Digital Marketing for Startups
Garrett Lyons and Vanessa Theoharis at Summer Venture Program
Many of the teams in the Summer Venture Program are now ready to work towards gaining traction in the market. Members of the Babson College Marketing team, Vanessa Theoharis and Garrett, visited us in the Blank Center to explain how to do so by increasing customer recognition and trust in the brand online.
A large focus of the presentation was on content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Vanessa and Garrett taught us that are two subsections of SEO: owned and earned. Owned SEO includes content created by the company, including its website, blogs, and social media, as well as the language it strategically uses to boost online visibility. Incorporating keywords the target audience uses when searching for the business is crucial.
In order to achieve the highest search result, one of the best tips is extremely straightforward. Avoid keyword stuffing, or using the same word or phrase repeatedly throughout the website. Failing to do so makes the page appear less trustworthy, and Google ranks webpages of this type towards the bottom of search results. Instead, use a more organic distribution of important words and their synonyms.
Earned SEO encompasses public relations content and influencers on social media platforms. Vanessa and Garrett recommend taking advantage of media, events, and reviews to increase visibility of the brand online. Companies can also sponsor existing social media users who have large followings on websites such as YouTube and Twitter to review their product. While the business has a reduced amount of control when it comes to earned SEO, many customers trust these third parties to provide honest feedback.
For the most effective online presence, companies should harness the power of both owned and earned SEO opportunities.
Hear from the 2016 Summer Venture Program Wellesley cohort on Thursday, July 28 at the Summer Venture Showcase!