Facebook, Twitter and such can take a great deal of your time. Should a serious businessman spend his time expend his valuable time in these avenues? Totally!!! Welcome to the age of social media. It takes an opportunist to understand the reach of social media. Kickstarter is another venue that is a social media platform with one aim- to augment funding for startups.
Let us say, I make customized bookmarks. I am an individual with an idea. I have no marketing funds, no advertising routes. All I do is make bookmarks at home. So, when I want to sell, I make use of social media. I can advertise, market, interest and impress friends, friends of friends through the social media. All it takes is a Facebook page with photographs of my bookmarks. Yesterday, all I had was an idea. And a sample bookmark. Today, I have people enquiring if I would be willing to take orders. That is the power of social media today. It helps catapult your start up into a successful business.
So, how do make Social media work for you?
- Make a convincing video. The established business houses can do ad films. You can make an ad film or a demo video about your product and upload it on YouTube. Share this on every social media platform you are aware of. Tag your friends. Mail it to people who will be interested in it. If the video garners enough audience, you have done a good job.
- Offer virtual gifts. Reward the people who spread the word around. A virtual gift, even if it is something as inexpensive as an online horoscope generator, can work to your advantage.
- Start off with a blog. You can post useful information that would attract patrons. And advertise your services/product there. Make these posts short and witty. Even those who are not interested in the content might give it a read because of the quality of content.
- Join or create forums. If your startup markets a Shipment tracking system, be part of shipping forums. Tell them that it can track shipments and help you claim refunds. Be part of their discussions. Market your product wherever you can.
Red herrings while endorsing your brand on social media
- Follow ethics. Play by the rules. Do not pass on unpalatable remarks. Stay away from controversies. And argue meaningfully if you wish to.
- Don’t target the entire population on the online platform. If you sell gardening equipment, make yourself visible in gardening forums. If you try to market your seeds and tools with a bunch of investment bankers who stay in NYC and have no space to have gardens, you are wasting your efforts.
- Time it right. When you post something on these sites, time in such a way that you get visibility. Your post might get buried deep under if you post at 9 AM on a busy Monday when most people are getting started on their workweek.
So, good luck with gaining visibility on social media. Enter every social platform there is. And make sure you maintain focus in these forums.
