4 things you MUST include in your startup's content marketing strategy 🌟

Hey, newsletter fam!

You can run. You can hide. But you can’t escape online content these days.

Exhibit A: You’re reading this newsletter.

Plus, it’s an important part of every startup’s success whether they’re still in the early stages and trying to wrangle early customers, or they’re a late stage company trying to keep their customer base and offer resources.

That’s great news for someone like me who’s worked in content for over half a decade.

But unfortunately, it isn’t always simple as posting a video online and getting an influx of customers overnight. The bar for high quality content that gets eyeballs and increases brand reach is constantly moving. So I’m sharing my tips for creating a strong content strategy for your startup. Read on for more. ⬇️

4 things to include in your startup’s content strategy

Write out your business Goals

Any strategy begins with understanding and outlining your goals. Why are you taking the time to create this strategy in the first place? What should this strategy help your business accomplish? Here are some questions/areas to consider when coming up with your goals.

• What goals are most important to the business?

• Are these goals measurable? If not, how can we make them measurable?

• Why is now the right time to execute this strategy?

• How will these goals support the business?

Also, as you add more members to your team, writing down your goals can help keep everyone on the same page.

Consider your target audience

Thinking about your audience can help you uncover information about their demographic, their needs, the way they communicate, and the content platforms they use the most. And understanding which platforms they live on the most tells you exactly where you should dedicate the most time to creating content.

If you’re building a product for Gen Z, then your content strategy should absolutely include TikTok as a marketing channel, for instance.

Understanding your target audience also helps you figure out how you should be talking to them. What language resonates with them the most? What kinds of campaigns would be most memorable to them (in a good way)? What’s the best way to teach them about your products?

Ask yourself what type of content you’ll create

Every time you create a new piece of content, you’re creating an additional touchpoint with your target customers. Whether it’s a “Welcome to our newsletter” email or an Instagram post describing a testimonial.

You have to ask yourself what your pieces of content will accomplish.

• Will this post provide value and get my business more followers?

• Will this post get more eyes on my business’s social media?

• Will this piece of content get people signing up/placing orders for my product?

• Will this piece of content prompt users to share this post with another member of my target audience?

Posts that get more eyes on your profile won’t always inherently result in getting you more followers or more orders.

Behavioral Economists have long believed that people need to interact with your brand an average of seven times before they trust you enough to sign up or hit the “buy” button.

Understanding where your audience hangs out the most will help inform the type of content you’ll want to create. Also keep in mind that while social media is a huge part of a content strategy, native content like blog posts and newsletters can also be a valued resource for your audience. Just look at Glossier. It started as a blog called Into the Gloss providing beauty advice to readers. Now, it’s a beauty brand worth $1.8 billion.

List your KPI’s

Your job isn’t over once you create and publish a post. You need to actually track the success of your content and content strategy.

Be cautious of putting too much weight behind vanity metrics. Sure, getting 2 million views on a TikTok is exciting. But if a post that was intended to generate an outcome like more customer signups, more orders placed, etc., then you have to evaluate why.

Does your startup need help building a content strategy? Drop me a line at [email protected].

As someone who’s been a writer and reporter for over half a decade, storytelling comes naturally to me. I love learning more about peoples’ experiences and I believe the VC and startup spaces can be united through thoughtful conversation—in a space where there’s no pressure to pitch and no pressure to invest.

Also, success stories can be fascinating to read about but I’m even more interested in hearing about founder experiences while they’re still on their journey to achieving huge success—not just after.

So I’m launching a series within this newsletter called Building in Public. I want to interview consumer startup founders and showcase their stories here every single week.

This is a chance for other founders and operators to learn from their experiences, get inspiration for growth tactics, and hear about the resources that are changing the game for others.

But I’ll need your help if I’m going to successfully get this off the ground.

I’m looking to interview founders in the coming weeks. So if you’re a founder—or know a founder—sign up for a call with me.

You MUST:

• Be a consumer tech or CPG startup founder

• Be available for a 30- to 45-minute call so we can conduct our interview

• Consent to having your experiences published in my newsletter and promoted on social media 

Book your interview today by sending me an email at [email protected] 

And if you’re helping me out by spreading the word, I want to just say thank you A TON! 🫶🏽 You’re helping me build the resources we all want to see in the world and that means a lot.

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Say hi 👋🏽

I love hearing from you! Whether you have a question or comment, are looking for a peer to bounce ideas off of, or want to offer me a job * cough, cough * (just kidding…but not really…) I’m just a few clicks away. Find me on LinkedIn and X, or email me at [email protected].

Let’s talk soon!

–Jasmin Suknanan, Founder & EIC of Momentum

About me

Jasmin started her career in media as a writer and reporter gaining expertise across several verticals, including lifestyle, commerce, Consumer Finance, and FinTech. Her expertise extends far beyond content and media. She decided to focus on the venture capital space and gain skills as a product marketer to continue helping companies solve consumer-focused problems. She has evaluated over 100 startups across FinTech, Wellness, EdTech, and AI and is also deeply passionate about consumer packaged goods. She holds a Master’s degree in Behavioral Economics and excels in market research and competitor analysis. Currently, Jasmin is part of Cohort 3 of the Venture Institute Program and a participant in the Pegasus Angel Accelerator University & Scout Program. She’s also on the leadership team of VC Unleashed where she plans and hosts events across NYC.