Despite media headlines claiming that startups are leaving Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area is still a hotbed of innovation. If you don't believe in the company's mission and product, then success is impossible. Before revealing your tech innovation to the world and aiming for features in top-tier media outlets, first establish that your audience actually exists (outside of your friends-and-family supportive circle). Then employ marketing strategies to get press coverage and grow your target audience. It's better to have a fan base that is loyal and willing to advocate for your brand than one that just consumes content. While this may take longer, it creates a stronger group of customers and allows you to avoid marketing mistakes that waste time and money. Focus only on high quality and the channels tailored to your audience that bring your best results. For example, if your core audience is teenagers, put your efforts in Snapchat or Musical.ly. Avoid the main mistakes that make companies fail. Focus on the product, build strong organic relationships with your audience and invest your time and effort into marketing channels that generate results -- and make your unicorn dream come true.
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Despite media headlines claiming that startups are leaving Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area is still a hotbed of innovation. Out of the 10 companies to reach a $1-billion valuation the fastest, eight are based in San Francisco, according to PitchBook.
Just a decade ago, we could not imagine renting out someone’s home, hailing a cab or chatting on video with friends in other parts of the world — all with a single tap on our smartphones. Yet the Airbnbs, Ubers and Facebooks of the tech world work hard to make these tech dreams a reality.
Against incredible odds, given that most startups fail, thousands of founders aspire to launch the next unicorn. Want to join the winning percent of startups that survive? Avoid making these three terrible marketing mistakes:
Chasing media fame too early
Startups are built on passion and faith. If you don’t believe in the company’s mission and product, then success is impossible.
This level of conviction, however, creates a blind spot for many entrepreneurs. Think of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos as both the best example and the worst-case scenario. Founders want to share their vision with the rest of the world and chase press coverage before the company has been tested and proven.
While a feature in TechCrunch or VentureBeat will indeed impress investors, make your parents proud and stroke your entrepreneur ego, if product-market fit isn’t established first, you’re likely marketing your startup into a very public embarrassment.
Take another example, Bodega. Last year, two ex-Googlers tried to launch what was essentially a vending machine full of assorted items people typically pick up at their corner store. The issue with this concept was immediately apparent to everyone but the founders themselves.
The startup’s perceived core audience were happy to support their local merchants (often hard-working immigrants) and did not want to abandon the mom-and-pop operations they’d patronized for years for a robotic alternative that was only a hundred feet closer to their door. While Bodega earned…
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