Social media is an extremely beneficial tool for a start-up company…but it can be oh so overwhelming. Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, blogs, bloggers, mobile apps, iPad apps, and wait… now google has a facebook rival?! Sometimes it’s enough to make you dream about the days of AOL. Ok, maybe not. But in a world where memes and viral videos spread like wildfire, gaining (and maintaining) an image on the ‘net requires some serious experimenting – and not the former NY Congressman kind!
This Far Side® cartoon says it all
So how does a startup like Ethikus do this? Let’s take our facebook page for starters. Protocol dictates that we begin with picking our “category.” But even that’s tough. Are we Retail and Consumer Merchandise? Cause? Both? Nope, can’t be both. But in an age where social ventures like Ethikus are blurring the line between impact and profit, it’s hard to make these choices.
The more important question, however, is “Who is our audience on Facebook?” We know who are target consumers are: people who want a bridge to connect them to local, conscientious businesses. But on Facebook, it is a different story. We cannot restrict and filter the people we connect with to just the ones residing in our pilot communities. That’s actually the genius of Facebook. It’s a global, open forum that can certainly aid in our future expansions, but for supporting our small, local start-up right now… what options are open to us to stay local?
Jumping into the social media deep-end is definitely a challenge for a company bursting with ideas but determined to start discreetly with a local pilot. So help us. How can we find a niche in the millions of active Facebook users online to those in our pilot community?
-G