Gaining a competitive edge online:

It's 2021 and you still don’t have a social media presence? You’d be surprised how many companies are falling behind through social media negligence or ignorance. We no longer live in a society where platforms like Twitter and Instagram can be looked down upon and viewed as a waste of time. We live in a digital world where the vast majority of your customer base will be scrolling the internet day after day.

Some of the best business minds in the world have caught onto the trend of boosting their social media profiles. Customers don’t want to engage with businesses that seem robotic. Posting nothing but product placement and adverts will bore your audience and turn them away. It's important to remember that your audience will want to engage with personality and interact with a company that can seem personable. Social media is a perfect opportunity to give an in-depth insight into your company culture and show the world that you are more than sales and numbers. See what’s trending in the world and join in on the conversation. You can remain professional whilst also creating fun and engaging content.

The formula is very easy… Authenticity. It’s important to not force content or try too hard to fit into trends- people can tell when a company is trying to seem “down with the kids”. It’s vital to identify your audience and look into the type of content they engage with most. Tailor your content towards your target market and adapt your delivery methods. The content you post on Twitter should be different from the content you post to Instagram. Expand your profile amongst every platform available to you. There are different markets everywhere and online negligence will cost you from progressing.

Don’t be discouraged if your content takes time to gain traction. Consistency will lead to success. You won’t suddenly blow up overnight, but you may be able to grow your audience with consistent quality content. Your first few posts may suffer from low engagement or interactions and that’s nothing to worry about. It can take years to build a strong foundation online. But, if you don’t lay the groundwork, if you don’t start today, you will never get there. When the world becomes platform orientated, if it hasn’t already, you wouldn't want to be left behind.

Remaining active online takes a lot of time and resources. It may be worthwhile dedicating a particular person to your social media activities. Content creation can be very time-consuming and will require a lot of creativity with a potential lengthy thought process. The best content is planned out and researched into to ensure that there is an audience behind it. You won't be able to get away with trying to rush the process and not take the time and dedication it takes to understand the ins and outs of building a social media presence. A lot of people underestimate the importance of consistency and that leads to inactive accounts. You cannot build up a strong audience by posting once in a blue moon. You have to keep in the forefront of your market's mind and remain on people’s feed.

It's time to stop being narrowed minded and time to adapt to a growing, ever changing business climate. Don’t let the digital world leave you behind.