In this episode of EmpowerBiz: MSME Growth Mindset, we explore how MSME entrepreneurs can leverage social media to boost their online presence. We discuss the importance of choosing the right platforms, creating engaging content, maintaining consistency, engaging with your audience, and using social media advertising to amplify your efforts. This episode provides practical strategies to build a strong online presence that attracts and retains customers.
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Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to episode 12 of season two of EmpowerBiz: MSME Growth Mindset. I'm Abanibhusan Bera, your host,
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Speaker 1: a revenue growth strategist and sales coach. Today we are
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Speaker 1: going to talk about a topic that's become almost essential
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Speaker 1: for any businesses leveraging social media to boost your online presence.
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Speaker 1: Social media is not just a platform for connecting with
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Speaker 1: friends and sharing personal updates. It's a powerful tool for businesses,
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Speaker 1: especially for MS MS to connect with customers, build a
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Speaker 1: brand and drive growth, but with so many platforms
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Speaker 1: and strategies out there. Where do you start? How do
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Speaker 1: you create a social media presence that not only attracts
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Speaker 1: followers but converts them into loyal customers? That's exactly what
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Speaker 1: we will explore in today's episode. Let's dive in.
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Speaker 1: Let's start by acknowledging the undeniable power of social media.
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Speaker 1: It's where your customers are spending their time, whether they
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Speaker 1: are scrolling through Instagram, catching up on news on Twitter
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Speaker 1: or networking on linkedin, social media gives you direct access
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Speaker 1: to your audience, allowing you to engage with them in
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Speaker 1: ways that traditional marketing methods simply can't match,
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Speaker 1: but it's not just about being present on these platforms
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Speaker 1: it's about using them strategically. For MSME , social media
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Speaker 1: can level the playing field with bigger competitors. With the
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Speaker 1: right approach. You can build a community, increase brand awareness
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Speaker 1: and even drive sales without needing a massive marketing budget.
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Speaker 1: It's all about knowing your audience creating content that resonates
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Speaker 1: with them and engaging consistently. One of the first steps
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Speaker 1: in leveraging social media is choosing the right platforms for
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Speaker 1: your business. Not all social media platforms are created equal
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Speaker 1: and it's important to focus your efforts where your target
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Speaker 1: audience is most active.
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Speaker 1: Think about your ideal customer are the professionals looking for
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Speaker 1: industry in sites linkedin might be your best bet are
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Speaker 1: the millennials or Gen Z who love visual content? Then
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Speaker 1: Instagram could be the way to go
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Speaker 1: or maybe you are targeting a broader audience where Facebook's
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Speaker 1: extensive reach would be beneficial. The key is to understand
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Speaker 1: where your audience spends their time and then meet them.
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Speaker 1: There also consider the nature of your business. If you
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Speaker 1: are in a visually driven industry, like fashion food or
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Speaker 1: design
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Speaker 1: platforms like Instagram and Pinterest can be incredibly effective. On
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Speaker 1: the other hand, if you are offering professional services, linkedin
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Speaker 1: and Twitter might be more appropriate, remember, it's better to
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Speaker 1: be active and engaged on a few platforms than to
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Speaker 1: spread yourself too thin across many.
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Speaker 1: Once you've chosen your platforms, the next step is to create
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Speaker 1: content that not only attracts attention but also engages and
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Speaker 1: resonates with your audience. Content is keying on social media,
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Speaker 1: but it's not just about posting regularly, it's about posting
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Speaker 1: the right things start by understanding what your audience cares about.
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Speaker 1: What are their pain points, what are their interests and passions?
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Speaker 1: Your content should provide value whether it's through educational posts,
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Speaker 1: inspiring stories or even entertaining videos. The goal is to
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Speaker 1: create content that your audience will want to engage with.
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Speaker 1: Whether that's liking, sharing, commenting or clicking through to your website.
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Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to mix it up. Use a variety
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Speaker 1: of content types such as images, videos, infographics, and blog posts.
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Speaker 1: Visual content in particular tends to perform well across most platforms.
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Speaker 1: People are more likely to remember and engage with content
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Speaker 1: that is visually appealing and easy to digest.
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Speaker 1: Another important aspect of content creation is story telling. People
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Speaker 1: connect with stories more than with cold hard facts, share
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Speaker 1: the story of your brand, how you started, what drives
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Speaker 1: you and the challenges you have overcome. Authenticity goes a
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Speaker 1: long way in building trust and loyalty among your audience.
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Speaker 1: You have probably heard this before. But consistency is critical
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Speaker 1: when it comes to social media,
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Speaker 1: it's not enough to post sporadically and hope for the best.
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Speaker 1: You need to show up regularly, to stay top of
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Speaker 1: mind with your audience, create a content calendar to plan
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Speaker 1: out your posts in advance. This helps ensure that you
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Speaker 1: are posting consistently and can also help you tie your
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Speaker 1: content to relevant events, holidays or trends. But remember consist consistency,
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Speaker 1: doesn't just mean posting frequently. It also means maintaining a
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Speaker 1: consistent brand, voice and message across all your posts.
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Speaker 1: And don't forget about the timing of your posts, different
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Speaker 1: platforms have different peak times when your audience is most active
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Speaker 1: experiment with posting at various times to see when you
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Speaker 1: get the most engagement and then build your posting schedule
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Speaker 1: around those times.
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Speaker 1: Next, let's talk on engaging with your audience. Social media
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Speaker 1: is a two way state. It's not just about broadcasting
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Speaker 1: your message, it's about engaging with your audience. This means
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Speaker 1: responding to comments, answering questions and even engaging with other
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Speaker 1: content in your industry. When your followers see that you
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Speaker 1: are responsive and genuinely interested in their thoughts and feedback,
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Speaker 1: they are more likely to engage with you. This builds
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Speaker 1: a sense of community and strengthens the relationship between your
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Speaker 1: brand and your audience engagement. Is not just about responding
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Speaker 1: to direct comments or messages. It also means being active
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Speaker 1: within your comment,
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Speaker 1: comment on posts from other businesses in your industry, share
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Speaker 1: content that you find valuable and participate in conversations. This
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Speaker 1: not only increases your visibility but also positions you as
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Speaker 1: a thought leader in your niche.
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Speaker 1: Now, let's talk on leveraging social media advertising. While organic
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Speaker 1: reach is important, social media advertising can significantly boost your
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Speaker 1: online presence. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and linkedin offer highly
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Speaker 1: targeted advertising options that allow you to reach a specific
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Speaker 1: audience based on demographics, interests and behaviors. So
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Speaker 1: social media ads can be used for a variety of goals.
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Speaker 1: Whether you are looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic
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Speaker 1: to your website or generate leads. The key is to
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Speaker 1: start with a clear objective and create ads that align
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Speaker 1: with that goal. Don't be afraid to experiment with different
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Speaker 1: types of ads,
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Speaker 1: whether it's a carousal ad showcasing multiple products, a video
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Speaker 1: ad telling your brand story or a lead generation ad,
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Speaker 1: offering a valuable resource in exchange for contact information, monitor
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Speaker 1: the performance of your ads closely and make adjustments as
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Speaker 1: needed to improve their effectiveness.
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Speaker 1: Now next comes measuring and adjusting your strategy. Finally, it's
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Speaker 1: important to measure the effectiveness of your social media force
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Speaker 1: and adjust your strategy as needed. Social media platforms offer
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Speaker 1: a wealth of analytics that can provide insights into what's
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Speaker 1: working and what's not
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Speaker 1: pay attention to metrics, like engagement rate, reach click through
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Speaker 1: rate and conversions. These metrics can help you understand how
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Speaker 1: your content is performing and whether you are reaching your
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Speaker 1: goals based on your findings, be ready to pivot your
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Speaker 1: strategy if a certain type of content is not performing well,
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Speaker 1: try something different.
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Speaker 1: If you notice that your audience is more active at
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Speaker 1: certain times, adjust your posting schedule accordingly. The key is
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Speaker 1: to remain flexible and responsive to the data.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me today as we explore how to
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Speaker 1: leverage social media to boost your online presence by choosing
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Speaker 1: the right platforms, creating engaging content, staying consistent, engaging with
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Speaker 1: your audience and using social media advertising. Strategically, you can
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Speaker 1: build a strong online presence that not only attracts but
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Speaker 1: retains customers.
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Speaker 1: If you found value in today's episode, please subscribe to
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Speaker 1: our podcast. Leave a review and share it with other
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Speaker 1: MSME entrepreneurs visit our website, msmegrowthhub.com for more resources and join
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Speaker 1: our growth hub community to continue your journey towards business excellence.
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Speaker 1: Until next time, keep engaging and stay consistent and keep growing.