Social Media

10 Steps to a Successful Online Business Start Up

The dream of becoming an entrepreneur is alive and well in the digital age. With the right approach and resources, starting an online business can be a rewarding experience.

Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced business owner, having a plan for success is key. With that in mind, we’ve compiled 10 steps to help get you started on the path to a successful online business start-up. By following these steps, you can create a blueprint for a successful business that will have the potential to reach a wide customer base and generate the desired profits. While starting an online business is no easy feat, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming either. By taking the time to plan and research, you can ensure that your business has a strong foundation for growth and success.

So without further ado, let’s dive into these 10 steps to a successful online business start-up.

Establish a Clear Business Plan

Starting an online business is no easy feat, but with the right knowledge and planning, you can succeed. The first step is to establish a clear business plan. This should include research into web design trends, online marketing strategies and advice from industry professionals. A successful online business will require a well-thought-out plan that covers financial, legal and operational considerations, including cash flow and customer acquisition. A business plan will also help you track progress and make adjustments as needed. A well-constructed business plan will set you up for success and guide you towards profitability.

Choose the Right Niche

Once you have decided to make the leap into starting an online business, it’s now time to choose a niche. It’s important to select a niche that you are passionate about and knowledgeable in. It’s also important to research web design trends and marketing advice in the niche to ensure your online business stands out from the competition. Knowing the online business trends in your chosen niche will give you an edge to succeed.

Continue reading 10 Steps to a Successful Online Business Start Up

Are we switching off to email in favour of social media?

Social media activity continues to grow at an astonishing rate, with billions of tweets and mentions a day. This is no indicator that email activity is declining, in fact in the over 55 age group, email usage is actually increasing.

Yet there are examples of companies stopping email marketing altogether in favour of only using social media to communicate with their customers. In our recent round table we discussed whether email marketing was going to be replaced by social media.

People’s interaction with email is ever-changing, whereas once there was a ‘right’ time or day to send an email marketing campaign, it isn’t that simple anymore. People read emails multiple times, they triage them and decide to read them in more depth later, they read long emails on their smartphones during their commute, they read business emails on the weekend. All of these behaviours have occurred in the last few years, and break all the pre-existing ‘rules’ of email marketing.

Continue reading Are we switching off to email in favour of social media?

How to create a social media strategy

Social Media is a hot topic in marketing, almost every conversation I have about digital turns into a social media discussion these days. I also find that while a large number of companies have started social media marketing, many companies don’t know where to start. I’ve had many discussions in the last few months where senior executives admit they know they need to do something but they don’t know what.

I firmly believe that social media is what the web will become and in most ways what the web was designed to be. The web is still in it’s infancy and the how we connect online with the real world will continue to develop. Companies need an integrated digital strategy that includes social media as a central component to ensure they meet the developing needs and behaviours of the modern customer.

The various discussions about social media have led me to outline the key items every company should consider when defining their social media strategy.

1. Set your objectives
The biggest mistake organisations make is not knowing what they are trying to achieve with social media. They do it because they see other companies doing it or because they want to be the first in their sector or niche to use social media. Social Media can be used for a multitude of reasons including positioning, lead generation, sales, customer service and marketing (in the fullest sense), amongst others. But if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there. Make sure your social media objectives align with your business objectives before you set off on your exciting new journey.

2. Define what success looks like
I can’t overstate the importance of defining success, it’s the only way to understand whether you are achieving your desired objectives. You must set targets for each of your business objectives and then set the metrics that you will use to measure these targets. A customer service cost reduction objective may have metrics such as the volume of queries resolved through social media, the reduction in queries offline and net cost reduction. All of which will show whether you are moving towards your overall target.

Continue reading How to create a social media strategy