Starting a Business? Here’s How to Build Buzz

After years of dreaming and months of planning, you’re finally taking the plunge and launching your very own business.

Maybe you’re flying solo. Maybe you have partners. Either way, you know the task ahead of you is a mighty one. 

One question that’s really keeping you up at night involves marketing. Specifically, you’re not sure how best to build early buzz around your enterprise. You’re competing with countless other startups for limited customer and funder attention, even if you don’t consider those other enterprises true competitors.

With modest resources and no network to speak of, you’re at an impasse. You need to dig deep to generate interest in what you’re selling — and fast.

Here’s how to get started.

1. Create a Compelling “Elevator Pitch”

Start by developing and refining your company’s elevator pitch. This is the 15- or 30-second summary that you give people who ask about your company in passing — the idea being that it’s short and snappy enough to deliver during an elevator ride.

You’ll then need to get your elevator pitch out in the world, targeting high-value digital properties in particular. To see how this comes together in the real world, check out Asiaciti Trust’s Inc profile.

2. Start a Waitlist for New Customers (Even If It’s Not Really Necessary)

Keep working on getting to market, but don’t wait to draw in customers. In fact, you should build your waitlist before you build your product, says tech expert Alex Ponomarev. 

To answer your next question — yes, you should have a waitlist. It’s a fantastic way to build buzz around a brand that can’t yet generate word of mouth of its own.

3. Develop an Irresistible Media Pitch & Media Contact List

Next, refine your media pitch and start prospecting. Your media pitch is different than your elevator pitch; it needs a hook that relates to the everyday experience of the people you’re trying to reach and needs to be packaged with PR-savvy media professionals in mind.

In short, it needs a hook. Professional PR is expensive, but if you get stuck, it’s worth considering.

As for your media list, building one from scratch can feel like a daunting task. It’s much more manageable if you break it into discrete tasks and add to it over time, says business marketing expert Shawn Hessinger. Focus less on the total quantity of contacts than their quality; it’s better to reach lower-value publishers who’ll actually promote your brand than shoot for the stars and get nothing out of it.

4. Claim Key Online Business Listings (Even If You Don’t Have a Physical Location)

Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and on and on. Even if you don’t have a physical location, your business needs a literal place on the map — use a virtual mailbox or coworking office if you don’t want to use your home address — and a rudimentary online presence. (Your website will come a bit later.)

5. Create a Media Kit With Logo, Images & More

If your media pitch does get any bites — and it will, sooner or later — you need to be ready. Build a media kit with high-quality photos of your products, people, packaging, office, and anything else relevant. Commission a high-quality logo, and make your own vinyl stickers and other branded promotional items, too. Additionally, create a one-pager with branded messaging; you can’t control what people write and say about you, but you can at least give them ideas.

6. Launch Your Website ASAP

Start with a basic website using a builder like Wix or Squarespace. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it doesn’t even have to be comprehensive. It just has to exist and say to the world that you’re open for business (even if you’re still in waitlist mode). When setting up the website, consider using whois – but What is WHOIS? This is a domain name search tool, to check the availability and who owns existing domains, which can help you find a domain for your business.  

7. Chronicle Your Go-to-Market on Social Media

Prospects love progress. Chronicle the good, the bad, and the downright weird as you work toward launching your first product — a few choice shares by micro- (or macro-) influencers and you’ll find yourself in a plum position.

You Deserve to Be Noticed — But It Won’t Happen on Its Own

Your business isn’t special in the grand scheme of the universe. It might not be special even within its industry; chances are good you’ve identified competitors that offer similar solutions.

And yet your business is yours. You’ve worked hard to get it off the ground, and it deserves every bit of success that comes. 

That success won’t come on its own, of course. You need to work as hard as you can to make it happen, knowing full well that you’ll face unanticipated challenges and obstacles along the way. 

Let this list of buzz-building to-dos serve as your early road map. It won’t get you all the way to your business goals, but it could mean the difference between survival and failure in the very early going.