Welcome to the exciting world of marketing your new business! If you’ve just left a dead-end job for the last time. Or can no longer ignore the signs of opportunity pounding on your doors. You’re in it. Kudos to you for finally betting on yourself! As you float back down from cloud 9, use this marketing starter kit to hit the ground running.
This starter kit focuses on the steps to take specific to marketing. Your business plan is done. You’ve registered and filed with the appropriate state offices. If this sounds unfamiliar, check out the U.S SBA Business Guide!
Now, you’re ready to manage and market your business. Let’s get to it!
Messaging Framework
The first thing you need to do is figure out how you talk about your business. Sections in your business plan will help with your messaging framework. But now you’ll get a little personal.
Think about how you want to be described by others. Do you see a connection between those values and what you want for your business? Your business reflects your own personal identity. In marketing, these guiding principles are referred to as your mission, vision, and core values.
Your Mission, Vision, and Core Values statements make up your Brand Promise. They are the foundation of your strategic plan. These statements convey the purpose and direction of your business.
They also provide the necessary gut checks along this chaotic journey. If you’re ever feeling lost, reread these statements to reaffirm Your Why.
Use these free templates with guiding questions to write or refine your brand promise.
Brand Guide
Now that you know what you want to say, you can think about how to show it. A brand guide is a style cheat sheet. The document is basically an instruction manual on how your brand should be communicated.
The brand guide includes your preferred colors and fonts. It’s important to identify these pieces early on. By using the same fonts and colors for all your marketing, you’ll showcase a cohesive brand.
If you’re just getting started and you plan to do all the designs yourself, colors and fonts are a good first step. If you plan to hire freelancer to help with designs, your brand guide might need to be more detailed. They’ll need to know your mission statement and values too.
Social Media
Effective social media content usually falls into 3 categories.
Informational content should push your brand awareness. Use it to tell your audience who you are and what you do. But remember the story brand framework. The captions should speak to the audience’s pain point first. Instead of saying “we’re so great and here’s why.” Frame your solution as a question to form an empathetic bond.
Educational content shows how you are a resource to the community. Use these posts to explain industry lingo. Give away your secrets for free. This content showcases you as a trusted guide in the story brand framework.
Humor and entertainment are a quick and easy way to disarm people. It’s a way to bond around a campfire and get on the same level. There’s a delicate balance here though. You need to highlight that you take the work seriously, not yourselves.
Use the content below as a jumping off point for your content planning.
Inform
- share your new blog in a post
- post about your company culture and team
- showcase a new product or service
- share testimonials
Educate
- highlight industry news
- share quick tips and advice
- Share infographics
- link to free resources
Entertain
- share curated content
- post relevant memes of gifs
- run a contest
- celebrate a holiday applicable to your business
Now that you have a list of ideas, you can plan out a schedule using a content calendar. This visual maps out what, when, and were you plan to publish upcoming content. Download the free content calendar template below.
Pitch Deck
Sharing information about your business is a great way to capture the attention of internet strangers. But what happens when you need to sell yourself to an interested buyer? That’s where a pitch deck comes in handy.
A pith deck is a short presentation that outlines your business goals and vision. The presentation is a proposal about your products and services that you share with prospects or investors.
Your presentation is also a representation of your brand. PowerPoint has lots of free templates…that you’ve probably already seen a million times.
Slidesgo.com is a great resource with free google slides and PowerPoint templates to boost your presentations. Find and download a presentation you like. Add in your brand colors and logo. Use your messaging framework to add content to the slides. And you’re good to go!
Moving Beyond Starter Kits
When you’re ready to tag in extra help to support your marketing, give us a call. Aducate Digital designs resilient and approachable marketing collateral focused on communicating your visions. We take a project-based approach with clear deliverables aligned to your bottom line. We closely tie our deliverables to key performance indicators to easily measure success.
Learn how we create impactful brand experiences.
