Hey.
It's been awhile but I am back and I have so much to share.
First off I graduated college and now have a bachelors degree. Woo-hoo!
It's been a full month since my business opened and it was nothing like I expected. Everything I was "prepared" for... I learned I wasn't. And everything I was afraid of turned into little obstacles I could easily overcome. One things for sure, this journey has not finished it has just begun!
After launching my BodiedbyScorp.com on December 1st, I received so much positive feedback and support from my peers, friends, family and even strangers. Everyone was so proud of me and happy that I had successfully launched a business. I cried in the dining commons in my hall for 10 minutes before and after launching. I was happy, overwhelmed and just relieved that I had done it. The very next day however, I got a wake up call.
After you launch, the first feelings of happiness last until day 2. Now you have to promote, retain, and advertise. With social media being so popular, of course I knew I had to social media outlets to get word out about my business. Â But I didn't think it through.
I made an initial instagram promotion video but that was it, it was all I had. Sigh.
I woke up the next day realizing I have to constantly and consistently post things. I used flyers and free apps to create some flyers for my instagram. It's really early in my business right nowand I just want to introduce everyone to it, so this was the best way for me to do. There are so many free flyer creators its insane. But then theres also Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Pinterest and the actual website.... a lot of platforms.
First you want to figure out what your audience is on. Women aged 20-35 are the main Pinterest users, Tumblr is popular with millennial and younger generations, Facebook is widely used but it's active members lean towards age groups 30 and up and LinkedIn is used by professionals across the board. Instagram is most popular with adults aged 18-35 and your website is accessible to all.
For me my customer segment, was in Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr. So I made 3 accounts for all of them; for Facebook and Tumblr it was a platform I had never used before. There are some services that help you post, like Hootsuite but I found that just having all the apps separate on your phone is just as good.
Okay so after you find where your customers are and choose the appropriate platform to use. You need to learn how to use. For Instagram you can post pictures and videos, however your pictures on instagram are public and can used by someone else. So branding pictures and content with your "@" name on it is the best option. People can "like", comment or direct message you about a post. What I found most helpful on instagram, was using hashtags. Hashtags are a way to align yourself with what your post is about. For example if I am a food instagram and I hashtag "#food" people looking for food post can easily find my post. Hashtags are keys for getting more exposure on any post.
For Facebook, I was and still am confused. You can post pictures, videos or text. You can also friend, have a business page and share post on your TL. With Facebook I have been having some real difficulty with it, not because it is hard to get started by because it has so many functions that I want to figure out. Mainly I link my instagram post to my Facebook page so it's easier for me however Facebook will not be my kryptonite.
Tumblr is similar to Instagram with posting pictures and videos. You can also "reblog" pictures from similar accounts and build a community like that. With Tumblr however, you should really brand all content and take your other social accounts in the description. I always tag my website and instagram.
Once you can conquer (or in my case semi conquer) the social media realm, you can start your free advertising and connect you to your customers better. This is just the beginning. I'm gonna share with you guys every step I enter and hopefully save you from some mistakes. Read, set and go to BodiedbyScorp.com!
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