Starting your own business | Step 4

Online Presence

In the business world of today, everything is online; or at least, everything will soon be online and I mean everything. Ever heard of online dating services? About a decade or more ago, it was unheard of and rather taboo to say you met your partner/spouse on a website or over social media. However, nowadays, things have changed drastically. People are proud to give “testimonies” about meeting their significant other online.

With Jumia and Konga valued at tens of millions of Dollars, it is crystal clear the potential that an online presence has to increase your bottom line.

So, how exactly do you go about achieving an online presence for your company?

The questions to as are;

• What exactly are you selling?

• What is your budget?

• How much time do you have?

What exactly are you selling?

No doubt an online presence is paramount. What online platform you choose will depend on what you are offering. Several platforms like social media, blogs, websites e.t.c benefit some offerings more than others.

What is your budget?

Some websites cost upwards of a million Naira and some others cost under N50,000. After identifying what you offer and how much you have to spend, you can easily decide what type of website you need to invest in. Always remember to think big but start small. Some companies revamp and upgrade their online presence yearly and other companies specialize in offering this as a service.

How much time do you have?

It is tacky to be on every social media platform and to have a website and blog with outdated information and products. You might have to dedicate some hours a day or a week to update the information depending on how versatile your business industry is.

You may even want to outsource this to someone depending on your budget. If it is important for you to update; say on a daily basis, and you do not have the knowhow or the time, then it is mandatory that you outsource.

Streamlining your online presence to the platforms that give you direct benefits will help you limit expenditure and conserve time. A burgeoning fashion designer with a limited budget for example might want to limit his online activity to Instagram and Facebook. As time goes on and money comes in, he may choose add twitter plus a blog, then eventually a website. Pinterest is in my opinion unnecessary if he already has a strong Instagram presence.

The key thing is to keep your blog or website simple. Not too plain but not over crowded either. Remember that Nigeria is still a developing nation where there is limited internet activity and slower than average connection speed from even the most efficient networks.

Therefore, you need a website that is easy to load even on mobile phones, with pictures that are clear but not too heavy.

As for social media, you might want to set an alarm for daily or weekly uploads. One post a day or 5 posts a week and before long, you will have a very full and active handle/page.