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Social Media as a First Step to Launch a Profitable Business

Starting a personal business sounds like an excellent idea to a lot of people. The majority of them believe that it is the right thing to do in order to “take the life into your own hands”. However, only a few of them actually get involved in this process. Why is that so? Mostly because of one reason, and that is the risk. Nobody can be 100% sure that his business will be successful and that is why people are usually very skeptical.

As professional researchers who provide custom accounting service analytics and writing from Paperwritten.com admit, that like in every other case, there are pros and cons when it comes to starting a business. Considering it’s more than obvious advantages and benefits, it seems that this risk is worth taking. Of course, after one starts his own business, he shouldn’t just sit down and hope that somehow everything will go as planned. Starting a business is just a first step, as one should always act proactively in order to reach and maintain a high level of performance. Fortunately, there are many ways that one can ensure a positive impact on his business. One of the most efficient and most widely used is internet marketing, especially via social media. The fact that in 2016, 78% of North Americans have social network profile seems enough to illustrate how widespread these networks actually are (that percentage is even higher in 2017 – 81%).

In the text below, a few tips on how to properly use social media in order to boost the business success will be listed and elaborated.

1. Set the goals

This should be the first step of every plan, not just the ones that are connected to the business. This is very important (and maybe crucial) phase, as it includes the budget and all of the goals, but also a plan how to achieve them. Of course, the plan should be detailed and specific (the more the better) because this way there will be no room for surprises, so one will be ready for every stage of business development. This is something that can’t be done by using ad hock method (by planning “along the way”). In order to set his goals in a proper way, one should get familiar with S.M.A.R.T. criteria; it is widely used criteria that have been shown as very successful.

Of course, the same logic should be applied to the social media. One should provide an extensive research in order to answer the following questions: Can these goals be achieved via social media? Can it be helpful for the particular kind of business? What are the experiences of others in this domain?

2. Come up with a website

It is a very good idea to create a business website, where the interested people can get familiar with all of the relevant information. This is the website that one can share on the social media and put links to it. Of course, this is a highly complicated task, so if one is not very skilled in creating a website, he should engage a professional web designer.

3.  What social media to use

This is not an easy choice to make, as there are many solutions (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest…) so it may be hard to choose the right one. Of course, it mainly depends on the kind of business and the target audience. For example, the most of the teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, business people use LinkedIn, middle-aged women mostly use Pinterest, etc…

One of the most reliable ways to check if the certain social media is suitable is to create a personal profile in order to get an insight in how a particular kind of business is treated, how popular it is on a social media, etc…

Another important thing that should be taken into account is mobile app development, i.e. is there a mobile application of a particular social media and how popular it is.

 4. How to post

Posting is the way that the image of the business is built. One should give his best to follow the four main principles: be original, informative, concise, and personable. The post should be as interesting as possible, so the people would notice it. A great way to ensure an interaction on the post is to come up with a kind of mini-quiz. For example, in the case of a coffee shop, one can post a picture of a cocktail with a text “Today’s quiz: What is the name of this cocktail?” and the first person that answers correctly can get a couple of free cocktails.

One should try to create a “personality” of his business by using the particular wording, pictures, and videos. Of course, all of these depend on the target audience, as the post won’t be the same for formal business companies and for fast food restaurant.

 5. How often to post

The frequency and the time of posting depend on a couple of factors, such as the kind of business, the length of the text, the image, etc… If one possesses a club and wants to promote is, he should probably post a day before the weekend in order to inform his followers about his weekend offer (for example what band will be playing), as the majority of people plan their weekend ahead. On the other hand, if one has a clothing store, he can post about the information related to the same day (for example, about the discount) as no special preparation and planning is needed (on the contrary, people may forget about it if it’s posted a few days before the actual account takes place).

When it comes to the length of the text, one should follow a simple rule – the longer text, the less frequent it should be. If the text is short and concise, it can be posted every day. However, if it is extensive and filled with details, it probably shouldn’t be posted more than once or twice a week.

 6. Online assistance

Only a few people consider engaging online help and assistance, which is surprising, considering how effective it can be. There are few sites that can be very useful.

Those who want to combine picture and text can consider using Wordle. It is a website that can transform a set of words into a very interesting image, and it’s very simple to use.

On social networks, it is very important to find a catchy and original name that is a good representation of a particular company or service. In order to find an available name.

Of course, it is almost impossible to do all of the work alone, considering that internet marketing is a very complex domain. Fortunately, there are websites (Upwork, freelancer.com) where one can find experienced and skilled freelancers that can provide different kinds of tasks, from content writing to photo modification.

Starting personal business can be a very stressful experience. However, during the rough times, one should remember that every beginning is hard and that in time it will become easier and less complicated. All of the mentioned pieces of advice can be considered as great and useful tips that can be used in order to facilitate the initial period of business development.

Michael Taylor is a Marketing expert, specialized in Digital Marketing. He has an innovative approach, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining the contact with customers so the product and services could be adjusted to their needs. He is also familiar with web technologies and human recourses. His motive is “the customer is always right”. 

Written By

Joyce Cantu is a professional writer and blogger. She works as an editor at https://paperwritten.com/. Students tutor and job-seeker in leadership and start-ups. Joyce Cantu is an active volunteer and marathon runner.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Kerrie Fines

    September 18, 2017 at 2:35 pm

    Nice article. I have to admit that I’m a new in social marketing but I have noticed the high importance of it. I use social networks every day to follow last news and trends. I t can bring extra profit to any business that’s true.

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