internet

6 Tips for Building Your Business' Social Platform

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Businesses are slowly transitioning to the Internet and many people know by now that social media is a great place to advertise.

Customers can reach out to business owners directly and list any concerns they may have with the product. In addition, building a strong fan base is essential to establishing a social media presence and a loyal following.

Take a look at makeup brands such as Pixi or KKW — not only do they post regularly and engage with followers, but they also partner up with other influencers to raise sales and recognition. You can link products directly from an Instagram post or swipe up on Stories to go to a specific page.

However, this may seem pretty daunting — and the truth is, it can be very hard to start out on your own platform. Here are seven tips you should absolutely follow to make your voice heard.

Research your platform

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If you don't have any experience with social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, make sure to do your homework. Most of these sites have business tools you can utilize to your advantage. Pay attentions to how other successful brands are posting and find trending hashtags and themes.

Research your competitors or others in your industry — what are they doing successfully? Don't copy them outright, but try and understand what's working for them and how you can replicate it for your brand.

Build your personality

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No one wants a plain old businessman — or woman — trying to sell them something. You want to create a brand for yourself, or rather, a personality for your followers to latch onto. For example, if you're business focuses on health and good living, try building your brand around inspirational quotes and pictures. Let your culture and personality show through your social media presence.

Post consistently

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You can't expect results in just a few weeks — be consistent in your posting and your community outreach. Find people and businesses similar to your target demographic to follow, learn from, and engage on your own platform.

Target your audience

Reach the right people khaleejtimes

If your brand is selling all things baby-related, narrow down your search to parents, grandparents or prospective mothers. Facebook has business tools that allow you to choose your target demographic from age, education level, job, salary, interests and more. Narrowing down your customer base will help inform your branding strategies.

Partner up

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If you have friends or acquaintances that own successful social platforms, call in a favor for a shoutout or a feature on their page. If you don't know anyone like that, many pages will do the same for a price — depending on how popular they are. This tactic will likely gain you followers, and in return, a bigger customer base.

One thing that is not recommended is buying followers — not only is it completely untrustworthy and discredits your brand, but these are not real people you can sell to, thus this will not aid in growing your business.

Use social media tools

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You may not have time to manage your social platforms for hours every day, so use apps that can do it for you. There are tools to help you plan your Instagram feed so that everything stays aesthetically pleasing and ordered, like Preview. This app even lets you schedule posts at the most optimal times during the day to increase views.

When growing your brand and your audience, the most important thing to keep in mind is that growth won't come in a day. Most brands take months and even years to develop, but once you have a small fan base, it's easier to grow.

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What is net neutrality and what happens when it ends?

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On December 14, net neutrality rules put in place under the Obama administration were overturned. The Federal Communications Commission voted to remove these regulations after Trump's appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed in May to remove the classification of internet service providers (ISPs) as public utilities. These rules were adopted in 2015. Should this be removed, ISPs would be able to charge more for customers to access the internet and different websites.

The economic effects of this action could be wide reaching. ISPs would have the ability to create what has been referred to as “fast lanes." Or boost traffic for certain websites while slowing others. As an example, AT&T could allow you to easily stream Netflix, but slow speeds for Hulu — which might render the site useless on your home broadband wifi. Additionally, Netflix may have to pay extra cash to AT&T to make sure their site runs properly on your wifi. And this extra cost would likely be passed down to the consumer in higher subscription fees.

Internet providers could also provide access packages similar to how your cable company does. Customers would have to pay a certain amount a month to access email and social media. But they could incur additional costs to gain access to news sites or video streaming services. Consumers could also face data caps similar to how phone plans currently work. With the popularity of cable companies on a steep downturn, it seems not many people would want these kinds of services from their internet providers.

Many supporters of the FCC's plan to remove net neutrality regulations argue that this is nothing to worry about. After all, these rules were only put in place in 2015. Before that, we still had the free and open internet we know today. Competition between different providers will show these companies what customers really want. Additionally, several internet providers (including AT&T and Verizon) have already issued statements supporting an open internet in some way, shape or form.

In theory, competition would be a possible avenue for consumers to exploit. But that won't quite work in practice. This is because broadband internet providers have virtual monopolies set up around the country. In 55 percent of the United States, there is only one internet provider available. If you want internet, you have to go through that company. End of story. This leaves consumers without a lot of bargaining chips. And this situation likely won't change any time soon. It is prohibitively expensive to set up any kind of wired broadband network. Verizon spent $20 billion on its FIOS network and that only covered a few suburbs in the Northeast and Los Angeles. Without true competition, it will be hard for consumers to protest or refute their service.

If internet providers decide to create “fast lanes" or comprehensive packages similar to a cable provider, customers will have no choice but to pony up the extra cash. The internet is essentially required for all kinds of tasks from job searching to paying bills to shopping. Consumers might have to pay more just to access sites like Amazon or a portal used for job applications. These hurdles would cause customers to drastically change their behavior. Agree or disagree, removing net neutrality rules would cause massive ripples through society and the economy.

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Should you invest in IoT products?

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IoT — or the Internet of Things — is definitely here to stay. It may seem slow in the moment, but IoT has rapidly taken over our homes, schools, healthcare and workplaces. And over the next few years, there definitely will be more improvements.

Many people like myself ask, should I invest in IoT products? It seems like they're always coming out with new ideas and innovations everyday that any product I do buy will be outdated in a couple months.

Even if this is true, IoT is continuously building on itself — take the smartphone for example. Even though most of the world has smartphones now, people were hesitant to buy it at first. Now, it's the basis for connected devices — you can control your house lights, garage, pet feeders and more with your smartphone.

If you're still hesitant, here are other reasons why you should invest in IoT devices.

If you're a student

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Students are the future of IoT products — Generation Z kids were the first to actually grow up always having modern technology. Whether you're a college student, stuck in high school or teaching as an educator, IoT devices can help you.

Take your dorm for instance — items like smart plugs and home cameras allow you to control what happens in your room from anywhere. In everyday life, connecting tablets and laptops to your school's network can help keep you updated too.

If you love to travel

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Traveling gadgets have been prevalent since basically forever — however, we're now moving away from neck pillows and ear plugs. Get your hands on smart devices like the portable scanners — for the workaholic — smart suitcases and dual SIM smartphones for the ultimate relaxing vacation.

Take a beach vacation for example — relax by the water with a waterproof reader or play ball in the water with a connected speaker.

If you're into fashion

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Although this portion of IoT hasn't been thoroughly researched yet, there have been some pretty big improvements. Take the Anrealage Monte Z shoes — with a smartphone and AR, you can put designs onto your sneakers.

Some brands even let you virtually try on their clothing while others are working on wearable tech and multi-functioning connected accessories.

If you have pets

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Yes, IoT devices can even help your pets — in this case, mostly cats and dogs. With products such as smart dog collars and trackers, you won't ever lose your dog again. Smart feeders and pet players can also take care of your pet when you're away — with a tap of your smartphone.

If you own a home

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Obviously, smart homes are all the craze now — why get up and do something when you can be efficient and have it automated?

Your kitchen for example — smart refrigerators can help you keep track of your food or automatically reorder groceries while smart forks, cookers and coffee makers make your life easier with scheduling and automatic services.

If you have a car

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Cars are the next big step in IoT development — even though we have a few self-driving and connected cars on the road, we still haven't even fully switched over to electric yet. Funding and supporting research in this emerging market will help us convert faster.

As you're reading this article, researchers and professionals are making and testing automated and connected vehicles in a fake Michigan city called Mcity. Even though there are limited options on the market right now — especially affordable ones — more are soon to come.

After all these uses, I'd say investing in IoT products is a pretty good decision. Even though you don't particularly care about the movement, getting left behind could be pretty inconvenience in both your professional and personal life.

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The Internet of Things is slowly taking over the Earth

The Internet of Things — maybe you've heard of the phrase, maybe you haven't. Maybe you've heard it muttered around the workplace as your colleagues talked about their new voice-activated devices.

The IoT has been growing steadily since the start of PCs and smartphones. From there, we've come out with more interconnected devices including smartwatches and televisions — maybe you've heard of our little friend, Alexa? Now, it's estimated that by 2020, there will be more than 24 billion IoT devices on the planet.

Source: BI Intelligence Estimates, 2015

However, IoT devices don't have to specifically be computers or screens really — they come in the form of our everyday devices. Smart cameras and water bottles can aid you at the beach while smart plugs and safes can help you out in your dorm or apartment.


Thus, IoT isn't just about the interconnection of devices anymore — it's about the way we live and think. When you build a smart home, you're not just using devices — you're a part of them. You think of ways to program your lights and AC that's not just shutting the blinds or pressing buttons on the wall.

Same with the way we learn — more and more schools now are incorporating tablets and interactive smartphone lessons into the classroom. Teachers can cut down on interruption time from transitioning, distributing and other menial tasks along with saving textbook resources.

But, how did we get here? Who decided that IoT was worth discovering and promoting?

According to 2014 Goldman Sachs and BI Intelligence Estimates, the average price of IoT hardware has been dropping and businesses will be the top investor of IoT. Also, agricultural companies, doctors, oil companies, insurance companies, retail, government and many more sectors are all increasing their use of IoT devices and sensors.

However, there are also very serious concerns about privacy and security, according to BI Intelligence. Hackers can easily get into accounts because IoT devices lack cybersecurity protections. This concern is oftentimes associated with government projects and can be possible even with self-driving cars.

But don't worry, engineers are working on the kinks in the system. In the meantime, you can keep up with IoT news from various tech websites, but you can also consult your friends, family and acquaintances.

If you're looking to build up your "smart life," most IoT devices have a home base on a smartphone — so start your build up there if you haven't already. IoT will definitely make your life easier and better — get on board before it's too late!

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