If there’s a year with booming online businesses, it’s 2020-2021. Life proves to go on even under a worldwide pandemic. In a time where people are limited to going out, we turn to the internet to grow our business, communicate, for entertainment, and tune in to news updates. So, if you’re planning to successfully run an online business, this article is for you!
Which leads us to our next question, how much are you willing to invest in your business? Let’s break the stigma here. More often than not, when we think of “starting a business” people immediately think about enormous costs. Don’t get us wrong, starting a business is an investment, and you do need to shell out cash. However, it doesn’t always need to be an extravagant amount.
Here, we’ll tell you how you can successfully and affordably run a business online!
First things first.
Hold up! We know you’re very eager to start that online business. But, there are a couple of things you must have before starting up the engine. These are the most essential tools you need for you to manage your online business properly.
Find your edge
You need to know your selling point. Keep in mind that the product you are selling already has multiple variations when it goes live in the market. In short, you will not be the only one selling that product (unless you’re selling something exotic).
Take Milktea as an example (see the above examples). Now that is a business that has definitely expanded through the years. If you observe these Milktea shops or vendors, you could see that each has a unique design and selling point. From the packaging to the design, and the overall quality. People go back to these shops because of their unique selling points. So what’s yours?
Determine your target market
Analyze your desired market. Who are the people who’re going to buy your product online? Are they teens, boomers, millennials, working-class, young professionals? Determining your target market can narrow down your audience so you can focus on a niche market. This is because you can’t really target everyone. A tip of advice? You can also check out your competitors. Find out who they’re targeting, look at their strategies, and see their point of attack.
Create your SWOT Analysis
Many underestimate the power of SWOT analysis. However, this is not a part to be overlooked. It sends a pretty straightforward message don’t you think? Determine your business’s success, know your weakness, identify your opportunities, and anticipate threats. In such time when you have answered these questions, you’ll now be able to grow in what you are good at, improve in what you are lacking, and point out possible risks.
The abbreviation stands for:
S – Strength
W – Weakness
O – Opportunities
T – Threats
Now let’s get started!
1 Create your social media presence
Start creating a presence on media platforms. As we’ve mentioned, starting up an online business does not have to be costly. It literally costs nothing to make a social media account. Moreover, having a social media presence can make your target market get to know you better. How? You’ll be able to post personalized messages, and promos, be a part of national holidays, and a lot more.
Prominent social media sites:
2 Have a website
Nothing screams credibility than a professional-looking website. Again, this can be done in a cost-efficient way. If you’re a tech-savvy person, why not make a website of your own? Then again, for our friends who have difficulty entering codes, there are simple ways how you can procure websites. There are free website platforms to which you can sign up. One of these websites is WordPress and Wix.
On the other hand, making a website is just one part of it. Creating an “attractive” website is another thing. Now, your website must be a reflection of your brand’s style together with its own unique feel. Here are some tips on how you can create an attractive website:
- Choose a color scheme that will represent your brand. Choose a good one, cause most likely, this will be the color that will represent your social media pages as well.
- Select a good font. The main goal is to make your website readable. May we suggest sticking with one font style and formatting? This will make your website cleaner and less cluttered.
- Bring in some written content. A pro tip? Try to make your content timely. People will most likely stop and read something that is in the now or something they can relate to.
- Visual content will make or break your website. A vital part of every website is the visual representations. This will break the fatigue of the written content.
- Make it mobile-friendly. Expect half (or everyone) of your market to be using phones. Therefore, make sure that your websites are mobile optimized. We don’t want them in disarray once they open up the website on their phones now don’t we?
3 Start marketing your product
Now you have your social media and your website, it’s time to market your products! Have a marketing strategy. Now how are people going to know what you’re selling if you don’t market them correctly? Here are some ways on how you can market your product efficiently:
- You have to know your product well. This is one of the key aspects in marketing. Know the ins and outs of your product. Know its strong points and make them known to your audience.
- In such cases, prepare to educate them with your item. If it’s not common to the public, it’s better to inform them about the abilities of your product and what benefits it can bring.
- Have contests and giveaways! Because honestly, who doesn’t like free stuff?
- Bring the spotlight to your consumers by posting their good reviews.
4 Consider Facebook Ads!
Facebook ads are actually one of the most effective ways how you can market your startup well. Let’s face it, who doesn’t use Facebook at this time and day? Even kids have their own Facebook accounts. Furthermore, Facebook Ads will literally pop up on your target market’s timelines. It’s a good strategy to get known.
5 Write blog posts!
One of the good ways how you can advertise your new products is by writing about them. Think about it, about a billion people are on the internet every day. That’s why every time you produce new content and post it online, there’s a huge chance for people to view it and share it with friends and family. Furthermore, blogging also gives in-depth information about the company’s products, incoming promotions, and overall company updates. Ultimately, this creates a dual purpose for your business. The more posts, the more traffic for your website and social media pages!
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