A Boom Of Entrepreneurs?

There was a time when almost everyone dreamt of working in a high paying multinational organization but then it’s boom came. There were less jobs and more applicants.

But now things have changed.. In this era, people dream of being a boss themselves! They are tired of; living their lives on strict corporate rules, playing organization politics and most of all, spending 9 to 5 in a box. 

As the time folds, more and more entrepreneurs are stepping up in the market with innovative ideas, wherein, some of them are simply following others. Now what is all this leading to?

Entrepreneurship-is

Sadly, not many can comprehend the concept of entrepreneurship. It is not just owning a website and running a blog. To be a successful entrepreneur, one needs knowledge, research, experience, and networking. We are doomed to fail if we think that it will be an easy journey.

Last night I had an interesting conversation with my husband (who is also an entrepreneur). I realised how much we had to give up to be where we are. Ofcourse we need to go far from where we stand but in terms of experience, we’ve grown tremendously. Our life didn’t just become easy in a day, we went through many hurdles to finally being able to say that we can earn a living through our business.

My advices to those stepping into business, don’t do this if you are only fed up with 9 to 5 routine, or your boss, or you can’t decide what to do with your life. Otherwise you will be disappointed!

Entrepreneurship is a full time job (including your weekends!). You will have to give up your luxuries because you won’t have time to do all that. A vision is what you will need to move forward, And your only motivation will be the one coming from within..

Once you will pass these hurdles, then will come the time of your life. A time where you will get to finally relax.

Atleast that is what I am hoping for ~

How Social Media Will Help You Grow Business

Three steps to your Social Media action plan

People often don’t understand what I do when I say I am social media engagement specialist. They think that it is only about posting on Facebook and Twitter but why will anyone need to hire someone to do that? What type of job is it?

Let’s explore what is social media to business and why is it important for success in this age. Guess what business owners are using right now to connect with clients? Yup. Social media!

When we googled the question “Will social media help me?” we were greeted with 1.6 billion suggestions. Had we added the word ‘business’ to it, they would still be few millions. Many of those will be repeating the same thing. Still it’s clear that getting started on social media is a question that business owners are looking for an answer to. Facebook campaigns, blog posts, news articles, corporate videos and more – again, everyone is looking to find the right way to do the social media.

What is the secret ingredient?

If you ask me, the secret is simple: You might want to start right away just like everything else that you do in your business. It is helpful to have a plan with measurable milestones and results. I was always amused by the idea of connecting with so many people virtually. I got more and more interested, every time I explored a new aspect of social media. I have a hobby to try new networks which I come across, just to study new ways of spreading virtual messages. Not kidding! Now being a social media engagement specialist, I know it’s not a myth or exaggeration that your social presence online is a representative of your company.

It was a challenge for me to make others understand that posting JUST anything on social media isn’t social media marketing.   You need to be specific to attract right kind of people. You can’t afford to say ‘what’s in your mind’ without thinking. It should be what others want to read because people will judge you accordingly!

Social Media2 (2)

Step 1: Why should your business want to be on Social Media? > Define your Social Media purpose

From having discussions with clients to monitoring conversations online, the overarching theme that prevents businesses from using social media is lack of understanding about why they NEED to be here! The typical responses we get include, “Our competitors are here,” “Because everyone’s talking about it”, “We want to be on everywhere.” The problem is that they fail to dig deep into bigger questions they need to answer:

  • What are your competitors doing on social media?
  • How can you differentiate yourself from the competitors with social media?
  • Will you be able to identify impact it will be have on your business?
  • Will you measure increased awareness, number of new leads through social media, heightened participation of potential clients and will you find out if it changes your bottom line?
  • Are you reaching your target audience?
  • Have you identified who that is?
  • Will you enjoy working with social media or is it just an extra chore for you?

Being able to answer these will allow you to move to next step.

Step 2: Where do you need to be? > Determine your Social Media channels

There are literally hundreds of social networks online along with power hitters Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Not to forget the forums, niche networks, community blog networks and more. No wonder so many businesses have trouble spotting the right path.

  • Define your market segment – Where is your target market in social networks? Are the business professionals on LinkedIn or every day users on Facebook?
  • Who do you want to be connected with? – Unless you are selling coke or pampers, you don’t need mass audience! Be specific. The closer you stick with your offerings, the fewer followers you will attract. But they will be delighted to connect with you.
  • Stick with maximum 3 to 4 networks – Work only with a number of networks than you can consistently maintain. Only if you can add meaningful content publish your business page on that network.

Step 3: How do you measure success= > Map out goals and success metrics

Try to define your goals and measure the success of your social media use. What do you want to achieve out of it? Quantitatively measure your efforts in terms of Likes/Follower growth or increase in frequency of engagement or brand mentions or amount of content to be shared etc.

  • Set up a calendar – Set up a social media calendar and break it down into results pattern like monthly, quarterly, biannually, annually .
  • Analyse results periodically – Study the difference in website traffic. Does traffic increase and which channels bring more traffic. Google Analytics will do the job!
  • Determine acceptable growth vs. ideal growth – Compare if you are at least reaching the former i.e. minimum growth you expected to achieve through social media. And how far behind are you lagging from ideal growth? An indicator could be your turnover that is generated through Social Media or leads you receive through referrals on Social Media (email does not count!).
  • Analyse the cost of implementation – Compare cost of implementation to the expected return (increased customer loyalty, word of mouth marketing, brand perception)

Remember content is the key! Stand out from the crowd through your content.

What is your greatest challenge when it comes to Social Media Marketing for your business?

 

Need my assistance in social media marketing? Email me at nabehalatif@live.com

Any Other Day In A Life Of Entrepreneur

“Entrepreneurs are no ordinary people”

 

We all have read this line so many times that we have started to look for something out of ordinary when we think about being an entrepreneur..

Truth is that they are no aliens. They are all normal people who have absolutely no idea what to do most of the times.. The only quality that differentiates them is their power of thinking out of the box!

They are the risk takers. They listen to everyone but do what they themselves wanna do. They can’t be inspired easily because of the stubbornness they possess over what they think to be absolute.

That's what I am talking about..
That’s what I am talking about..

How do I know? If they were like any other person, they would’ve been inspired by people owning big cars, working for multinationals.  We all know that the concept of entrepreneurship is still not understood by many. They consider new entrepreneurs bit better than jobless people, but never equivalent to directors of big companies. Especially in Asian countries, the perception of entrepreneurs is very degrading. Yet, there are many success stories…

That’s the thing!

Even they are never sure if they will be eventually successful? or if they will never be able to achieve their goals. In spite of the uncertainty, they spend their days on hope that one day their dreams won’t look unrealistic and keep working hard and experiment till they get there.

I consider entrepreneurs “daring”. Those I will love to have a cup of coffee with, because I know I can learn something from each one of them! 🙂

 

Need my assistance in social media marketing? Email me at nabehalatif@live.com