Marketing Strategy Ideas For Tech & IT Companies

#1 Develop a unique positioning in the market

The positioning of your brand, product or service will help you to stand out from other businesses, especially in crowded markets. The obvious choices are to be the cheapest or most expensive however you could use safety, efficiency, a pricing model, technology, location and a host of other factors to carve out a unique market position. Use a brand perception map to see where the brands in your market currently sit.

#2 Create customer profiles 

Customer profiles are part-fictional representations of your ideal customer. They should be created for every person that’s involved in the buying process from the end-user to the stakeholder signing off the budget or deal. Typically customers profiles or personas include job title, age, gender, motivations, challenges, pain points, media consumed, preferred contact methods and a one-line elevator pitch specifically for that person in the decision-making unit.

#3 Consistently promote your USP

Your USP is one of the main reasons customers will buy from you so it’s critical that you are promoting it consistently across every single touchpoint. This means consistent wording, language and imagery. Channels you must consider include email, your website, PR and press, social media, adverts and trade shows. 

#4 Develop a unique tone of voice

The way that you speak and engage with your customers can be a great way to market your technology company and stand out. For example, there are plenty of businesses that take an informal approach when speaking with customers on social media which reminds people they are speaking with a human and not a faceless brand. A great example of this is Microsoft on Instagram.

#5 Maintain consistent branding across all channels

In the same way, your USP should be consistent so should your branding. Colours, logos, tag lines, contact information and language should be the same wherever the customer sees your brand both online and offline. If not it can be confusing and a lack of consistency will make it harder for people to recognise your business. 

#6 Create a comprehensive marketing plan

A marketing plan is critical for finding new customers for your tech business. One key stat that supports this is that companies with a marketing plan grow 30% faster than those without one. The key elements to include are details on your market, competitors, target customers, objectives, proposed marketing activity, marketing budget and how you will measure success.

Social Media Marketing Ideas For Technology Companies

#7 Set-up social media profiles

Your customer personas should tell you which social media channels your customers are using. To start with it’s best to focus on one or two channels and build up an engaged following. Trying to use too many social media channels at one is time-consuming and difficult to maintain with regular updates and content. To help you could use a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite.

#8 Promote your content on social media

With profiles in place, you can create social media strategy guidelines and being posting content that you think your customers will find valuable. The best practice is to post a mixture of your own content, and useful content from third party sources. This 4-1-1 approach will help you to build a following and will stop your social media channels from being too salesy, which people won’t enjoy and it’s unlikely you will get much traction.

#9 Use social media to engage with users

Social media is about being social so it’s really important to respond to comments and reviews that are left by customers. After all, the main objective of social media is to get people engaging with your posts and increase your brand awareness. Make a habit to do a daily social media check so you can respond to comments and conversions in real-time. 

#10 Leverage the power of Reddit

Reddit is essentially a forum type website where people ask questions and start discussions that are called subreddits. Finding questions that are being asked about your niche and providing expert answers, sometimes with a link to a supporting blog post, is a great way to develop your status as an authoritative figure and drive traffic back to your website. 

#11 Create content that can be repurposed 

One great way to ensure you have plenty of content to post on social media is to repurpose content to create multiple posts from one piece of content. For example, you could convert your blog post into a video, a podcast and an infographic. Why not also combine 2-3 blog posts into a downloadable ebook and use it as a lead magnet?

#12 Use LinkedIn to network with your target audience 

For B2B businesses LinkedIn is one of the most popular marketing ideas for technology companies. Posting regular content on your personal profile will help you to increase the number of people engaging and requesting to connect with you. You should also be looking for opportunities to comment on other peoples posts and share your expert opinion which will further increase your visibility on the platform. A LinkedIn company page is a good idea too.

#13 Answer questions on Quora

Similar to Reddit, you can seek out relevant questions that people are asking on Quora. In some ways, this is a better platform for B2B businesses so it might be best to try this first. You can provide a link back to your website in your Quora profile so whenever you answer a question people will be able to visit your site after viewing your profile. 

#14 Be active in LinkedIn groups

We’ve generated a good number of leads from posting and interacting in LinkedIn groups, despite people saying they are dead! You can use the main search bar to find and join relevant groups that have a global audience. As well as larger groups try to find local groups such too. These tend to be more active and are a great way to start networking locally.

#15 Start a LinkedIn group 

If you can’t find a group it could be an opportunity to start one of your own and create a huge audience for you to market to once it gets going. Groups are best started around specific subjects or areas like UK eCommerce marketing or retail technology. Being an admin can take a lot of time, especially if you are reviewing posts so it might be an opportunity to reach out to other businesses and start a group together that you can co-manage. 

#16 Be active in Facebook groups

Facebook groups are much more active than LinkedIn groups and there are groups covering pretty much anything you can think of. Facebook groups tend to be less spammy than LinkedIn groups with the focus being on sharing knowledge and answering peoples questions. There are still plenty of opportunities to post links back to your website though, just don’t make this the primary purpose for joining. One of the most popular groups that we are part of is SaaS Products & Marketing which has over 11,000 global members. 

#17 Start a Facebook group

Starting your own Facebook group is the perfect way to build a highly engaged audience that is eager to learn and discover new technology. If your business specialises in a certain field such as cloud storage you could start a group around common issues with cloud storage or tips for using cloud storage. This approach is likely to resonate with people more than if you start a group that just has a sales focus. 

#18 Make use of Facebook Live and Periscope (Q&A)

Live video is becoming an increasingly popular way for technology companies to market to their target audience. You could use live video to announce a new product launch, host a Q and A or provide tips and advice in the form of a webinar. Some of the most successful companies host a live stream once a week or once a month which helps them to grow their following consistently in a short period of time.

#19 Start your own company hashtag

A hashtag is a great way to generate user-generated content that you can post on your own social media platforms and websites (with their permission). Examples of user-generated content that can be collected from hashtags include pictures, reviews and videos. You can also use a company hashtag to share photos of day-to-day life inside your business using it as a more personal approach. 

#20 Run a social media takeover

Social media takeovers are popular with B2C marketing and we may well see it becoming more popular in the B2C space too. One of the most common examples of this is when a brand lets an influencer or ambassador take over their social media for an hour or even a day. They might post day-in-the-life type photos or even host a Q&A. The purpose of doing this is to generate more engagement and to reach new audiences.  

#21 Create branded filters for social media

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all allow their users to use filters on their photographs before they are uploaded to the platform. One of the ways that brands are starting to capitalise on this is by creating their own filters, like this Budweiser filter that was created for the 2018 World Cup. The knock-on effect is that your brand logo will be displayed in hundreds or thousands of pictures online helping to raise brand awareness among key audiences. 

#22 Run a photo competition

This is a simple and easy way to generate loads of photos of people using your product or service that you can re-use on your own profiles. Not only does it create free content for you to use, but it will also help to get your name out there, especially if you combine this with the use of a company hashtag. Some social media channels have strict rules about running competitions so it’s best to check if this is possible on the platform first. 

#23 Run a caption contest 

Caption competitions will generate a lot of engagement on social media so are a great way to get your followers and fans involved. You could run it as a regular contest and even use photos from your own business that promote your brand and that fit with your overall company story. 

#24 Identify trends and join in

Trends come and go so they can’t be relied on for consistent marketing and traffic however, keeping up with what’s happening and getting involved is a great way to market your business. Recent trends like the Ice Bucket challenge were huge with businesses and celebrities getting involved all over the world. 

Content Marketing Ideas For Technology Companies

#25 Create stand out infographics

If you’ve created a great blog post or have some tips to share then putting it into an infographic will help to extend its reach. Tools like Canva and Piktochart allow you to create infographics quickly and easily that can be shared across social media, your website and in emails. Infographics should be visually appealing and easy to read covering the main points you are trying to make. They should not be wordy and written like a blog post or article.   

#26 Use Slideshare to create engaging presentations 

Another way to repurpose your content is to create a slideshow and upload it to Slideshare. The platform gets 60 million unique visitors every month so there will be plenty of eyeballs on your content. Tops tips for using Slideshare are to use a compelling title and first slide, switch up the design of your slides, set an agenda, provide actionable takeaways and have a clear call to action.

#27 Create highly valuable downloadable guides

eBooks are one of the most commonly used lead magnets in B2B marketing. Much like a normal book, eBooks should be about a specific topic and provide highly valuable information to the reader. They don’t need to be long, 5-10 pages are usually enough. Once it’s written you can upload it to your website and use it to attract leads, asking for an email address in exchange for downloading it.

#28 Publish a quarterly industry report

To really stand out and become an authority publishing an industry report is the way to go. If you have a large number of customers it may be relatively easy to obtain the information you need to create such a report. Sending out a survey and reporting on the responses is a simple way to do this. Alternatively, you could commission a report, or sponsor a report that’s published regularly in your industry.  

#29 Publish a monthly industry magazine

If you have the resources then putting together a monthly industry magazine that has news, interviews and events is a great way to reach more of your target audience. There are many publishing platforms that you can use to create and distribute PDF magazines. The main factor to consider is the time to create and curate the content for the publication. 

#30 Write reviews of industry events  

Do you regularly attend and exhibit at events in your industry? If so you could keep your company blog fresh by writing reports and reviews of these events, especially if they are going to be beneficial to your customers. Not only does it show that you are keeping up with the latest events and trends, it’s a good opportunity to do some marketing before and after the event by posting these reviews to social media and emailing them to potential customers.

#31 Start blogging 

Every company should have their own blog because it will generate free, organic traffic to your business website. Writing posts that are optimised for search engines can be tricky so it might help to engage the services of a content marketing SEO agency or professional copywriter in the beginning. That’s not to say you can’t do it on your own, there are plenty of resources online that will teach you about the basis of SEO.  

#32 Create a Vlog 

Vlogging or video blogging is a key trend that started in late 2019, early 2020. According to Hubspot, 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year. Social media platforms like Facebook have publicly announced that video posts are now prioritised in the news feed so if you haven’t already it’s time to start making videos for your business and posting them online.

#33 Comment on blogs in your industry

Following and commenting on industry blog posts and articles will help you to increase your visibility among your target audience and will potentially generate clicks back to your website. Finding blog posts to comment on can take time so it’s worth subscribing to a newsletter and setting up a feed using an app like Feedly so you can quickly find content when you’ve got a few spare minutes. 

#34 Write guest features for industry blogs and magazines

Guest posting on other blogs has two main benefits for your business. One, it gets your name out there, especially if you do it regularly. Two, it generates links back to your website which will drive traffic and give your own website a boost in the search rankings, leading to more organic traffic and ultimately more leads and sales.

#35 Write a book

Writing and publishing a book is easier than you might think. Amazon, for example, allows you to self-publish books and list them on Amazon for free or as a paid-for product which could be digital (an eBook) or a paper of hardback copy. It’s important to say that you have to provide value and writing about something that’s been written about already, in the same way, isn’t likely to set the world on fire. 

#36 Revamp old blog posts

If you’ve got a healthy number of posts on your blog, over 50, then it’s worth spending time revisiting old posts and updating them. This could be with new facts and figures, new keywords or adding more content to make them longer. If you’ve since created additional content for the post like a video then add this in too. Doing this will tell Google that the post is still relevant and could even boost it in the rankings. 

#37 Create a viral video 

Creating a video is one thing, making it go viral is another. Unless you are able to capitalise on a video going viral there’s isn’t much point in spending the time creating it. However, if it’s to support something that is time-bound, like a new product launch, this could be the perfect marketing tool to help to reach millions of potential buyers online. 

#38 Carry out and publish your own research

One way to provide real value to your customers is to carry out and publish your own research. Not only will it help to position you as a leader and potentially provide important insights for your customers, but it’s also likely to generate hundreds of links back to your website proving how powerful content marketing can be.

#39 Run educational webinars

Since the lockdown, the amount of webinars taking place online has gone through the roof and no wonder. Webinars are a fantastic marketing tool that allows you to adopt a one to many approaches, presenting tips and insights into your product and services to hundreds of people at a time rather than one-to-one. A popular format for webinars is to have a couple of guest speakers that can add value to your presentation and help promote it to a wider audience.  

#40 Create a free online course

Online courses can be used to generate additional revenue for your business or to get your brand out there, and prove that you really are an expert. If you’re a software business you could create a course about coding, for example. The most popular platform that allows users to upload, sell and buy courses is Udemy.

#41 Encourage user-generated content 

As we’ve mentioned, user-generated content is a great way to market your business online. Photos and videos that customers have shared can be put to use in website content, blog content and social media. This is a great example that shows the projects created by customers of netting company Huck Nets.

Advertising Ideas For Technology Companies

#42 Use Facebook advertising 

If your audience is on Facebook then it might be worth looking into using Facebook advertising. It’s currently pretty cheap for advertising and you can go down to a granular level of targeting which can really help you to get the most from your ad spend.

#43 Use LinkedIn advertising 

For B2B businesses LinkedIn if the go-to advertising platform. There is a range of options you can choose for targeting including company size, job title and industry. You can also re-target people that have visited your website. It’s more expensive than Facebook advertising but order values for B2B businesses tend to be higher so there’s still a good chance you’ll get a high ROI.

#44 Use Google Ads

Google has a range of advertising options which include display ads which are great for remarketing and building brand awareness, shopping ads for selling physical products and text ads for capturing customers while they are actively in the marketing for a product or service. It’s easy to spend a lot on Google ads and get little return. We recommend using an agency or hiring a qualified marketer to run your ads.

#45 Use outdoor advertising 

Outdoor advertising can be highly effective, especially if your target market is in a localised area. Media companies like Clear Channel offer a full range of outdoor advertising opportunities from billboards, to bus shelters to supermarkets and pubs and bars. Companies using outdoor advertising have seen website traffic and inbound calls increase by as much as 54%

#46 Brand your company vehicles

For companies with sales reps or teams that are out on the road one of the most interesting and best ways to market your business is to wrap your company cars. Not only will it heighten your brand in the local area, and potentially nationally it looks highly professional having a fleet of branded vehicles outside your offices.

#47 Run print adverts

Running print ads in relevant publications is one way to build brand awareness for your business. If you run offers and include calls to action then it can also generate a direct response too. It can be difficult to measure the success of ads so using a special promotional code or URL people can use online or specific phone numbers will help to measure the response you get and your return on investment.

#48 Use retargeting ads to bring visitors back 

All of the major advertising networks and social media platforms now allow you to retarget or remarket to visitors who came to your website but didn’t take action. This could be that they didn’t make a purchase or didn’t submit their details and become a lead. You will need to add special code to your website to set this up but once it’s live it’s a powerful way to market and grow your business. 

#49 Use programmatic advertising 

Programmatic advertising uses machines and algorithms to purchase display space. Rather than bidding on keywords like you would in Google Ads you can use programmatic advertising to target visitors at specific points in the customer journey using machine learning. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, humans will always be needed to plan and optimise advertising, but programmatic advertising will mean there will be fewer ad buyers.

Marketing Ideas Within Your Industry  

#50 Share relevant industry news

Social media is a great place to share your own news as well as industry news. The 4-1-1 method suggests that for every 6 pieces of content, 4 should be from a 3rd party source (industry blog or website), 1 should be from your own website and 1 should be a promotional post that talks about your products or services. 

#51 Create an industry-relevant website 

If you’re an expert in your industry then you may consider creating an industry website. It could be as simple as creating a website that allows people to upload their own press releases and articles, making it a hub for the industry. You could then use this site for your own lead generation or as a revenue stream by selling advertising, training courses or your own services. 

#52 Join industry associations 

There are plenty of industry associations that you can join across the UK from retail associations to outdoors to manufacturers and tech. One organisation that’s a hub for UK manufacturers in Made In Britain who offer plenty of valuable member benefits. The Trade Associations Directory has a comprehensive list that you can join.

#53 Enter business awards

Awards can serve multiple purposes when marketing your business. Firstly they show customers that you have been recognised for the product or service that you provide. They are also a great opportunity for local, national and even global publicity. 

#54 Be a guest speaker on a webinar 

If you don’t have time to plan your own webinar then one solution is to appear as an expert on someone else’s. If you see any companies that are complementary to yours that are running webinars and you think you have something valuable to add, reach out to their content or marketing team and see if you can get involved. 

#55 Be a guest speaker on a podcast

Podcasts have taken over in the past few months so there’s never been a better time to jump on the podcasting trend. If you listen to a podcast maybe it’s time to reach out and ask to appear on your favourite show?

#56 Start a podcast

It’s surprisingly easy to start and distribute your own podcast, and you can even use software to transpose your blog posts if you don’t have time to record them yourself. If you are thinking of starting a podcast then make sure it’s niche as there are thousands out there covering a whole host of subjects. 

#57 Be a guest on a radio show 

Thanks to the internet, there are plenty of opportunities to appear on online radio shows within your niche or industry. A quick Google search is a good place to start to find these shows. Alternatively, if you’re target customers are in the local area then getting yourself on to a local radio show is always a good bet, especially if you are promoting some kind of event in the area. 

#58 Ask to be included in industry reports 

It’s highly likely that there will be some sort of report put out about your industry either every quarter or every year. A big one for the technology sector is the Gartner Magic Quadrant. Asking to be included, or paying to be included in these reports will help to get your business in front of thousands of potential customers. 

Marketing Ideas To Engage Employees

#59 Get your employees to post about the business on social media

If your employees have their own social media profiles then you could ask them to like, share and comment on posts that have been created by your company pages. This will help to extend the reach of your company posts and might encourage people who don’t work for your business to start commenting and engaging with posts. 

#60 Promote the personal achievements of employees

Add a bit of personality to your business by promoting the personal achievements of your employees. Achievements could be as simple as an internal promotion or someone hitting their sales target. Alternatively, you could celebrate achievements outside of the world like running a marathon or raising money for charity. This kind of content is sure to get your audience engaging, helping to increase the reach of your business.

#61 Share ‘day in the life’ photos and videos

Day in the life photos will add personality to your brand and will give potential customers insight into the people behind your brand. After all, people buy from people. Whether you’re on a staff outing or it’s doughnut day make sure a member of the team is on hand to take photos and upload them to social media and your blog. 

#62 Encourage your employees to be on LinkedIn

LinkedIn allows you to create a profile for your business but it can be difficult to gain followers and the reach of your posts is limited. Personal profiles, on the other hand, have great potential so it will benefit your businesses greatly if your employees are on LinkedIn, actively creating and sharing your content. It also means that when someone searches for your company they are more likely to find it and the relevant people to talk to.  

#63 Ask employees to review your business on Glassdoor

For businesses that are looking to attract new talent making sure your workplace and business are as attractive as possible is a must. Websites like Glassdoor allow current and past employees to leave reviews of your business anonymously. Most people will do some digging before applying for a job so this is a great method for marketing your business to potential employees.

Marketing Ideas For Events & Shows

#64 Attend trade shows

Trade shows are still one of the best ways to market your business, especially if you are business to business. In the UK there are hundreds of trade shows that take place every year. It can be expensive to take a stand, book hotels and take a few days out to attend but if you pick the right shows they can provide a lucrative return.  

#65 Attend local networking events 

You might be surprised at the diversity of businesses that attend local networking events. You may also come across businesses that you didn’t even know existed. Websites like Eventbrite are useful for searching for networking events in your local area. You could also ask your local LinkedIn contacts if they attend any events that you may also go to. 

#66 Run a local networking event 

If you find that there are no local networking events or that the events currently running are too broad it might be an opportunity to create your own. Many now take place using Zoom which makes it easier for people to attend as they don’t need to take as much time out of their day to travel to the event. Some of the best events will have time for networking as well as a guest speaker.

#67 Talk at industry events 

All industry events and tradeshows will have a roster of speakers who are almost always business owners or experts in their field. Most shows will reach out to people they want to present at the show or event but that doesn’t stop you from getting in touch with them to pitch your idea for a talk. The best talks are the ones that give actionable takeaways for attendees, the worst are dressed up sales pitches. 

#68 Organise a local fundraising event

Apart from generally being a great idea to help out local causes, fundraising events can help to market your business to people in the local area. Whether you’re doing a sponsored indoor cycle or hosting an event like a Macmillan Cancer Coffee Morning you’re likely to generate some interest from the local press and get a mention in the paper. 

#69 Sponsor events 

If you can’t spare the time to attend events then another option is to sponsor events. All events will have a range of sponsorship packages from paying to sponsor a stage to having your logo printed on lanyards and in the programme. It’s a good way to build brand awareness although on its own it’s unlikely to translate into direct sales so be clear about what you to achieve with this type of advertising. 

#70 Offer open office tours

Do you have a particularly interesting or innovative office space? Are you located in a historic building? Does your business create something that has an interesting process like 3D printing? Opening this up for potential customers to come and view is another way to market your business that doesn’t cost much but that can have a big impact, especially if you are trying to close a deal. 

Marketing Ideas To Build Your Online Presence 

#71 Create a professional website

It’s highly likely that the first place a potential customer is going to look for your product or service is online so having a website is essential. Depending on your business it may not need to be a complex or expensive build. A simple website with 2-3 pages and a blog may be enough. The key is putting yourself out there so you can be found.  

#72 SEO your website

Ensuring that your website has been properly optimised for search engines is critical for generating organic website traffic. You must make sure that each page is targeting a different keyword that has a good number of monthly searches. Tools like SE Ranking are perfect for finding new keywords and tracking rankings. 

#73 Leverage Google My Business

Google My Business is a free service offered by Google that allows you to list your business on Google maps. Simply head to Google to sign up and they will send you a postcard to verify your address. Once verified you will appear on Google maps when people are searching locally for products and services. 

#74 List your company in relevant business directories

There are plenty of online directories that you can list your business on but the key is finding relevant directories. There’s not much benefit being listed on directories that aren’t looked at by your customers. Also, keep an eye on the number you’re listed on too. Directories tend to be viewed negatively by Google if they don’t have additional content like a blog and can have a negative impact on your search rankings.  

#75 Get reviews of your business

Reviews are powerful and can be the difference between winning and losing a contract. You can ask clients and customers to add reviews to your Google my business listing which will help to push it up in the Google Maps rankings. Other platforms that are popular for reviews include Feefo and Trustpilot.

#76 Add your software product to software review platforms 

GMB and Trustpilot are great for generating reviews of your business but there are platforms including Crunchbase and G2 crowd that allow users to leave reviews of your software. These platforms are used by buyers when searching for new software and are a must if you are serious about marketing your software business.

#77 Use company ID software to identify companies visiting your website

Software like Leadfeeder is able to identify the businesses that are visiting your website based on their IP address. So, if you’re generating a lot of traffic software like this will likely be enough to keep your sales and marketing team busy for a while. Leadfeeder shows the companies visiting your site, possible contacts and the pages they visited.  

Email Marketing Ideas For Technology Companies

#78 Create an email sign up on your website

Banners and pop-up forms are a great way to collect email addresses from your customers that either doesn’t download content or don’t submit a contact form. One of the simplest calls to action that you can use for this type of form is to ask people if they want to sign up for your newsletter.  

#79 Choose a good email marketing platform 

You should have a good email marketing and CRM in place that allows you to market to your leads and customers once they have given you their email address. Active Campaign is a cost-effective platform that is a CRM and email marketing platform all in one. Any leads that submit a form on your website will automatically drop into your CRM where you can follow up with emails and calls, logging any activity.

#80 Buy in email marketing data

If you’re a new business or you’re not generating as many leads as you would like then you can look to buy in data. This data could be email addresses or it could be phone numbers and office addresses. Data companies will allow you to select a range of criteria such as industry, business size and location. You can then contact this list with a view to generating meetings and demos.

#81 Promote your content with email marketing 

Once you have built an email list from your website, or have bought in data you need to market to it. One way to do this is to use email automation that educates and nurtures leads with content from your website until they are ready to speak with sales. Email marketing is still the go-to activity for B2B businesses. Being smart with your email marketing will also pay dividends as Marketers who use segmented campaigns noted as much as a 760% increase in revenue.

#82 Advertise in other people’s newsletters 

There are plenty of software industry websites that collect the emails of their website visitors in order to send them their own content on a regular basis. Most of these sites will sell advertising either on the site directly or as banner ads and sponsored content in their email newsletter. If you want to reach a large target audience this is certainly a tactic to try.  

PR & Outreach Ideas For Technology Companies 

#83 Create a list of PR contacts

PR can be a great way of getting your name out there and the best way to start a PR campaign is to compile a list of industry websites and publications that you think would be interested in sharing your story. As well as publications you should try and include the names and contact details of editors.

#84 Join websites where journalists are looking for stories

If you can’t find relevant contacts or only have a small list then look to platforms like Help a Reporter Out. According to their website “HARO connects journalists seeking expertise to include in their content with sources who have that expertise.” This is an opportunity to share your expertise in news and content that will be going live.

#85 Find an influencer to promote your product or service

Influencer marketing can work for B2B businesses, but it’s important to find the right people to represent your brand. One good example is Sage, who uses Entrepreneur and Dragons Den star Peter Jones as a brand ambassador. He recently appeared in their TV adverts too.   

#86 Publish regular corporate announcements

The main purpose of your blog should be to publish content that informs and educates your audience and that generates organic traffic through good SEO. However, publishing press releases and company news is also a good way to generate interest in your business. Examples might include new funding, new hires and expanded premises or new offices.

#87 Announce new versions and updates to your software 

Updates and new software features are perfectly newsworthy items that should be shared with your customers, and potential customers. If the updates are particularly interesting and innovative they will make for good reading in the trade press too. You never know how far a good press release will take you and where it might end up.  

#88 Reach out to accounts to share your content

Your industry is going to be full of influential people that have a big following, usually on social media. One tactic that you can use to tap into their audience is to ask them to share and promote your content on their social channels. To increase the chances of them sharing your piece, you could include a quote or reference them in the article too.  

#89 Get mentions in ‘run-down’ style posts – e.g. top 10 software you need right now

A great way to get links back to your website is to find run-down style posts and ask for your product or service to be included in the line-up. For example, a post about the top 20 pieces of marketing automation software you need right now is the perfect post for you to get your product listed on.  

#90 Replace dead links with links to your site

Finding ‘dead’ links is one of the most popular ways marketers use to build links back to their own websites. The basic principle is that you find an article relevant to your industry and identify links within the article that return a 404 error and that no longer exist. If this is the case you can email the site owner and ask them to link to you instead. Doing this will help them out too and will help to improve their blog.

Referrals & Partner Marketing Ideas For Technology Companies

#91 Create a network of partners

Creating a network of other businesses and solutions that your own software connects with provides a great opportunity for cross-promotion. Companies like the PIM provider Sales Layer have an app marketplace where users can purchase additional software from selected partners that enhance the core capability of their own product. 

#92 Set up a referral scheme for referrals from other businesses

Referral agreements whereby you give away a percentage of a final sale fee to the referrer is common within the technology sector. It works very well with businesses that are complementary to your own. Don’t forget that it works both ways and could be an additional revenue stream for your own business.  

#93 Create a customer referral scheme

Your existing customers are your greatest advocates and so setting up a customer referral scheme should be near the top of your sales and marketing to-do list. The rewards for referrals can vary from money on their next invoice to Amazon gift cards. The reality is that a referral is likely to cost you much less, even with a loyalty scheme in place than any advertising campaign.

#94 Use value-added resellers

A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated product or complete “turn-key” solution. Depending on your solution it can be a low-touch way of getting your brand name out there and selling more products. 

#95 Start an affiliate programme

This is one of the best marketing ideas for technology companies and is a great way to acquire new customers at a very low cost. Essentially whenever someone refers a new business to you, you pay them a percentage or a fixed fee, however you decide to set it up. If you don’t have the knowledge to set this up yourself then you can use third-party platforms instead.

Outbound & Promotional Marketing Ideas For Technology Companies

#96 Buy in telemarketing data

In the same way that you can buy in email data, you can also buy in telemarketing data. Most of the companies you buy from will also be able to provide telemarketing services so that by the time you contact the data you have bought, they will already be a lead. This can be expensive and the results are not guaranteed.

#97 Offer a free trial of your software

It’s very common now to see a lot of SaaS vendors offering free trials of their software to entice users in the hope that they will sign up once the trial ends. The key to this is ensuring that the users actually use the software within the trial period and put their data in, making it integral to their processes by the end of their trial.

#98 Use a freemium software model 

Another popular model is to offer a free version of your product or software that has limited features. Users can then be prompted to upgrade in return for better features, more storage or more user log-ins. 

#99 Donate a prize to local fundraisers

If you know that there is a local fundraising event or charity auction coming up one way to market your business in the local area is to donate a prize. It could be anything from a free website for a local business to an Ipad to a 12-month licence to your software. 

#100 Use direct mail campaigns

Direct mail is a powerful way to engage with potential prospects and can help you to stand out from other vendors who are exclusively using online advertising methods. A cleverly designed flyer of leaflet or a letter written to your prospect is likely to have a much greater impact than an email going into their already bulging inbox. 

#101 Create branded promotional material 

Branded promotional material will always be a key promotional tool for almost every business. Cheap materials like pens, notepads and USB drives are perfect for giving away at events like trade shows. More expensive items can be used to send to your best prospects and customers. Branded workwear like fleeces and polo tops are also becoming more popular among tech brands and help to give a professional look. 

#102 Become a B Corp business

According to the B Corp website “Certified B Corps are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using businesses as a force for good.” Becoming a B Corp can help with your brand image and is a popular criteria when people are searching for a job.

#103 Do joint promotion with another business

Running some kind of joint promotion with another business will help you to break into new customer segments that you may not have been targeting. Joint promotion can be anything from sharing a trade show stand to writing guest blog posts on each other’s websites.