship you our fabulous sim card so you can stay online in Europe
while traveling with 20/30 EURO on it. No roaming charges, no juggling
SIMs, no more hunting for WiFi and it's fast. Where should we ship it
btw?
Then you write 2 posts (1 tweet and 1 Instagram/your blog or Facebook)
about ordering a sim card. When you get a sim card, you make 1 tweet
and 1 Instagram post – ready to travel, all set up Then you'll get a
voucher for 20 OR 30 EURO. And then you hit the road and make 5
tweets while traveling with a link to @[website] or to [url], at least 3
Instagram or Facebook/blog posts. Of course we'll RT and repost your
posts too! How does this sound?”

53. Be Delightful
“Hi Lily,
I saw you're based in Canada (we just launched there!), so I’d love to send you
ChargeKey & ChargeCard review units. What’s the best address to send it to?
ChargeKey & ChargeCard are the world's smallest, most portable USB charging
cables.
They integrate seamlessly into your on-the-go life so your phone never runs out
of battery :)
Keep smiling,
Anna”

54. EMAIL MARKETING

55. a) 2x
b) 10x
c) 25x
d) 40x
Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?

56. Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?
Source: Direct Marketing Association, 2014
d) 40x (!)

57. Why Does Email Work?
1. 3.2 billion email accounts (more than Facebook + Twitter)
2. Click-through rates > Twitter
3. 95% of online customers use email; 91% check at least once a day
4. Longer lifespan than social media
5. 77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications
6. Email lets you be targeted
Source: ExactTarget, Direct Marketing Association, 2014

58. • Quality, not quality. DO NOT BUY LISTS, DO NOT SPAM
• http://fightspam.gc.ca
• Website slide-in’s, popovers, forms
• We 15x signups with SumoMe Scrollbox (free,
http://sumome.com/app/scroll-box)
• MailChimp
• Offline: events & tradeshows
Getting Subscribers

59. How to Send?
• MailChimp.com (freemium)
• Campaign Monitor, SendGrid ($9+/month)
What to Send?
• Follow the Buyer Journey
• Monthly General Newsletter
• Birthday/Anniversary
How to Send Email Campaigns

60. How does email help?
• Who opened, clicked on what, how many times
• Test offers, subject lines, sender name, time of day
• Resend to people who didn’t open/click
Tracking Results & Converting Leads

61. Rapportive (Chrome plugin)
• Looks up social profiles
• https://rapportive.com
Late in the Buyer’s Journey:
Better One-on-One Emails

62. Sidekick by HubSpot (Chrome, Gmail Plugin & Mobile App)
• http://www.getsidekick.com
Late in the Buyer’s Journey:
Better One-on-One Emails

63. TRACKING & TROUBLESHOOT
RESULTS: SHOW ME THE MONEY!

64. Start With the End in Mind
Website
Visitors
(#)
Leads
(#)
Customer
s (#)
10%
closed
5%
conversion
2,000/mo
nth
100/mont
h
10/month
Revenue
($)
$10K/mo
nth
$1K/custo
mer

65. “You Can't Improve What you Don't Measure”
CRMs (free):
• hubspot.com/crm
• insightly.com, zoho.com/crm
Closing Deals & Tracking Follow-Ups

66. RECAP

67. 1. Marketing: Then vs Now
2. Buyer’s Journey
3. SEO Basics
4. Social Media & Bloggers
5. Email Newsletter
6. Marketing Process
Recap

68. CLOSING THOUGHTS

69. Marketing: 10 Hours a Week
A marathon, not a sprint.
 Results in 4 – 6 Months
• Week 0-1: Setup Infrastructure
• Week 2-4: Jump-In
• 1 Blog Post/Week, Share on Social Media, Check Analytics
• Week 5: Plan Future Content, Social, Offers
• Week 6+:
• 1 Blog Post/Week (Or Infographic, Video)
• Share on Social Media
• Offers
• SEO, Email Newsletter

70. Portfolio of Digital & Marketing Assets
SocialAll Digital/Online
All Sales/Marketing

71. Build Your Audience,
Before You Build Your Product

72. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
John F. Kennedy

73. “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
John F. Kennedy

74. QUESTIONS?
#ACC2015
lilyleung.ca/accmarketing
Lily Leung, @lilyleung
lily.leung@gmail.com