Entrepreneurship 101: Maximizing the Value of Your Social Media Platforms

A report published in 2019 by the team at Statistica revealed that more than 3.02 billion people are going to be actively using social media by the year 2021. This striking figure cuts to the core of how our world has changed in the years since platforms like Myspace and Facebook came to fruition. We are living in an increasingly interconnected world where people expect to have constant access to their friends, family members, celebrities, and even favorite brands.

With more than 79% of the population of the United States active on social networking, according to the same report by Statistica, there are obvious reasons for entrepreneurs to take advantage of this burgeoning market. Creating and maintaining active professional social media profiles can give you or your brand the boost you need to succeed.

Yes, your social media use could directly contribute to the growth of your business.

While social media offers plenty in the way of an opportunity to savvy entrepreneurs, some pitfalls can become catastrophic should they not be avoided as an entrepreneur. To help you engineer a social media presence that lends itself to success, we’ve decided to compile a few handy business practices that every entrepreneur should put into practice.

1) Cover Your Bases – Register at Major Platforms

The internet is like the Wild West with new platforms popping up seemingly every minute. From Google+ and LinkedIn to Facebook and Crunchbase, there are potentially endless social media platforms to consider joining as an entrepreneur. To maximize your return on investment, focus your attention on the major social media platforms that run alongside your industry. Among our favorite business and social media platforms are the following:

a) LinkedIn – Despite the reputation the website developed in its early days, LinkedIn is very much alive and still part of the entrepreneurial conversation. A hub for your profile and business aspirations, a LinkedIn account can be useful for networking, building better relationships, and staying plugged into your industry.

b) YouTube – We are living in a video-driven world and if you aren’t adjusting, you are falling behind. While YouTube isn’t the typical social media platform, it is all but vital to the long term success of your business or brand. Create branded content that fits your niche and watch as your numbers rise. According to YouTube, more than 2 billion logged-in users will visit YouTube every month. Take a look at these inspiring videos on YouTube

to get an idea as to how a brand can cultivate a library of winning content.

c) Twitter / Facebook – Round out your basic social media platforms by registering at two of the biggest social media websites in the world. Not only will registering at Facebook and Twitter allow you to reach new potential clients, but your business will also trend better on search engine results.

2) Direct Traffic to Your Business – Create a Social Media Funnel

As you establish all of your major social media platforms, including those not referenced above, you will want to make sure that they all work together to direct traffic toward your business. What does this mean in a practical sense? It means that you need to use all of your social media platforms to direct your traffic to any of your money-making ventures. Social media is the gift that keeps on giving when utilized correctly. Embed consistent links across all of your platforms to ensure that your audience is going where you want them to go.

3) Craft a Voice With Your Social Media Presence – Build Your Brand

If you spend more than five minutes on the internet, you will quickly come to realize that every brand has a social media platform and most of them have their own unique voice. Take some time to read major social media handles operated by multi-billion dollar corporations. Wendy’s goes viral almost every month for some fun exchange on Twitter.

If you want social media to work in your favor, you are going to have to find the voice behind your brand that pulls clients in. If you are a casual athletics brand, for example, find a way to make that mirror your content. No matter what the background of your brand is, the voice that you use on social media will help to sell or (unfortunately) not sell your concept.

Finding success on social media is integral to the long-term health of most entrepreneurial enterprises. In an era where social media is clearly the king of the ring, it has never been more important to make sure that you are keeping up with the industry!