Kainaat is now relaxed with a strong online presence. Reviews are also trickling in per week. She is getting a few online inquiries. She is ready to take on more orders. Maybe hire a person to help with production. Customers keep asking for design samples and she is busy on WhatsApp and other messengers. To cut down on this waste of time, she has decided to move on to the next step, content creation.
Types of content & relevance
Social media is literally flooded with content. So lets break down what are the options and which all are viable.
- Flyers, posters & advertisements – A regular flow of ads on social media will help provide info and offers to customers. A new card design or some innovative concept can be announced with the help of a poster. Kainaat holds classes from time to time. This can also be put up as a poster. There are a lot of apps on app store for smart phones which help you to create eye-catching ads in minutes. But here are two which should suffice her needs.
Adobe Spark
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.spark.post&hl=en_IN
Canva
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.canva.editor&hl=en_IN
Ads can be designed by professionals who charge anywhere between Rs 500 to upwards of Rs 5000 per ad. But in today’s world of fleeting glances, an entrepreneur should only focus minimizing unnecessary costs. - Social media friendly pictures – Sharp and bright pictures with good contrasting background. A candid picture is much better than one clicked in a studio settings. Google will rank it much higher now. Daylight is better option than CFL light. Need a quick edit of pictures, go for Google Photos editing feature. For advanced features go for Snapseed app.
- Videos are good promotional material – Nothing is more eye-catching than a nice crisp video. Mobile phones today can shoot 4K videos. Use a stand or selfie stick where ever needed. Gimbals are expensive but they give smooth playback and some good cinematic effects. Make short promotional videos for Instagram. Explain your products or give a glimpse into activities of your establishments.
The need for a website is debatable because many entrepreneurs are setting up business only on a single social media platform. But many others like Ms Kainaat believe in a strong but universal online presence. The best option to create and share a portfolio is still a website. You can even go ahead and open an online store. So for social media we need pics or videos with short captions and descriptions. This can be reused across multiple platforms. Like a post created for Instagram will be automatically shared on your Facebook page. While the same can be posted on Google Mybusiness. In case of a website some additional effort has to go.
- A website needs articles to be noticed by Google. Simple and brief articles set maybe once a month will go a long way to set up an online visibility. Announcements, product pictures, tutorials. online classes, tips and tricks and a product portfolio.
- Other elements of the website like about page or contact page can have details pointing towards how to reach the store and what services and products can one expect. If you plan to go big with YouTube, links to your videos can also be shared on the website pages and articles.
It is going to be loads of work to sustain such kind of digital marketing plan for Ms Kainaat. Either she staggers content so that she gets time for product development and focus on her main job. Or she hires a dedicated social media expert who can take on her digital accounts and help in content creation.
I am a techie and WordPress junkie. I can take your idea online and provide solutions tailored to your brand and business. From hosting to setting up your social media accounts, I can give you the whole picture. When not working, I am behind the lens, capturing the wonderful thing called nature.