Do you feel like you’re missing out on communication with your clients? Are you worried that you’ll end up missing something important in your business communication? If so, then Social Media Apps for Entrepreneurs is the solution you’re looking for.
Social Media Apps for Entrepreneurs is a step-by-step guide to giving your small business a social media presence. In this short book, you will learn how to properly announce the launch of your business and why that is important; then we’ll teach you the core of any effective social media campaign – building an email list – and introduce you to some incredible apps that will allow you to accomplish this goal with ease and precision.
StartupNation
StartupNation has been around since 2002 and claims to be:
one of the leading small business destinations on the Internet delivering over 250,000 pages of valued content and attracting over 3.1 million unique visitors in 2013
This large site has many sections and offers a wide array of resources for SMB owners. Their reservoir of articles runs deep, and they address topics ranging from how to launch your business to legal / insurance / compliance issues. There is a forum section where you can ask or respond to questions posted there, and if you are a site member, you can join groups and interact with other business owners.
Networking for Professionals
Networking for Professionals was also founded in 2002 by professionals who wanted to fuse in-person and online networking with face-to-face meetings.
There are two membership options- Regular and POD.
- Regular Membership allows you to create an online profile of your business on the site and contact other members who have company profiles there.
- POD Membership entitles you to everything offered by a Regular membership, and also permits you to join a Pod – a “focused group of successful and supportive professionals who meet once every two weeks.” (Source). Pods can be general or field-specific.
Networking for Professionals also hosts in-person business networking events throughout many cities in the U.S.
Founders Network
Founders Network is a networking site for tech company founders and entrepreneurs. The site boasts a growing community of over 500 members. The social networking site prides itself on fostering professional and personal relationships among its members. As a member, you will be able to learn from your peers, and can pass on your knowledge to others. In fact, the site itself claims it’s a place to get support, not sell products.
Founders Network also hosts in-person events throughout California and New York City.
Vator
Vator (short for innovator) was launched in 2007 and has a vibrant community, blog, and news feed. The large site posts business news in the VatorNews section, and also has an area devoted to interviews with entrepreneurs and investors. Registering allows you to create your own company profile and interact with other members.
Vator has a cool section that is completely dedicated to videos of members’ companies and products.
Snapchat
I’m going to be honest; I don’t think anyone recommends Snapchat for business endeavors. I personally never got into Snapchat, especially once Instagram introduced Stories as a direct competitor. Why space out your 24-hour content through multiple platforms if you’re already using Instagram?
I wanted to include Snapchat because it’s still one of the top 15 social media platforms as of 2020. It even ranks higher than Twitter and Pinterest in terms of usage.
Hootsuite offers a full guide on how you can use Snapchat for your business if you are interested. But here’s why I don’t recommend it for aspiring CEOs:
- It’s mainly for personal use (similar to using your personal Facebook account with only friends and family).
- 69% of US teens say they use Snapchat, which means most users don’t have purchasing power.
- It’s challenging to cross-promote your products and services.
Snapchat Demographics:
- 73% of 18–24 year olds use Snapchat
- 27% of those making less than $30k use Snapchat
- 29% of those with some college education use Snapchat
Tik Tok
Trust me, I fought with myself on where to place Tik Tok for business. There’s no denying that this social media app is on the rise, and there are even opportunities to monetize your efforts.
You have probably heard a million reasons why you should start using Tik Tok for your business. People are eagerly jumping on the bandwagon because you can earn 10K followers overnight with one viral video. And, the fact that there aren’t many entrepreneurs using this platform makes your chances of going “viral” pretty high.
However.
Tik Tok’s growing popularity is mainly due to the ease with which these vanity metrics come to its users. This app is banking off its demographics (41 percent of TikTok users are between 16 and 24). Its young users are still easily drawn in because of these coveted vanity metrics that make it appear as though you’ve “made it.”
As business owners, we know that these metrics mean next to nothing. We know that 10K Tik Tok followers and 5 million views on a video do not guarantee our business revenue. And while there are certainly success stories out there, I don’t think that there is enough strategy, intel, or features on Tik Tok to dedicate time and money to this app as a way to grow your business.
Yet, anyway. This might change in 2021. Make sure to bookmark or save this URL in your Notes app to come back for updates.
Tik Tok Demographics:
- 41 percent of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24.
- 56% of TikTok users are male and 44% are female.
- 26.5 million monthly active users are from the USA
Pinterest was initially included in my top social media platforms to use in 2019.
You might be confused by this one, but Pinterest can be such a great way to get the word out about your business— if you’re in the right industry.
Pinterest is an asset because it works more as a search engine (like Google) than a social media platform. People come here daily to get answers to questions and guidance on life events.
I often turn to Pinterest to find recipes, as well as style and home decor inspiration. You’ve probably used it to pin pictures of outfits that you like or home renovation ideas.
But that’s where Pinterest creates a problem for business owners. If you don’t have a regular blog or YouTube channel that you can lead Pinterest users to, you’re wasting your time. It wouldn’t even be worth creating Pinterest posts for your home decor or business coaching tips if all you’re going to do is lead them to your Instagram account.
At that point, you’re just making your ideal client go in circles. Sure, they might follow you, but where’s the incentive to buy?
Pinterest can work if you’re an influencer, blogger, or YouTuber. But if you’re a CPA, a business coach, or an app developer looking to sell your product or service, you need to first invest in blog or video content before Pinterest works for you.
Pinterest Demographics:
- 38% of 18–24 year olds use Pinterest
- 38% of those with more than college education use Pinterest
- 41% of those making more than $75k use Pinterest
Entrepreneur Connect Entrepreneur Connect is specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners where have the opportunity to create your own profile, explore the community, share ideas with other entrepreneurs and network. Unlike most social networks, this one frowns upon too much self-promotion and applauds idea sharing.
Conclusion
Social Media Apps for Entrepreneurs teaches you how to create a social media marketing plan, engage with your audience on all major social networks, and get more traffic from search engines.