MANILA, Philippines– Starting an online business can be a tricky affair. One of the considerations that must be taken into account is leveraging the proper use of Social Media tools to translate branding into sales which eventually will generate revenue.
Filipina Home-based Moms (FH Moms) freelance social media strategist, Janelle Swing shares the best ways to use online platforms for your online business and we have listed down her top tips that can be applied to churn out a successful business online.
Product Knowledge should be at the back of your hand
“As an entrepreneur, you must be fully aware of the product feature and offerings that you are selling. It builds credibility and institutes trust amongst your target customers,” Janelle shares.
Listing a product’s features, benefits, and real advantages is helpful in properly drawing communication and marketing plans. These three facets are essential for customizing branding and helping the product/ service stand out amidst a sea of online sellers breaking from the clutter and can eventually convert the leads to effective sales.
Identify your Target Audience
Walking in the customers’ shoes helps identify the customers’ concerns, needs, and pain points. Coming up with an effective marketing efforts, content plans, and communication treatment are easier once the business audience is identified.
Identify your price points
For online sellers, it is important to identify accurate price points. Factors include the target audience, their consumption habit, and the market competition. An estimated price point benchmarks the position and helps the communication plans for promoting and engaging well on social media without overdoing it. If gauged well, a well thought of price point can scale up a business to a great extent.
Craft a content strategy
An essential way to maximize social media reach is to have a content strategy calendar in place and choose appropriate tools which if properly utilized can prove advantageous for most brands or businesses.
“It doesn’t have to be an expert strategy. But rather, you must identify what would best appeal to your audience,” shares Janelle.
“You just have to be able to use the existing tools of your platform in order to get the most out of it,” she added.
- Showcase your products with multiple photos
Vetting products and inspecting its details is nothing new when shopping online. Similarly, it is essential that customers get to view different angles of the product: multiple photos that are shot well, backed by suitable lighting conditions and background, for your audience to fully appreciate it. - Leverage FB’s pinned post option
This option highlights certain products and services. It could also be a FAQ, ways to order, and modes of payment in order for customers to easily navigate and understand the business. - Use the auto-response feature
Using an auto-response feature is the best way to engage customers id one is away. Getting loyal and new customers depend on reliable and satisfactory customer service. With this auto feature, customers’ queries can be answered in real-time.There are also messenger chatbots like Many Chat that are easy-to-use and support well with longer responses and photo attachments features. - Use the FB Live-selling feature
Facebook Live sessions as a part of the content strategy further engages online audience. However, the Live sessions must be well planned in advance and spaced out adequately to build a sense of anticipation amongst the audience. If leveraged well, live selling can have a reaching impact for your brand and business.
Find a bankable supplier to tend to your overall business needs
Apart from a considerable social media presence, sellers should have access to the best available space for procuring regular supplies. Legitimate suppliers of products often comes with trusted sellers and offers dedicated customer service. Sellers can opt to use Zilingo Trade as a hub to source products from varied categories at wholesale prices with multiple shipping options to sellers along with custom offers on credit and available discounts. With Lifestyle and beauty, PPE, Medical, Fashion, FMCG, and Home, Z Trade platform offers great options for existing as well as up-and-coming businesses.
Your creative materials are the most essential tools
Presenting a fetching catalog of product photos is no easy task, it takes a good amount of creativity and adequate photo skills to make any product stand out from the clutter of online sellers. There are a lot of good options to curate highly engaging content online as per your business taste and needs.
- Use Canva
“For starters, you may use Canva in creating your layout. This is an easy- to-use platform where you can use templates to layout your product photos, plus it is free. You just have to be consistent with the colors and template style of your photos to have an effective brand recall and brand association,” shares Janelle. - Use Affordable Marketing service
If the time is not enough or there are budget contraints, Zilingo offers MAAS service that lets online businesses have professionally shot photos for as low as 110 Php per layout. The set of MAAS offerings also includes Videography and Layouting services as per custom requirements.
Using social media to get positive leads and generate revenue doesn’t need a big budget. As an entrepreneur, you need the right attitude, a positive and go- getter mindset, and the ability to tap into free online tools at your disposal to unlock the social media prowess and strive towards a successful online business venture.
