Week 17: Wrapping It Up

 My viewpoint of social media has changed from seeing the platforms as a personal space to viewing them as a powerful tool for my small business. The analytics and support available to new business owners are a little overwhelming. I had never explored their shopping or business options. I do not have a large social media presence, but now I am aware of the possibilities beyond my personal use.  

Now I have a better understanding of how to use it successfully to develop a business. Yelp can be a challenge for small businesses to maintain and reply to reviews, but it is important how a business responds to customers. Platforms like TikTok offer business-specific online tools and help connect businesses with potential customers if the business presents its content wisely. Google Business allows business owners to locate themselves on Google Maps. This option is especially important for brick-and-mortar businesses. Although, Google Business presents some difficulties in setting up a business account. Not all the options are user-friendly to new users. Snack nation is an option I wasn’t familiar with, but it sounds like a good site to find details on other platforms.

We liked the Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp options best for our social media accounts. We plan to start with these options and scheduled our content a month in advance. We will provide daily posts using relevant hashtags on Facebook and Instagram, and check in daily to answer questions, provide customer service, and follow users. We will live stream at local events we participate in and offer Instagram promotional giveaways for sharing our content.

As we grow, we plan to offer a Google business account and use their analytics to track and edit our web content based on feedback. When we begin offering our product at local boutiques, we can add our product availability  on google maps. Allowing customers to locate where they can purchase our products.   

We anticipate most of our sales with be in person as we become established. The nature of quality artisanal soap is and experience for the senses. The product needs to be touched, used, and smelled to be fully appreciated. We hope to capture repeat customers through our Facebook and Instagram pages.