Unit5 - Subjective Questions

Social media has revolutionized how entrepreneurs launch products and services. It provides a direct channel to communicate with potential customers.

Significance:

• Cost-Effectiveness: Unlike traditional media (TV, Print), social media allows for low-cost or organic reach.
• Real-time Feedback: Entrepreneurs can gauge market reaction immediately through comments and likes.
• Targeted Reach: Platforms allow businesses to target specific demographics based on age, location, and interests.

Key Benefits:

1. Brand Awareness: Establishes the brand identity visually and tonally.
2. Customer Engagement: Facilitates two-way communication.
3. Traffic Generation: Directs users to the business website or blog.
4. Lead Generation: Collects potential customer data for sales funnels.

Creating a Facebook Business Page is a fundamental step for digital presence.

Steps to Create a Facebook Page:

1. Sign Up/Log In: Use a personal account to access the 'Pages' section.
2. Create Page: Click on 'Create New Page'.
3. Page Information:
   • Name: Enter the official business name.
   • Category: Select the industry (e.g., Retail, Consulting).
   • Description: Write a concise summary of the business.
4. Visual Assets:
   • Profile Picture: Usually the logo (170x170 pixels).
   • Cover Photo: A banner representing current offers or brand vibe.
5. Add Action Button: Configure a Call-to-Action (CTA) button like 'Shop Now', 'Call Now', or 'Send Message'.
6. Complete Info: Add address, website URL, hours of operation, and contact info.
7. First Post: Publish a welcome post to populate the timeline.

While both are powerful social networks, they serve different purposes and audiences.

While social media is excellent for engagement, a website serves as the digital headquarters of a business.

Reasons for a Dedicated Website:

• Ownership and Control: Social media platforms can change algorithms or ban accounts. You own your website domain and content completely.
• Credibility: A professional website () builds trust with lenders, investors, and customers.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Websites allow you to rank on Google search results for specific keywords, driving organic traffic.
• Central Hub: It consolidates all information, including detailed product catalogs, FAQs, and blogs.
• E-commerce Capabilities: Websites offer robust tools for shopping carts, payment gateways, and inventory management that social platforms may limit.

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Optimizing a channel ensures visibility.

Key Optimization Elements:

1. Channel Art & Icon: Professional banner art and a clear logo as the icon to establish brand identity.
2. Channel Trailer: A short video (30-60 seconds) explaining what the channel offers to unsubscribed visitors.
3. About Section: A keyword-rich description of the business, including links to the website and other social media.
4. Playlists: Grouping videos into thematic playlists to increase watch time and organize content.
5. SEO for Videos:
   • Titles: Catchy and searchable.
   • Tags: Relevant keywords.
   • Thumbnails: Custom, high-contrast images that induce clicks.
6. Consistency: Uploading on a regular schedule (e.g., every Tuesday).

Definition: A blog (weblog) is an informational website or section of a website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts).

Contribution to Marketing Strategy:

• Thought Leadership: Publishing insightful articles establishes the entrepreneur as an expert in the field.
• SEO Improvement: Regular, keyword-rich content signals search engines that the website is active, improving rankings.
• Content for Social Media: Blog posts provide material to share across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, driving traffic back to the site.
• Lead Education: Blogs can explain complex products or services, helping customers make informed buying decisions.
• Long-term Value: Unlike social media posts that disappear quickly, blog posts can attract traffic for years.

For a B2B consultancy, LinkedIn is the primary channel for generating leads and building authority.

Strategic Plan:

1. Profile Optimization:

   • Create a Company Page with a compelling 'About Us' section.
   • Ensure personal profiles of founders are optimized with professional headshots and headlines.

2. Content Strategy:

   • Articles: Publish long-form articles solving common industry problems.
   • Updates: Share industry news, company milestones, and quick tips.
   • Documents: Share PDF slide decks or case studies (Carousels).

3. Networking:

   • Join relevant industry groups.
   • Connect with decision-makers (CEOs, HR Directors) with personalized notes.

4. Engagement:

   • Comment on posts by industry leaders to increase visibility.
   • Use polls to engage the audience and gather market data.

5. LinkedIn Ads: Use targeted sponsored content to reach specific job titles or companies.

Facebook Page:

• Nature: Like a public profile for a business.
• Visibility: Public; anyone can see it.
• Communication: One-to-many (Business posts, followers consume).
• Analytics: detailed insights available.
• Advertising: Can run paid ads.

Facebook Group:

• Nature: A community for discussion around a shared interest.
• Visibility: Can be Public, Private, or Secret.
• Communication: Many-to-many (Members post and interact with each other).
• Purpose: Building loyalty, community support, and deeper engagement.
• Advertising: Cannot run ads directly from a group (though the admin can post promotions).

Visual Storytelling on Instagram involves using images and videos to convey the brand's narrative, values, and aesthetics without relying heavily on text. It aims to evoke emotion and desire.

Instagram Tools for Business:

1. Feed Posts: High-quality curated photos/videos that stay permanently on the profile (The 'Showcase').
2. Stories: Ephemeral content disappearing after 24 hours. Great for behind-the-scenes, polls, and casual updates.
3. Reels: Short-form, vertical video content (up to 90s) designed for virality and reaching non-followers.
4. IGTV (now Video): For longer video content.
5. Shopping Tags: Allows businesses to tag products directly in photos so users can tap to purchase.
6. Highlights: Saving stories to the profile for long-term viewing.

The homepage is often the first impression a customer has. To convert visitors into customers, it must include:

1. Clear Value Proposition: A headline stating what you do and who it is for.
2. Intuitive Navigation: A clean menu bar (Home, About, Services, Contact).
3. Hero Image/Video: High-quality visual representing the product or service.
4. Call to Action (CTA): Prominent buttons like 'Get Started', 'Buy Now', or 'Subscribe'.
5. Social Proof: Testimonials, client logos, or reviews to build trust.
6. Features/Benefits Overview: Brief summary of key offerings.
7. Footer: Contact details, social media links, privacy policy, and copyright info.

YouTube as a Marketing Funnel:

• Top of Funnel (Awareness): Educational videos (e.g., "How to fix X") attract users searching for solutions.
• Middle of Funnel (Consideration): Comparison videos or product reviews establish the product's superiority.
• Bottom of Funnel (Conversion): Detailed demos and testimonials with links in the description box to the purchase page.

Monetization Methods:

1. YouTube Partner Program: Earning revenue from ads displayed on videos (requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours).
2. Affiliate Marketing: Reviewing products and earning commissions via links.
3. Direct Sales: Driving traffic to the entrepreneur's own website to sell merchandise or courses.
4. Sponsorships: Getting paid by other brands to mention their products.

Engagement Rate Formula:

The most common way to calculate the engagement rate per post is:

Alternatively, it can be calculated based on Impressions (Reach) rather than Followers for a more accurate measure of content performance.

Importance for Entrepreneurs:

• Quality Indicator: A high follower count with low engagement suggests the audience is passive or fake. Engagement proves the content resonates.
• Algorithm Boost: Platforms (FB, Insta, LinkedIn) prioritize content with high engagement, showing it to more people.
• Customer Loyalty: High engagement signifies a loyal community likely to purchase products.

Personal Profile:

• Voice: First-person ("I did this...").
• Content: Career milestones, personal opinions on industry trends, workplace culture experiences, networking advice.
• Goal: Personal branding, job hunting, establishing individual thought leadership.

Company Page:

• Voice: Third-person or Collective ("We are excited to announce...").
• Content: Product launches, job openings, company culture videos, press releases, formal articles.
• Goal: Brand awareness, lead generation, recruitment (Employer Branding).

SEO is the practice of optimizing web content to rank higher in organic (non-paid) search engine results.

Context of a Business Blog:

1. Keywords: Identifying terms potential customers search for (e.g., "Best organic coffee") and integrating them naturally into blog posts.
2. Quality Content: Google prioritizes content that is helpful, original, and comprehensive.
3. Internal Linking: Linking blog posts to product pages helps search crawlers understand the site structure and keeps users on the site longer.
4. Meta Descriptions: Writing compelling summaries that appear in search results to improve Click-Through Rates (CTR).
5. Freshness: Regularly updating the blog signals to search engines that the business is active.

A new entrepreneur must choose platforms based on their target audience and content capabilities.

1. Facebook:

   • Audience: Broad, all ages (skews slightly older now).
   • Strength: Community building (Groups), local business discovery, powerful ad targeting.
   • Verdict: Essential for B2C local businesses and community-focused brands.

2. Instagram:

   • Audience: Millennials and Gen Z.
   • Strength: Visual appeal, influencer marketing, high engagement rates for products.
   • Verdict: Best for lifestyle, fashion, food, and visually demonstrative products.

3. LinkedIn:

   • Audience: Professionals, corporate decision-makers.
   • Strength: B2B lead generation, credibility, recruiting.
   • Verdict: Mandatory for B2B services, consulting, and tech startups.

4. YouTube:

   • Audience: Universal (Video consumers).
   • Strength: In-depth education, tutorials, SEO longevity.
   • Verdict: Best if the product requires explanation, or if the founder is comfortable on camera.

Definition: Hashtags (#) are metadata tags used on social networks to label content and make it discoverable by users searching for specific topics.

Usage on Instagram:

• Quantity: You can use up to 30, but 10-15 relevant ones are often recommended.
• Placement: Can be in the caption or the first comment.
• Strategy: Mix specific niche tags (e.g., #VeganBakeryLondon) with broad tags (e.g., #Foodie).
• Purpose: Crucial for discovery by non-followers in the 'Explore' tab.

Usage on LinkedIn:

• Quantity: Use sparingly; 3-5 hashtags are considered optimal.
• Placement: Usually at the end of the post body.
• Strategy: Use professional, industry-specific terms (e.g., #Fintech, #Leadership, #MarketingStrategy).
• Purpose: To categorize content for people following specific professional topics.

Importance of Consistency:

• Algorithm Favorability: Platforms prefer accounts that post regularly, rewarding them with better reach.
• Brand Recall: Frequent appearance in feeds keeps the brand 'top of mind' for consumers.
• Trust: An abandoned page looks unprofessional and raises doubts about the business's validity.

How to Maintain It:

1. Content Calendar: Plan posts a month in advance using a spreadsheet or planner.
2. Batch Creation: Dedicate one day to create content for the whole week (e.g., shoot 5 videos on Monday).
3. Scheduling Tools: Use tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Meta Business Suite to schedule posts to publish automatically.
4. Repurposing: Turn a Blog post into a LinkedIn article, an Instagram graphic, and a Facebook discussion topic.

Integration ensures a seamless user experience between the static website and dynamic social channels.

Integration Methods:

1. Social Icons: Placing clickable icons for FB, Insta, etc., in the website header or footer.
2. Social Feeds: Embedding a live Instagram or Twitter feed on the website homepage to show recent activity.
3. Share Buttons: Adding 'Share to Facebook/LinkedIn' buttons on blog posts to encourage readers to distribute content.
4. Social Login: Allowing users to sign into the website using their Facebook or Google accounts.
5. Pixel Tracking: Installing the 'Facebook Pixel' on the website to track visitors and retarget them with ads on social media.

Influencer Marketing: A strategy where businesses collaborate with individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as experts within their niche. It leverages the trust the influencer has built with their audience.

Leveraging on Instagram:

• Product Reviews: Sending free products to influencers for unboxing or review.
• Sponsored Posts: Paying influencers to create content featuring the product.
• Brand Ambassadors: Long-term partnerships where the influencer becomes the 'face' of the brand.
• Account Takeovers: Allowing an influencer to manage the brand's Instagram Stories for a day.
• Giveaways: Partnering with an influencer to host a contest, requiring users to follow the brand to enter.

For a fitness app, the strategy should focus on visual transformation, education, and community.

1. YouTube (Education & Long-form):

• Content: Full-length workout routines (15-30 mins), nutrition guides, and "Science of Fitness" explainers.
• Goal: Establish authority and provide value to build trust. Use the description to link to the App Store.

2. Instagram (Motivation & Quick Tips):

• Reels: 30-second clips of exercise form corrections or high-energy workout highlights.
• Stories: Daily motivation, user testimonials (re-sharing user stories), and Q&A sessions with trainers.
• Goal: Daily engagement, visual proof of results, and viral reach.

3. Blog (SEO & Depth):

• Content: Articles like "Top 10 Exercises for Back Pain," "Keto Diet for Beginners," or success stories.
• Goal: Capture organic search traffic (people Googling fitness tips) and direct them to download the app as the solution.

Synergy: embed YouTube videos in Blog posts; share Blog snippets on Instagram Stories.