Every startup business aims to claim the biggest profits and maximize the potential of the company. Roughly 80% of new businesses survive past their first year of operation. However, around half of them no longer exist after five years, and only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary. Most float in the shallow pools of mediocrity unable to swim in the deeper waters and make waves.

If you want your startup to stand out, here are a few things that you can do:

Hold A Unique Business Event

Think about the movie industry for a moment. Many people are wondering right now why Marvel/Disney continue to succeed and other film industries can’t get their comic book movies off the ground. What’s going wrong, or rather, what is one business doing that the other is not? If you look closely, you’ll likely find that one company has a unique stance when it comes to marketing and they refuse to blend in with the crowd.

Take business events, for instance. The biggest business event for the comic book movie industry of the year is Comic Con. Marvel chose not to show up at all in 2015, citing that it had nothing newsworthy to share at the event. However, throughout the year it made major announcements about upcoming company releases, which kept the public on the hook, waiting to learn more. In other words, don’t just settle for being a participant in someone else’s show, plan your own events, make your own news and promote your business accordingly. With this type of event planning philosophy, you are sure to stand out.

Be A Philanthropist

These days many companies are just trying to stay under the radar, desiring to have zero connections to controversial issues, such as sexual harassment or inequality scandals sweeping across the globe right now. From gender pay disputes to the #metoo and #TimesUp movement in Hollywood, you might think that no media attention for your business is better than the wrong kind. In a way, you’re right but being low-key won’t get you seen. Yearn to be different, like a company called Blue Avocado that has philanthropy built into their business model. This company is a for-profit business that also works to eliminate plastic pollution from the world. Customers love businesses like this, and so does the media and potential investors. Is it time to embrace a philanthropic cause with your company?

Engage The Media

Speaking of the media, you need to gain their attention and a philanthropic cause is just one way to do this. Ideally, you’re looking for something that will cause your company to go viral online. To do this you need to create content around a story that people can follow, tell and share. For example, The Australian Tourism Board devised an ingenious way to market not just a company but a country by using a fake film ad. You can see the final result below. The media loved it, social media ate it up, and you can bet plenty of vacations were booked after seeing that ad. In this case, the viral message was to boost tourism but this type of promotion could work for any business.

We hope you see now why it is important to make waves, to make your business stand out and learn from these examples of exactly how it can be done.

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