Boost your startup: Marketing hacks, interview tips, and more!

Welcome back to Tech Creator!

This time around, we're diving into next-level marketing strategies to supercharge your startup, sharing tips to nail your interviews, and covering a whole lot more.

Ready to get started?

Let’s dive in!

^{A special note from our sponsor Camunda} 

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^GROWTH

Start With These Marketing Strategies … 

In the last edition, we learned that poor fund management can seriously hurt your startup. 

Similarly, not managing your marketing strategies correctly will inflect unwanted damages for your startup. 

But don’t worry, we’re going to cover some key points for you to start with. 

Branding, Branding, Branding

As a business or a startup, it is key for you to stand out. 

People need to recognize your brand and want to be associated with it. 

This is called creating a unique brand identity.

By having a unique brand identity, you can easily set yourself apart from your competition. 

In order to do so, you will need to come up with:

• A brilliant visual identity

• A moving and compelling brand story

• A brand kit (typography, logo, colours)

• Your startup/brands’ core values (Mission, Visions, etc.)

When coming up with your brand identity, one of the biggest tips is to be authentic. 

Social Media

You know it, we know it, everyone knows it: if you’re not marketing on social media, you’re really, really missing out.

Just because you have a brand identity, it does not mean that you’re now good to go. No, your next step is to build a social media presence. 

This can be hard, so remember to be patient and remind yourself that social media growth doesn’t just happen in a day, even if you put out top quality content. 

To start, filter out which platform works best for you. 

Will it beTikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or maybe even WhatsApp? 

You don’t have to limit yourself to just one platform, since each platform attracts different target audiences. 

As long as you know who you wish to communicate to, what you want to say to your target audience and how (this is called content marketing strategy), you’re on the right path. 

Marketing strategies, especially social media marketing cannot be tackled in a day. We know it’s a lot to take in. But don’t worry, come back next week to find out which platform will work best for your startup! 

In the meantime, start brainstorming about your brand identity. 

^PEOPLE

Don’t waste a good interview! 

Candidates should not be the only ones who are nervous for an interview.

As HR, you should be too, because interviews can make or break your hiring process. 

Here are some things you should do to make sure you don’t lose the right hire during the interview process. 

Filter Your Questions

Don’t be tempted to ask your candidates irrelevant things. 

Before the interview, go through your list of questions and shortlist the ones that will tell you if the candidate can carry out the role. 

If you’re stuck, refer to the job description and start there. Having the right set of questions will make your interview comprehensive and informative for both parties. 

Appoint The Right Decision Maker

Most of the time, a lot of departments are interconnected, so it is natural to think that you need to have pointers from everyone involved when it comes to a new hire. 

However, you should avoid doing this. 

When you have too many decision makers, you will find that it will be harder to reach a unanimous vote because each of them would have a preference that will benefit their specific department. 

What you can do instead is to gain input from everyone when you’re finalising the job description, but let the hiring managers make the final call when it comes to post-interview decisions.

Follow Up

Whatever your decision is, do not go silent on your candidate.  Follow up on both the hiring managers and the candidate. 

Right after the interview, give the hiring managers some time to think and compile their notes, but don’t let this sit for too long. 

Follow up with them while they still remember the interview so that an effective decision can be made. This will also ensure that your candidate will not be kept waiting for long. 

For the candidate, let them know that you will be in touch and give them a timeline. Keep them in the loop of the interview outcome. 

You’re one step closer to hiring the best match for your company if you get your interview process right, so be sure to prepare a structure ahead, ask the right questions, and then follow up right after!

^SALES

Taking notes during a sales call?

When you’re in sales, calls are unavoidable.

And as much as it may devastate a sales rep, sales notes are inevitable too. 

But, taking sales notes (whether you like it or not) is an important part of a sales process and can help you make a pretty huge difference, especially in customer experience. 

This doesn’t mean you have to write your whole call down, which is why we’re here to give you a few pointers on how to take an effective sales call. 

Keep It Brief

That’s right— keep it simple, but concentrated. 

Take down key points of your call, like quoted prices, customer preferences, special requests, expected timelines and more. 

This will help you keep track of your tasks and actions.  It will also help in making your follow up call with your client a lot easier to manage. 

Find A Style

There are a lot of tips out there when it comes to taking notes. 

Some people suggest bullet points, while others prefer highlights. If you don’t have a preferred method already, try and see which style fits you best. 

Pick a style of taking notes that is effective to you, in both taking it down, and referring to it at a later period. 

You can choose to use a paper, add hyperlinks, or have a plethora of colours— as long as you are able to take it down smoothly and effectively. 

Organise

Don’t just write your notes down, and then leave them everywhere. Use note taking apps (there are plenty, so choose one that you prefer), in order to keep your sales notes organised. Consider creating a naming system for your notes and store them in an accessible place. 

This will help when an old client returns, or if you need to refer to something quick. 

The next time you’re taking sales notes, be sure to employ these tips to help you do 'em better. 

Latest tech news

• Winamp is opening its source code so that developers from around the world can help its growth and evolution.  

• Google plans $1.1 Billion expansion at data center in Finland. Investment will increase staffing by 25% on the site.

• Edtech firm Alef to go public in Abu Dhabi’s first IPO of 2024.

• Google releases a new web filter that will help you avoid videos and images when you search for long-form articles. 

• Microsoft has partnered up with Byowave to launch a modular Proteus Controller that will make gaming more accessible. 

• VMware’s Fusion and Workstation now both have a personal use option. 

Tech Throwback: May 20, 2010

On May 20, 2010, Android 2.2, otherwise known as ‘Froyo’ was released. 

It was released after ‘Eclair’, Android 2.1, and was followed by ‘Gingerbread’, Android 2.3.  

Android Froyo was the sixth version of android and had features such as Adobe Flash Support, Wi-Fi hotspot and USB tethering. 

The latest Android version is version 15 and is called Vanilla Ice Cream. It was released on May 15th, 2024. 

That’s all for this week’s Tech Creator. See you again next week, same time, same place!