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Startup

3 Social Media Strategies Which Small Firms Can Use to Revive Their Business Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Mumbai, November 10: The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone across the globe and small businesses are the worst hit. Businesses have been severely affected due to the coronavirus induced lockdown. However, with the opening up of the economy, things are getting better.

Small firms, therefore, need to draw out a proper plan and a strategy which will help them move forward and tide through the difficult times. They will have to keep in mind to use the resources in hand wisely and devise strategies which will reap the maximum results.

We bring to you three cost-effective social media strategies which you can use to revive your business:

The coronavirus pandemic has taught us the importance of technology. At a time when the entire world was shut down, it was technology which kept things running.

  1. Have a website: Start a website giving details to the customers about your business. There should be a contact us and a feedback page, which will help you get in touch with your probable customers. Now use this link on all your social media handles. This will be the face of your brand in the online world.
  2. Have a strong social media presence: If you have been thinking to start a Facebook page or an Instagram page for your business, our advice is DON’T DELAY. These social media platforms are a great way for small firms to promote their business and get in touch with people who are looking out for them.

    In today’s age, you need to start a page on all the social media platforms and can’t think of which one will be more beneficial to you. Remember to populate your page at least three times a week. This will help your customers to remember you.

  3. Be Human: Remember one thing that customers like to interact with humans. So your posts should also have a humanely touch. Don’t ignore any queries from your customers on your social media page. Attention should be given on how to make your customers feel special.

Today social media has become an important part of all our lives, and this is the reason, why you can’t afford to ignore this space. People today spend a good amount of their time on social media and this is where you need to target your probable customers.

Categories
Technology

Facebook Rolls Out ‘SMB Guide’ to Help 9 Million Indian SMBs in Building Digital Presence and Reaching Potential Customers Online

New Delhi, November 4: With an aim to help the micro and small businesses in India to limp back to normalcy, social media giant Facebook on Wednesday rolled out a dedicated offline to online ‘SMB Guide’. In order to help these businesses recover from the pandemic-induced crisis, Facebook has come up with new resources to help make this journey frictionless for them. Reports inform that this offline to online SMB Guide for India is free and publicly available. However, the social networking giant is also proactively reaching out to nine million small businesses across the country to ensure it reaches the businesses who need it the most.

The SMB Guide is available in Hindi as well as in English in order to support a large number of businesses across distinct geographies. Archana Vohra, Director Small and Medium Businesses, Facebook India, said in a statement said that the new resources are geared to helping the smallest of businesses across geographies to move from offline to online with minimum effort. “”While the offline to online SMB Guide is publicly available, we are proactively reaching out to 9 million small businesses across India to ensure timely support”, she said.

The SMB Guide:

According to a report by IANS, the SMB Guide has been designed to provide a step-by-step direction on how the smallest of businesses can build a digital presence quickly, and reach potential customers online. The guide covers Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and key themes such as building an online presence, mobile storytelling, social media advertising, and creative and performance strategies.

The social networking giant said it is also rolling out the next leg of ‘Boost with Facebook’, a skilling and learning programme for scaling young businesses. The programme went virtual earlier this year, and is now going vernacular, and will be delivered primarily in Hindi through Facebook Live sessions. One of the key themes discussed during Boost with Facebook will be how small businesses can build for Diwali and the festive season beyond it, the company said.

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Technology

Facebook Unveils Business Suite, an App for Managing Business Accounts Across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger to Help SMBs Grow

San Francisco, September 18: In a bid to help small and medium businesses (SMBs), social networking giant Facebook has launched Facebook Business Suite, an app for managing business accounts across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. This newly rolled out Suite is a new interface which aims to help businesses save time and stay up to date by managing their Pages or profiles across its family of apps. The suite allows them to post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time, and manage and receive messages, notifications and alerts in one place.

Facebook said it has announced a Business Suite for small businesses first, adding that it is a long-term investment to make this the main interface for businesses of all sizes who use Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The firm added saying that the new facility  is available for small businesses globally starting today, i.e. September 17, and will expand to larger businesses next year.

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, in a blog post on Thursday said people can also easily see what’s working and learn what’s resonating with customers with Facebook and Instagram insights. “The last few months have been tough for small businesses everywhere, and while there are reasons to be optimistic there is still much uncertainty ahead. But whatever happens, Facebook will continue to do all we can to help them adapt, survive and thrive online,” Sandberg said.

Facebook had recently conducted a study on the impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ purchasing patterns and their use of digital tools to search for and interact with businesses The study revealed that half of those surveyed said they had spent more money online overall since the outbreak, and 40 percent have increased their use of social media and online messaging for product and business recommendations.

The survey also found encouraging support for local businesses. In the survey, of those who said they had started shopping at new businesses, nearly three-quarters said that at least one was a small business. Nearly 31 percent also said they will increase their spending with small local businesses once the pandemic is over.

Categories
Finance MSME Process & Business Expansion

Jio Mart, Facebook Tie-Up Aims to Bring 25 Million SMEs Online in Near Future

Mumbai, August 29: With an aim to help millions of COVID-19 affected Kirana stores in India, JIO Mart has tied up with Facebook to bring 20-25 million small businesses online in the near future. The two business giants have joined hands to help these small and medium enterprises digitise their product catalogues through the use of instant messaging app Whatsapp.

Speaking at an event organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Facebook India’s vice-president and managing director Ajit Mohan said, as quoted by Business Standard, “Our excitement is with connecting the dots between WhatsApp and Jio with the objective of helping millions of Kirana owners to digitise their product catalogues.”

Mohan was of the opinion that the move will fundamentally change the consumer behaviour in India and help in changing consumers change from opting to digital payments from physical cash. Citing a recent Boston Consulting Group-Facebook consumer behaviour study, Mohan stated that digitally-influenced purchases had gone up by 15-20 per cent for consumer goods brands like apparels, mobile phones and packaged goods. He added, as the daily quoted, “Video and virtual experiences will be at the heart of buying in the upcoming festive season.”

During the interaction, the Facebook-India MD said that the launch of Instagram’s Reels and WhatsApp video calls had reflected users’ changing consumer behaviour. It is to be known that Facebook recently acquired a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, which houses many digital platforms like JioSaavn and Radisys. Also, Reliance’s fully-owned subsidiary is the biggest disruptor in the Indian telecom market as Jio.