As an entrepreneur, how often do you ask yourself, “How big are we in comparison to our competition?” At our last fireside chat in March, we sat down with Aaron Carpenter, Chief CustomerOfficer at HubNami, a social media management startup. Hubnami creates software to answer these types of questions.

Whether you are trying to appeal to a business or a consumer, Carpenter says that your marketing strategies must be exemplary. It is extremely difficult to sell products from business to business, and even with a plan in place, it may still be complicated to execute. Consumers are just as hard to convince. Brand loyalty is something that consumers are extremely conscious of – they either love or hate a brand. How would you sell your product in ten seconds? What makes you stand out from your competition?

Companies entering the social media realm often ask when is the right time to start marketing and sharing their product. Carpenter explained that the golden rule is, “It’s never too early.” One of the most viewed pieces of content for companies on social media are product teasers, or behind-the-scenes footage. Once you begin consistently posting new content, the followers will come.

However, effective marketing strategies don’t have to be costly. One simple suggestion Carpenter has is to write a piece on your Facebook page and boost the post for other businesses and consumers to see. If you want to know exactly what you’re up against, sign up for a free trial with your competitors and see what they’re doing.

There’s a reason why social media has been called a “black hole”. Even though the space is crowded, the possibilities are endless and each company specializes in its own niche. Carpenter expects that there will be a massive consolidation in the future, and many of these smaller companies will become a tool or subset of larger organizations.

Our next fireside chat for Fremont’s Startup Grind chapter is on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. At a new location Electronics For Imaging (efi) on 6700 Dumbarton Cr., Fremont, CA. We will be celebrating Female Founders Month and speaking with Donna Novitsky of Yiftee.

Depending on how you count them, Yiftee is Donna’s 3rd or 19th start-up. She is also a former partner of a top tier venture capital firm and teaches marketing to engineers and entrepreneurs at Stanford University. She took a startup from scratch to IPO, and is mother of two teenage kids. Novitsky was named one of the 2014 Top 10 Women to Watch in Tech by Inc. Magazine in April 2014, and holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering with Distinction from Stanford University, as well a Harvard MBA.

Don’t miss out on this event! Get your tickets here.

More spring events will be announced soon. You can stay informed by following Startup Grind on Twitter @FremontGrind, and on Facebook at Startup Grind Fremont.

Attendees at the Fremont Startup Grind event with Aaron Carpentar, Chief Customer Officer of HubNami.

If you have any
question or suggestions for guest speakers, send an email to ShilpiSharma,
Co-founder & CEO of Kvantum, and
Chapter Director for Startupgrind Fremont.