Brand Archetypes Frame Content Marketing Strategies for Startups, Expert Says

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- More than 50 percent of small businesses in the United States fail within the first four years(1) and 14% of startup companies falter due to the result of poor marketing.(2) "I think people get too caught up and talk to you about what their startup is and what the products and features are as opposed to real problems that people want solutions for," said Ryan O'Hara, VP of Growth and Marketing at LeadIQ in the latest B2B If You Market Podcast. O'Hara gave actionable takeaways for startup business-to-business (B2B) brands to make a good digital first impression on Episode 38 of the If You Market podcast "Startup Marketing, with Ryan O'Hara," hosted by MountainTop Data CEO Sky Cassidy and JOTO PR CEO Karla Jo Helms.(3)

Marketing has pivoted into the digital space with an insistence on storytelling. In fact, 84.5% of U.S companies with at least 100 employees utilize digital content marketing strategies.(4) In addition, 55% of business professionals say a great story captures their focus and keeps them engaged with content.(4) Helms explains that startups who fail to see their product through the eyes of potential buyers will lose interest of their target audience.

"When you're looking at something as a consumer—it's very different when you're looking at something as a business, or even the marketer—and we sometimes forget the viewpoint of the consumer," Helms said. Cassidy agrees that marketers don't allocate their time on the consumer's viewpoint and lose sight of cultivating a brand. "If you only promote the features then you lose sight on building a brand around a general idea or problem the consumer is trying to solve," Cassidy added.

O'Hara's solution for startup marketers is to change the messaging of digital content that can bring attraction from customers through brand archetypes. O'Hara defines brand archetypes as a framework where individuals understand and categorize things that they process in their everyday life. For startup marketers, each of the 12 archetypes are designed for a specific personality related to a company's brand and associating a brand with an archetype taps into deep emotions intended to motivate customers to buy.(5)

"Sometimes I want to feel like a magician that makes dreams come true. Sometimes I want to feel like a sage," O'Hara said. "Your brand should pick one of these archetypes and commit to it with everything that you do content-wise, the way you position your product, the way you cold call—everything."

The Four Benefits of a Defined Brand for Startups:(5)

1.    Helps you in standing out from your competitors

2.    Attracts new customers and makes it clear why they should work with you

3.    Improves your relationship with customers by giving them a seamless experience

4.    Attract top talent and help with recruiting ideal candidates

And when it comes to prospecting clients, O'Hara's pares it down to answering four questions:

1.    Why are you contacting me?

2.    How am I special to you?

3.    Who are you?

4.    What do you want me to do with this?

"End your email or your phone call with an open-ended question," O'Hara says. "If you say, end with a yes or no question, you don't get an objection."

As entrepreneurs aspire to scale their enterprise, experts agree that successful businesses know how to play the long game in content marketing to achieve growth and profit.(6) Brand archetypes lay out the canvas for startups to engage with a prospect and establish relationships that stand the test of time and generate ongoing sales.

To listen to the podcast episode on Startup Marketing, with Ryan O'Hara visit http://ifyoumarkettheywillcome.com/2019/02/12/38_startup_marketing_ryan_ohara/

The If You Market podcast is a 45-minute conversation about B2B marketing—new trends, best practices and established tried-and-true. Each episode features a conversation with one expert guest discussing topics like: content marketing, account-based marketing, social media, marketing automation, PR, etc.

The podcast airs on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and Tunein Radio.

About Ryan O'Hara
Ryan O'Hara has been an early employee at several startups helping them with marketing and prospecting tactics, including Dyn who was acquired by Oracle for $600+ million in 2016. He's had prospecting campaigns featured in Fortune, Mashable, and TheNextWeb.

Ryan specializes in branding, business development, prospecting, and coaching people on how to make good digital first impressions. He also mentors two accelerators, The Iron Yard and The Alpha Loft, and hosts The Prospecting Podcast.

About the If you Market They Will Come Podcast
Meet If You Market podcast host, Sky Cassidy—a problem solver and B2B marketer. And his co-host, disruptive PR evangelist Karla Jo Helms. Together they talk with industry experts to analyze B2B marketing tactics with a measure of public relations crisis management.

Sky Cassidy is also the CEO of MountainTop Data. MountainTop Data, based in Los Angeles, CA, provides data and data services for B2B marketing. Karla Jo Helms is the CEO and Anti-PR Strategist of PR agency, JOTO PR Disruptors™, based in Tampa, FL. Visit them via http://ifyoumarkettheywillcome.com/category/if-you-market-podcast/

1. Mansfield, Matt. "STARTUP STATISTICS – The Numbers You Need to Know," Small Business Trends, December 26, 2018.
2. Sweetwood, Matt. "Infographic: The 20 Most Common Reasons Startups Fail and How to Avoid Them," Entrepreneur, February 7, 2018.
3. Cassidy, Sky. "Startup Marketing, with Ryan O'Hara," If You Market podcast; February 12, 2019.
4. Hart, All. "14 New Statistics to Help You Build a Better Content Marketing Strategy in 2019," NewsCred Insights; December 13, 2018.
5. Campbell, Donna. "Brand Archetypes Help Manufacturers Connect With Ideal Customers," Business 2 Community; March 20, 2018.
6. Patel, Sujan. "5 Ways Startups Can Drive Massive Organic Growth," HubSpot; November 21, 2018.

SOURCE If You Market Podcast

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