Hi there!
I have a simple question for you: are you on social media or are you using social media?
How did social media even become a thing?! I vaguely remember myspace.com as the first social media platform I signed on to. For me it was just a platform to show my friends pictures of where I was or what I was up to. It was fun but nothing serious for me.
Then came Facebook a little later; it sort of became the new craze and so I hopped on as well. I would post sporadically (I can’t believe I just used a big word haha). This is what Jasmine Star explains as ‘being on social media’. Most importantly though, I used it to reconnect to long lost friends, share status updates and sometimes rant as well. At this point I was in corporate Ghana and the thought of running my own business was laughable!
Fast forward to today…
Social media – specifically Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has become my main office! Well, that is because my business started off of Facebook plus majority of my target customers pass through these streets daily. Although there is a big room for improvement, I post consistently and commit to engaging my audience to the best of my ability. A huge percentage of my current customer based is as a result of social media. I am confident that I have started ‘using social media’ and the more I use it, the better I become.
The way these platforms are so important to my business eh, I get so surprised when I see others abusing it. While I cannot control what others choose to do with this blessing of a tool, I would like to encourage especially those with businesses to:
Use social media to create brand awareness
Without ever having to pay any media house, my business and work has gone places that even my feet have not stepped. Through the power of social media. Admittedly, it is a lot of hard work to even decide which one is suitable and how to use the different features. However, I want to encourage especially businesses to start with Facebook because, well it is the biggest platform at the moment. Definitely, and so your target audience is somewhere in there.
Instagram is also one of the fastest growing and has a very cool visual appeal so it is worth considering. And as for WhatsApp, if you live in or interact with Africans, then you know you NEED it. A simple Google search will help you with valuable information on how to signup, etc. Once in, you can start creating awareness for your brand by using the free advert places you own on these platforms. (I have a free resource which lists 20 different places you can advertise your business, get it here)
Be strategic in using it
There are different forms your content – the information you provide to your audience, friends, followers, contacts, etc – can be in. I love using e-fliers and testimonials, but my very heartbeat is live videos. Perhaps one day soon, I will do a blog post to explain why every business must invest in live videos.
Engage Consistently
A challenge I personally had along the way was to be consistent with content creation. I mean, we all know that brand awareness creation is only one of the most important tasks of a business owner. Over the years, I have invested time and money to learn different strategies to help my team and I to be more consistent. One popular strategy is to theme the days, e.g. Inspirational Mondays. I encourage you to learn more about how to engage and do what works. By engagement, I also mean with other people’s posts. One of my personal favourite way to create content is to ask the women in my community what they need or would like to learn. This one is highly recommended.
Now, back to my question:
Are you on social media or are you using social media? When you are on social media, you post and engage as and when you feel like it. When you are using social media, you purposefully post and engage consistently. This is a great way to find leads and turn them into customers. And the community building opportunity is priceless.
If you have a business, then I really want to encourage you to use it to the best of your ability. If your wahala is ‘but Ama, I don’t know how to’, then I encourage you to invest in learning it. And don’t forget to grab my free resource on Free Places You Can Advertise Your Business.
It is well with you OK?
Ama xx
Photo Credit: Vera Obeng Photography
PS: FACEBOOK LIVE FOR BEGINNERS IS AVAILABLE NOW!
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❤️want to host a live show on Facebook
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😒afraid of making mistakes
😒shy of videos
😒worried about the technology
😒not sure of how to create the content
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