Running content strategy for B2B SaaS companies taught me that a digital marketing strategy for startups can\u2019t just copy enterprise playbooks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Content calendars, lead-scoring models, and expensive ABM campaigns? They fell apart when applied to early-stage businesses with tight budgets and small teams.<\/p>\n
Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n
When I started helping startups with their marketing, I noticed a common pattern: many tried to do everything at once. Through trial and error, I learned that focusing on a few business-critical SMART goals works much better than spreading yourself thin. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.<\/p>\n
In my work with early-stage companies, I’ve found these types of SMART goals particularly effective:<\/p>\n
The purpose of SMART goals is to set businesses up for success. They provide a sense of direction and help to organize efforts.<\/p>\n
And, while SMART goals are invaluable for any organization, they’re particularly beneficial for start-ups.<\/p>\n
Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on the most business-critical goals, put everything you have behind them, and tackle things in a strategic way.<\/p>\n
For instance, rather than spreading your time across several initiatives (some of which may not be important right now), focus on three or four that will lay a foundation for your activities or support your current efforts.<\/p>\n
If you’re launching a new product, for instance, focus on the development but also set goals like:<\/p>\n
These are just some examples, but they can undoubtedly help raise the profile of your business idea<\/a> without costing much \u2014 the only real expenditure is time. Instead of spreading your capabilities across several initiatives, try focusing on those that will support what you’re doing right now.<\/p>\n
SMART goals give your marketing efforts direction and focus, but who are you marketing to?<\/p>\n
For your start-up’s marketing efforts to bring in tangible results, those efforts need to be tailored to your ideal target audience.<\/p>\n
Now you’ll probably have a good understanding of who you want to do business with, but have you articulated that to the rest of your team or \u2014 at the very least \u2014 put together a document detailing who your buyer personas are?<\/p>\n
It\u2018s here where buyer personas come in handy. Buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers. They\u2019re based on market research, current data, existing customers, and a few educated assumptions.<\/p>\n
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Buyer personas help you understand the drivers, business challenges, and needs of those you want to market.<\/p>\n
It’s also important to note that buyer personas are not real people but archetypes of them.<\/p>\n
Now that we’ve briefly covered buyer personas, you might be wondering, \u201cOkay, but what makes them so valuable to my start-up?\u201d Buyer personas allow you to refine your marketing and segment your audience(s).<\/p>\n
You want and need quick wins during the product development and release stages, so why waste time (and money) casting the widest net possible when you can hone in on those most likely to buy from you?<\/p>\n
Your buyer personas give you a good idea of who these people are. Use that information to build marketing and PR campaigns focusing on the right people at the right time and place of their buyer’s journey.<\/p>\n
If you’ve ever seen a Ronseal advertisement<\/a>, you’re likely already familiar with the following phrase: \u201cIt does what it says on the tin.\u201d<\/p>\n
You need a plan for bringing prospects to your site. Content marketing is all about producing high-quality content that answers your prospects and customers’ questions, and nurturing them to a point of purchase.<\/p>\n
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It\u2018s not enough to hit “Publish” and wait for customers to show up. After all, content marketing doesn\u2019t only work for organic search engine traffic. To get the most bang for your buck, you can repurpose the content you create, distribute it on non-search channels such as social and email, and promote it to new and existing audiences alike.<\/p>\n
Let’s take a blog post for example. If you created a listicle that outlines 10 tips, you can create a social media graphic for each of the tips and do an informational series for your followers while promoting the full article and\/or a related content offer.<\/p>\n
A social media plan<\/a> like this should be part of every content marketing strategy, and every content marketing strategy should be developed with distribution in mind.<\/p>\n
Content marketing is a long-term play. While it can be extremely rewarding over time, you likely won\u2018t see immediate results. As you build your content platform, you\u2019ll need a way to generate leads and ROI in the short term, and the best way to do that is with ads.<\/p>\n
Ads are \u201cpay to play,\u201d so they’re not as scalable as content marketing, but the benefit is that your ads will be shown to users shortly after you turn on the campaign.<\/p>\n
But which ads should you go with first? Your ad strategy will determine that, but a good rule of thumb is this:<\/p>\n
Now if you want to get the most out of everything you do \u2014 particularly from a content creation perspective \u2014 why not amplify it with digital PR?<\/p>\n
Digital PR effectively takes everything good about traditional PR \u2014 like press coverage, events, outreach, and thought leadership content \u2014 and does the same for the online space. Suddenly, the assets you’ve created for your marketing activity can be retrofitted to suit PR purposes.<\/p>\n
In fact, digital PR goes one step further: the agency you work with will do its utmost to earn backlinks back to your website (editors and publications are notoriously difficult when it comes to keeping links in content). Subsequently, those reading your content via online publications can actually find<\/em> your business, and the content itself is already optimized for search because you’ve done it already.<\/p>\n
All-in-all, digital PR will help to increase your startup’s visibility both online and offline, helping you to get featured in key trade media relating to what you do and cause a positive stir in your industry.<\/p>\n
Because it\u2018s easier and less costly to retain or re-sell to existing customers than acquire new ones, it\u2019s critical for startups to intentionally track CLV and improve on it by:<\/p>\n
97% of customers read online reviews for local businesses in 2025 (Bright Local<\/a>). The internet allows customers to be more informed than ever during the buying process. A poor reputation can therefore hurt your marketing and sales efforts while a good reputation may help seal the deal.<\/p>\n
With this in mind, you should do what you can to make a positive impression:<\/p>\n
Despite all the digital marketing strategies and tactics out there, word of mouth is still powerful.<\/p>\n
This is especially true for those who intentionally improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n
Referrals often happen organically, but a referral marketing strategy can help you generate them faster. For example, you can:<\/p>\n
The above strategies can give you a high-level sense of where to go, but executing them is a different story. To get a sense of how a marketing strategy can produce success for your startup, we’re going to lay out some ideas. These ideas are from real startups and will help you visualize how a successful strategy can be helpful for your own marketing goals.<\/p>\n
Workwize is a B2B company that helps businesses manage hybrid workplace solutions and office resources. They use targeted paid LinkedIn ads<\/a> to connect with office managers, HR leaders, and operations teams struggling with hybrid work challenges.<\/p>\n
Their LinkedIn ad campaigns focus on relatable pain points like recovering IT devices.<\/p>\n
When I advise startups on social media strategy, I always emphasize that you don\u2018t need a big budget to make an impact. I\u2019ve seen companies build engaged communities simply by sharing authentic content and encouraging user participation.<\/p>\n
Take Paperless Parts<\/a>, for example, a manufacturing company with a stellar Facebook page:<\/p>\n
Creating a Facebook Business<\/a> page and optimizing it is free so leads and customers can find it. The Paperless Parts feed begins with recommendations and reviews from happy customers, showing that the business has a dedicated customer user base.<\/p>\n
Are you thinking about starting a crowdfunding campaign? If you do, you could earn great press from publications, expanding your campaign’s reach. Take Exploding Kittens<\/a>, for example, which started as a simple card game with quirky artwork and a playful concept.<\/p>\n
When the creators launched their Kickstarter campaign in 2015, they set a modest goal of $10,000. The campaign went viral, raising $8.7 million from over 219,000 backers, making it the most-backed game project<\/a> in Kickstarter’s history at the time.<\/p>\n
The development platform, GitLab<\/a>, hosts in-person and virtual meetups to provide developers a platform to share ideas.<\/p>\n
Startups don’t usually have the revenue to produce big-budget social media campaigns. For travel agency Wander Women Retreats<\/a>, their marketing team found that the best way to tell their story is on Instagram.<\/p>\n
SEO is another free, cost-effective strategy startup marketers can use to spread the word about their business.<\/p>\n
But here’s the caveat: This one takes the longest of all the strategies mentioned.<\/p>\n
While it\u2018s not incredibly time-consuming, it does require consistent effort. I\u2019ve watched startups boost their lead generation through SEO, but it took months of methodical optimization to get there.<\/p>\n
At this point, SEO won’t net you leads or opportunities immediately, but it will lay the foundation for consistent success in the months and years to come. In fact, for 88% of consumers<\/a>, search engines are the best way to get information.<\/p>\n
One of the most powerful strategies I’ve discovered while working with startups is referral marketing. When my clients ask me how to get more customers with a limited budget, I always point them toward building a strong referral program.<\/p>\n
Task management app Todoist, for example, has a Partner Program.<\/p>\n
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Here\u2018s what I\u2019ve seen work consistently:<\/p>\n
Make sure to strategically place these testimonials and reviews where potential customers will see them during their decision-making process. They help build trust and authenticity in a way that your own marketing messages can’t match.<\/p>\n
One of the best ways to get your startup out there is to offer some kind of version of your product\/service for free \u2014 and it’s worked for many businesses already.<\/p>\n
Canva, Dropbox, Zapier, and HubSpot are all high-profile tech companies offering a free\/trial version of their product or service to let people try before buying (or upgrading).<\/p>\n
As people use them and realize how great these products are, they feel compelled to buy the full, \u201cunlimited\u201d version for all the bells and whistles. Great, right?<\/p>\n
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But getting people to use your product \u2014 and inherently talking about how good it is as a result \u2014 is all about lowering the customer’s acquisition costs.<\/p>\n
What many businesses do with a freemium model is offer current trial users a discount on the full price of the software. This is significantly more appealing than paying the full price and can potentially convert more leads into paying customers very, very quickly.<\/p>\n
Also, for those who don’t<\/em> convert to paying customers with this offer, it enables you to understand what features or parts of your service are lacking. You can:<\/p>\n
For maximum effect, cross-reference what you offer against the main issues your buyer personas have in relation to technology like yours. Consider adding features to your product\/service to address these problems (where possible). Maybe produce a roadmap and show people what they’ll be getting. Transparency is a great way to increase users.<\/p>\n
Lastly, bear in mind that this approach does come with the risk that people might not want to upgrade to the full version. That said, be as clear as you can with what users can get from the full version and highlight how valuable it can be for them. Keep your coolest features under wraps!<\/p>\n
Marketing trends come and go, but 2025 is showing us which tactics drive results for early-stage companies.<\/p>\n
These five approaches are gaining significant traction because they focus on efficient growth, helping startups build momentum without requiring massive budgets or large teams.<\/p>\n
I\u2018m part of several thriving startup tool communities, and Buffer\u2019s Discord channel stands out as a prime example. They’ve created a space where users share social media strategies, troubleshoot problems, and connect with other marketers.<\/p>\n
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Generative AI can help startups punch above their weight class when it comes to content production and research. I use it to brainstorm content angles, summarize market research, and turn long-form content into social posts.<\/p>\n
But there’s a catch: AI works best as a strategic assistant, not a replacement for human insight.<\/p>\n
I use AI to create a custom research workflow<\/a>. Experimenting with different tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity helped me pinpoint the strengths of each and create a system that improves my writing. You can also use tools like HubSpot’s Breeze<\/a> platform for an AI assistant that supports your entire customer platform.<\/p>\n
I watch founders get this wrong all the time; they hide behind their company logo instead of showing up as themselves. Yet some of my favorite startup tools caught my attention because I followed their founders’ journeys on LinkedIn or Instagram first.<\/p>\n
Take Marie Martens<\/a> from the form tool Tally.<\/a> Her open posts about building in public and sharing revenue numbers built an audience \u2014 before<\/em> the product took off.<\/p>\n
Building your brand doesn\u2018t mean becoming an influencer. Share your authentic building journey, what you\u2019re learning, and the problems you\u2018re solving. Use HubSpot\u2019s Social Media Management<\/a> tool to schedule and track engagement on your posts.<\/p>\n
When you do this consistently, you create momentum for your product.<\/p>\n
I’ve been putting off creating short-form video content because I thought I needed fancy equipment and editing skills. Every time I open TikTok or LinkedIn, I see competitors getting massive engagement with simple videos shot on their phones.<\/p>\n
I\u2018m finally planning to experiment with video this quarter, starting small with 60-second tutorials and behind-the-scenes glimpses of my work process. I plan to use HubSpot\u2019s Marketing Analytics<\/a> to track which social channels drive the most engagement and conversions from my videos.<\/p>\n
I used to wait weeks for developer resources before testing new marketing ideas. But, after discovering no-code tools, I’m able to validate concepts in hours instead of months.<\/p>\n
Last month, I wanted to test if my audience would sign up for a weekly newsletter about startup marketing metrics. Instead of building a full landing page, I used HubSpot’s Landing Page Builder<\/a> to create a simple signup form in 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
If you want to get the best possible results when it comes to marketing, you need to focus on what works.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve learned that while there are loads of different ways to achieve your goals, it\u2019s always better to focus on the most high-impact and cost-effective, and as a startup owner \u2014 I’m willing to bet you already know how important that is.<\/p>\n
The best strategies use a combination of what I’ve mentioned above and then analyze their performance to determine which ones require more or less investment. No matter what you do, remember that your marketing activities are only as good as your goals and targeting.<\/p>\n
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n
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