Pillars of Social Media as a Start-Up or Business Owner
Social Media nowadays have been the basis for many start-ups and small businesses. Sometimes could be low cost, accessible and at reach to our friends, family and acquaintances. Social Media benefits in many ways organizations, entrepreneurs , non-profits and individuals. As a business start, it becomes a “make it” or “break it” venue.
Facebook and Instagram are both essential advertising platforms in today’s world.
Together, Facebook and Instagram lead all mobile apps in time spent. In fact, they account for 1 in 5 US mobile minutes — that’s more time spent than the next 10 mobile platforms combined.1
Accessible means we have more freedom to market our business, to have it out there in different ways. We have many platforms to use such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In .. to name a few. But accessible doesn’t mean to be liberal about online presence.
Social Media can be “low cost”, because we are able to contribute to a reachable marketing strategy, while we are able to expand funds for a more extensive plan of action. Although social media can be low cost, it comes with hard work and time consuming, to accomplish business goals and have original content for your customers and leads.
Unfortunately, what many do not understand, is that social media takes time. Time to develop, to establish strategies that actually work and time to find out which channels are better; it all depends on the business model and goals. Therefore, that “Low Cost” requires a financial investment from business owners point of view. Let’s look at the pillars of Social Media:
CUSTOMERS : Business owners think they are able to reach customers by selling their product, and that is not always the case. The online clients are more about engagement. They are looking for companies that reach for their feelings, the excitement and news that clients might find interesting !
Social Media is humanizing the marketing of products and Companies, therefore business owners should get into LISTENING TO THE CUSTOMERS. The relationship develops since the start of the Business Page or posts. Once the client sees your online presence, they are able to tell, if it is worth their time. The fact of “liking” your page or subscribing to your marketing strategies, clients always look for something in return for them. It could be in the way of an article, a fun fact, a give away and promotions.
Trust showing and doing and not only telling
Trust should be a top priority as a start up. You develop this trust by your content, your engagement with the public and your reputation. Make the leads and clients trust your service, your relationship with them and the pro activity towards future transactions. We all love a business that is interested about us, because as Humans…. we love to be part of something. Develop trust by showing them how you do business, because is not only what you post, but what you also do!
Social Media is a two way conversation — Humanizing your business
In social media the main goal should be about having a conversation with the follower (prospective clients). It is a two way conversation, since now the market is driven by the customer needs and likes. The customers are the ones who manage and demand what in reality works for them. You have to establish a humanizing way to engage with them, thank them and ask questions to get them what they like.
That’s the way you keep your business growing. They would come back to you and will refer you more business. Who doesn’t like to talk or brag about a service or item they love? It could be a little thing, but the fact that clients feel ownership…. is what makes them talk about it. Always remember
- Adhere to Company’s values
- Have fun but always to keep in mind others
RESOURCES — Look at the business resources and plan for investing in your Marketing. Many business owners are not able to focus in their main goals due to joggling around with all that comes, with being a business owner. It is ok, that’s why relying on a Digital Media Marketing agency will help in many ways to take off that load from your shoulders.Being resourceful, allocating the correct funds for each item and prioritizing your customers, is something you should think about as a start up.
GOALS — In Social media, you should develop a plan or strategy in order to get results!
Social Media Plan
- Goal – Make goals in order to measure them and see the results.
- Strategic Considerations (business landscape)
- Measurable Objectives — Need readjustments? Not too easy, not too difficult
social media strategy,essentially the roadmap we’ll follow to reach our goal and objectives.
You can have more than one strategy, but don’t go all over the map.
BUDGET — Having a budget for your main purpose: increase business returns, is essential as a start-up or small business. Budget will let you define and measure what could be working or needs improvement in your Marketing strategy.
As with any marketing effort, it’s important to figure out what your financial and staff investment will be before you start. You’ll also want to allocate funds for the cost of designing graphics, buying ads, promoted posts, sponsorship, and video and audio production. It’s called a plan for a reason, and part of that is making sure you’re organized by assigning responsibilities and deadlines for each task. You’ll want to establish success metrics up front, how you’re going to determine whether or not your plan’s getting you where you want to go.
- Budget — Financial investment before you start
- Allocate funds for designs, sponsorship and Video and audio
- Timeline- Deadlines for posts, marketing strategies
- Metrics- You need a benchmark
About the Author: Diana Ariza is the founder of ASTA , a full-service Digital Marketing Agency working with start-ups and small business in Florida, USA and International companies that would like to improve their business strategies.