We’ve all heard about inbound marketing as a beneficial tool that helps businesses across the globe attract potential customers to both their online and brick-and-mortar stores. At its core, inbound marketing offers solutions and meet prospects’ needs through creating compelling content, building trust, and connecting with consumers.
However, other than getting the attention of your customers, have you ever thought about harnessing the power of inbound marketing agency to win over investors for your startup? As with every new business, you need funding as much as you need customers to get your business off the ground. For this, it is crucial to know how to get the word out and reach the right investors successfully.
Before getting into the specifics of how you can use inbound marketing to your advantage, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the concept. Inbound marketing is a strategy that works to organically earn the attention and trust of customers rather than forcing a product or service to them.
In essence, instead of using a hard-sell approach, inbound marketing is a way to subtly pique the interest of consumers, show the value of what you have to offer, and convince them into doing business with you without seeming too pushy. Some forms of inbound marketing include SEO, blogging, and social media.
So, how exactly can you employ inbound marketing to attract investors? Here are a few surefire ways you can explore to help scale your new startup business:
1. Create a relatable investor persona
According to the 2017 Philippines Startup Survey published by PWC, 88% of companies reported that one of the top challenges they faced was meeting capital requirements. In today’s oversaturated startup scene, it is especially tricky to grab the attention of potential investors.
As in customer acquisition strategies, defining the type of investor you want to bring in and creating an investor persona accordingly can help you attract and engage with the right people. In having a deep understanding of who you want to work with, you are increasing your chances of earning the trust of suitable investors.
A few things to consider when building your investor persona include industry niche, location, current portfolio, and key motivators.
While it may sound laborious, matching the right business with the right investors can help you build a strong foundation to scale your startup and propel your business to success. The trick is to ensure they mirror your business philosophies and interests. Investors can be more than just a source of capital; being in the industry for years, they can also share useful tips, advice, and mentorship, among others.
2. Know your business inside and out
No matter how great your products and services are, if you don’t know your business by heart, then you could be easily thrown into a sticky situation. As you are the voice of the brand, it is vital to be able to confidently present your business and frame your business plan in a way that is tailored to get and keep the attention of your potential investors.
With a sound, investment-ready business plan, convincing potential investors to look into your proposal and help fund your startup won’t be such a challenge.
To help reassure your prospects, work on understanding your industry and target market, establishing a strong marketing strategy, setting reasonable targets for your new business, and presenting research-backed financial forecasts and projections.
Also, by securing the future from the inside out through putting security measures in place within your organization, you can put their minds at ease, elicit trust, and establish brand credibility.
3. Demonstrate brand authority
To further boost brand recognition and credibility, look into opportunities where you can support or sponsor an industry-related event to get the attention of potential investors. You can maximize your brand’s exposure even more by offering to give speeches and imparting your knowledge to help build your brand authority and genuinely communicate with your audience.
4. Show your passion and tell your story
Nowadays, investors are looking for startups that show their passion by putting their souls into the work. Thanks to technology and the internet, it is a bit easier to communicate this through content marketing—more specifically via blogging.
As it is one of the most effective forms of marketing, getting fresh, industry-relevant, and remarkable content out there can undoubtedly boost brand awareness. Other than gaining traction and quality leads, establishing a strong digital presence and powerful brand image can help you attract the right investors for your business.
While successfully sharing a compelling brand story and reaching potential partners is great for your startup, it is crucial to secure the investment through curating a well-designed pitch that clearly lays down your value proposition. To write an incredible elevator pitch, you must remember the mnemonic SNACK:
- Seize the Moment
- Nail Your Key Points
- Ask Questions
- Call Your Audience to Action
- Keep it Simple
5. Become a thought leader
Now that you’ve proven that you’re passionate about the business, you need to show that you have the knowledge and expertise to generate results. After all, innovative ideas are pitched every day, but 90% of startups fail. Investors aren’t just looking for great ideas—they’re looking for entrepreneurs that are worth investing in.
Create thought leadership content pieces that demonstrate that you have a finger on the pulse of your industry. White papers, or long-form, authoritative documents that illustrate why your product or service is the best solution to a complex problem, is one example.
In fact, a 2018 study found that B2B marketers rank white papers as the most effective format for content marketing purposes. Publishing case studies, conducting consumer research, or sharing product usage data are also great ways to get your company’s name out as an expert in the industry.
6. Employ social media tactics
Expand the reach of your business’ published blogs and white papers by sharing them on various social media channels. Amplify your efforts, increase conversion rates, and gain extra mileage to stand out from the rest by including CTAs in your posts.
Consider creating an account on today’s top-performing social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. By strengthening your brand’s online presence, you can pique the interest of potential investors—and easily connect and engage with them no matter where they are located in the world.
Thrive in today’s ever-competitive economic landscape—get the word out and organically reach the right investors for your new startup business by integrating these foolproof inbound marketing tactics into your overall strategy.
Author: Chris Legazpi
Bio: Chris is a Content Writer at Globe myBusiness Academy and a contributing writer to various business and finance blogs.
