Form the Perfect Brand Strategy for Startups: 7 Must-Try Strategies
Creating and carrying out brand strategy for startups can make or break this type of business.
Take the medical startup Call9. They tried a bold “pay what you want” telehealth model. Great for patients. Horrible for doctors. The backlash wrecked trust internally, and they shut down in 2019 — just one year before telehealth exploded.
The point?
A brand strategy for startups isn’t just logos and color palettes. It’s positioning, audience clarity, messaging, expectations… and getting even one piece wrong can sink the whole ship.
But you’re here, which means you’re already ahead of most founders.
Let’s walk through seven startup strategies worth using from day one.
Table of Contents
1. Get Very Specific With Your Audience
In my early days as a marketer, I thought “bigger audience = better.”
It’s not.
The “cast a wide net” approach works in fishing… not branding.
Startups win by being specific:
- Who exactly are you targeting?
- What do they care about?
- What problems do they urgently want solved?
Google Analytics and Search Console are perfect for this — free, reliable, and fast to set up. With a few lines of code, you’ll see:
- Who’s visiting
- What they’re clicking
- Where they’re coming from
- What content speaks to them
The more you understand your target audience, the easier your brand positioning becomes.
And yes — sometimes founders push back when I tell them to narrow their audience. But every time they do, engagement goes up, not down.
Narrowing your focus to a specific audience ramps up engagement. And more engagement is always a great goal to achieve with a startup branding strategy.
2. Start Strong on Social Media
Social media is where your brand voice gets tested in real time.
A lot of startups get excited for two weeks, post five times, then vanish.
That’s not a startup branding strategy. That’s a short burst of panic.
You don’t have to be everywhere.
You just need to show up consistently long enough to learn which platforms actually matter.
Example: One CML client was struggling with visibility. They ranked on page one for multiple articles… but barely anyone visited the site.
The problem?
They had zero active social accounts.
We helped them repurpose weekly blogs into short-form content, and within a few months, they grew an Instagram audience of 150,000 followers.
Social didn’t replace their SEO — it amplified it.
3. Develop a Unique Voice for Your Startup
Where you post matters.
But how you sound matters even more with a brand strategy for startups.
Your startup needs a clear, distinct brand voice. Helpful? Academic? Funny? Minimalist? Confident? Relatable?
To find it, look at:
- Who your audience follows
- Which tones get engagement
- What resonates in your comments
- What competitors sound like
Brooks Running is a great example. Their emails feel like a friend dropping in with advice — authoritative but warm. Zero pressure. Zero corporate fluff.
Source: Brooks Running
Your tone will depend on your industry… but the consistency of that tone is what builds recognition.
4. Find What Makes Your Startup Stand Out
Spotify nailed this part of a brand strategy for startups early.
Music streaming wasn’t unique — everyone was doing it.
So they created Spotify Wrapped, turning user data into a personal highlight reel.
Source: Spotify’s Twitter account
It became a cultural moment. Free marketing. Viral every year.
That’s brand strategy.
What’s your equivalent of Wrapped?
Think about:
- A unique feature
- A signature experience
- Something memorable your competitors can’t replicate
Your startup’s “difference” is the foundation of its brand identity.
5. Start Creating Videos Regularly
Good news: your smartphone is all you need.
With over 3.3 billion people watching online video every year, your startup needs a face, a voice, and a presence — not just blog posts.
Short videos (2–3 minutes) are perfect for:
- Answering common questions
- Turning blog posts into walkthroughs
- Demonstrating your product
- Telling your brand’s story
- Showing behind-the-scenes
And no, it doesn’t need to be fancy.
HubSpot found that 44% of marketers use their iPhone as their main video camera. Android does the job too — I’ll die on that hill.
Video is trust at scale.
6. Tell the World Your Brand’s Story
Yes, “story” gets thrown around a lot.
But for a brand strategy for startups, it actually matters.
Your brand story should explain:
- The problem
- The frustration
- The moment you realized you could fix it
- How your product fits into people’s lives
No need for a novel. Tell it like you’d tell a friend.
People don’t connect to features.
They connect to the reason you created them.
7. Lose the Jargon — Talk Like a Person
If your content sounds robotic, corporate, or overly technical, people check out fast.
The best startup brands talk like humans:
- Clear
- Helpful
- Relatable
- Zero buzzwords
A good test:
Give something you wrote to someone who knows nothing about your industry.
If they look confused, rewrite it.
If they “get it” instantly, your brand voice is working.
When people understand you, they trust you.
And trust is the currency of branding.
Final Thoughts
A brand strategy for startups doesn’t have to be complicated.
It just has to be intentional.
- Know your audience.
- Show up consistently.
- Tell your story clearly.
- And give people something to remember.
Do that, and branding stops being a “task”… and becomes a growth engine.
Alex Eagleton is a copywriter and digital marketer with a decade of experience helping companies connect with their audiences. He’s written for brands such as Microsoft, Roku, and Ramsey Solutions, and specializes in creating content that not only informs but drives measurable results. Known for his versatility, Alex adapts seamlessly to different voices and tones, making him a trusted partner for businesses looking to grow through content.
When he’s not writing, he enjoys spending time with his dogs, reading, and playing guitar.
You can reach him by emailing alex@contentmarketinglife.com.
