Getting a startup enterprise off the ground is no small task. Between the founding of the company and the development of a repeatable and scalable business model is a years-long process in which entrepreneurs find themselves juggling a number of challenges. From raising funds to acquiring the right human capital, from negotiating supplies to handling cash flows, many are the pitfalls that can — and often do — prove lethal to the young company. Indeed, according to data published by Statistic Brain early this year, 50% of startups fail within the first four years of operations. Among the causes behind this result, one main factor was “wasted advertising budget.”
This result, far from surprising, testifies the overwhelming endeavor that effective advertising can be for startups. Without a built-in audience, how to communicate with a public largely (or entirely) unfamiliar with the company’s products or services? How to stand out from competitors? These are but few of the questions that businesses cannot shun, and whose answers are never simple.
In attempting to provide an answer, many startups have been increasingly resorting to content marketing in recent years. While specific data regarding startups is unavailable, research from the Internet Advertising Bureau reveals that content marketing ad spend in the UK increased around 50% in 2015 over the previous year, reaching £776 million. Behind this result is the understanding among companies, marketers, and publishers of the benefits arising from the creation and distribution of valuable content.
Among the benefits are the improvement of the company’s reputation and uniqueness, more referral and social traffic, and closer relationship with clients (builds a long-term audience). Importantly, regarding competitors, startups have the advantage of being free to embrace content marketing in a way that bigger or more established companies are not, since the strategy requires longer maturation times — usually a deal breaker for businesses with short-term financial expectations — and/or changes in the company’s culture.
As content marketing gains more and more momentum, it is pertinent to ask what exactly explains the success of the strategy. One answer is that, be it through social media/blog posts, case studies, podcasts, or guest articles, at its best content marketing is all about storytelling. Highly influential stories create an emotional connection with the audience whilst inherently conveying a message. In addition, stories are unquestionably more memorable than data, and inspire relatability and credibility.
In regard to the storytelling adage “show, don’t tell,” no medium is as effective as video, and startups have a great deal to benefit from the medium. Below are a few examples that showcase the potential of video in content marketing:
Airbnb
Dove
Uber
By their nature, startups have the potential to become big. However, a number of factors challenge their growth to fruition: ineffective advertising/raising awareness being one leading cause of premature failure. In response, an increasing number of startups have been adopting content marketing as part of their strategy, convinced of the reach and appeal of valuable content in attracting and retaining a long-term audience. As the examples provided above show, video is an unparalleled medium for communicating engaging, versatile content, one that should become more prominent as startups tap further and further into the largely uncharted potential of content marketing.
Image: Still from Dove’s “Amazing Moments | Louisa & Rob”