How does your tech brand achieve it’s true potential?

A guest post by Astley Media, as part of the Tech South West StartUp Studio Insight blog series.

 

In a world where brands are competing for their audience’s attention it can be hard to cut through the noise.

At Astley Media we have developed five key steps to better plan your marketing strategy and build your communications around more than just sales messaging, so you can create strong engagement, build leads and meaningful customer relationships.

Step 1: What is your tech brand story?

You must consider your story. Why do you exist? What is your purpose? What is special and interesting about who you are and what you do? And how do you make a difference in the world?

Every person, every business and every brand has their own unique story… and the great thing about yours is that it is individual to you. It’s the one thing that no one can replicate. 

To truly resonate, a story needs to be authentic, relatable and, above all, told well.

This is not just for startups – every tech business needs to know and own its story. 

 

Step 2: How does your brand stand out from the crowd?

When a rival is just a click away, how do you stand out from the crowd? A powerful story is a great place to start but what else can you do to ensure that you are the go to business?

Put simply, you’ve got to find what makes you different from the rest.

It might be your unique product offering, the fact that you donate some of your profits to charity or that you are one of the top 100 companies in the South West to work for. It could be how you work alongside clients in groundbreaking ways or the incredible responsiveness, customer service, or passion of your people to outperform your competitors time and time again.

Find the thing (or things) that make you different and make sure you include it as a key part of your marketing strategy.

 

Step 3: How does your brand be a go-giver?

Having a ‘higher purpose is an essential part of your brand. We don’t just buy the ‘what’ that you sell. We buy the ‘why’ – why you exist, what you believe in, the values you demonstrate.

Switched on tech brands are building a go-giving element into their business model and marketing strategy. It could be free tools such as ‘how to guides’ or explainer videos. Others might be donating products for free to those in need.

Ask yourself: what you can give in order to give people a taste of your brand and your values, that helps build awareness and engagement and positions you as a stand out brand that’s different from the rest. 

 

Step 4: How do you adopt a publisher mindset?

Digital disruption has transformed the media publishing landscape.

It means every business is a publisher, with a host of tools, platforms and communities available to you.

You must think like a media publisher. Where is your audience? How can I truly connect and build relationships? It’s certainly not always by speaking about yourself. If you are a brand helping your customers, you are far more likely to get traction. 

Understanding your audiences is essential. It will help define which platforms, channels, content and stories you adopt and create. Don’t put yourself at the heart of your publishing schedule – put your audience there. Involve them, listen to them, help them. The best brands achieve empathy by building trusted relationships over time.

 

Step 5: How do you build your tribe?

You want to shift people who like what you do into people who love what you do. And you want to shift people who love what you do into advocates for your brand!

But how? If you follow the first four steps, the fifth is where everything comes together into a unified plan.

You want supporters, advocates, customers who love your brand and want to recommend you at every available opportunity. That’s the tribe you want to build.

So, consider how you can bring people together as part of your story? What’s in it for them? What’s their role? Your teams, your customers, your advocates, partnerships, supportive organisations, networks and others – listen to them, understand their wants and needs, treat them as equals and find a common purpose and ways to be involved.

Giving people ways to contribute, meaning, purpose, opportunity, roles to play – that’s how a tribe builds. From across the first four steps – Story, Stand Out, Go Giving, Publish – your tribe can emerge. It takes time but done right, the approach can propel your brand forwards to new levels of success. And of course it’s a shared success with others.

 

Astley Media’s Five Steps is not rocket science. It’s not unique. But it’s a great way of considering your brand and how you approach your marketing, filled with energy and excitement as you do your best work with the right people, in the right way, for the right reasons.

We’d love to chat to you about how our Five Steps can transform your approach to marketing of your tech company.

Contact us at hello@astleymedia.co.uk to book a free consultation with our expert team. Our expertise and passion, and your ambition, might just be what we’re each looking for.

 

Astley Media is a marketing and PR agency with specialist teams working in the tech, government and education space.