Every one of us I surmise has a social media account such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Even a senior citizen like me has at least one social media account to keep abreast with the current events and adapt ourselves to its dynamic and life-changing influence. Social media has been defined as “any platform, which provides the facility of sharing ideas, exchanging information and sending messages over an electronic medium, is considered as social media. Social media includes online magazines, discussion forums, blogs, micro-blogging sites, podcasts, photographs, video, and wikis.” (https://www.sjournals.org/articles/advertising-on-social-media.pdf).
For me, the greatest thing about social media, especially Facebook, is that I was able to trace my high school classmates and my long-lost relatives by searching for them online through FB. It took me only several minutes to trace them. So I am happy about it and because it satisfied my ego, I added another social media platform such as Instagram where I can post photos that I took and for me are worth displaying for other people to see and appreciate.
Aside from the aforementioned social media forms, there are others that you might want to know which I was able to take note of from the same online articles, for sharing such as:
- Full-blown Social Networking Sites - Facebook, Orkut, Hi5, Myspace, and LinkedIn allow sharing updates, photos, events, and other activities.
- Micro-blogging - Twitter, as a social networking microblogging site lets “people share short messages or “updates' ' with others, up to 140 characters.”
- Blog - a personal account of a writer's thoughts on a specific topic of interest that allows posting content and comments. For example, WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger, among others.
- Videos Sites - YouTube is the 4th largest website on the Internet with the best videos, funniest movies, and clips. It allows users to upload, share and comment.
- Social News Services - Digg, a social news service website, is very popular in Europe that delivers the most interesting and talked-about stories on the Internet. It allows users to vote on those stories.
- Location-Based Sites - “Foursquare and Gowalla are location-oriented social media sites for mobile devices, such as smartphones, which allow users to discover their local interests and happenings.”
With the overwhelming popularity of social media, they also became the vehicle for online selling as almost all the products are offered through the Internet. In other words, social media are not only used by people to share their thoughts and ideas, to gain popularity such as in Tik Tok but also to sell their products and grow their business.
Many people who engaged in online selling found it lucrative to do business online. With many business establishments such as restaurants and department stores closing temporarily because of the pandemic, business owners found the “gold mine” in selling online.
I remember many days ago that there was a short feature article published online of a young woman who made millions in online business. At first, it was difficult for her to do the business as it was her first time selling online through Facebook.
There were even bashers who criticized her and were telling her that she would not succeed in her venture. It took her several years to prove that they were wrong. After a few years, she was able to buy a brand new car and her own house to boot. It was a success story!
However, not everyone has the chance to succeed in online business. If you are planning to engage in online business you have to know the strategies about online marketing, advertising, wherein you have a plan and write a good advertising copy that will persuade your target consumers to buy your products or services. You have to know about the new marketing or what they termed as marketing 2.0 wherein cyberspace is now a “competitive environment.” (Doing Business Digitally: Eight Steps to Online Success. Parkin, G.).
In doing marketing online, you have to know about e-marketing tools and strategies to be able to make it in online business. You have to build your own website wherein onliners will be able to see the products and services you are offering.
The website should be built attractively for the target consumers and if this is not your cup of coffee, you may seek technical help from web designers or programmers who could help build an interesting website for you. Remember that “there are more than one million websites on the Internet that your website should stand out” ( Parkin, G.)
Before building your website, you must first list down your purpose in doing business and finding your niche, the products to sell, and how to go about it. With so many online stores available to choose from, you have to have your website as attractive as it should be with complete information about your product and services. Otherwise, the competitive world of online business will overtake you. Cyberspace is like a global village that it is now possible to reach your target audience or consumers even in locations at the end of the world with just a click away. Therefore, it is a must that you sit down first and try to have a smart plan on how you’re going to start your online business venture.
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