By Tricia Hall
Sojourner’s Truth Reporter
International branding and marketing expert, Andrea Smith, facilitated a virtual interactive webinar on Monday, March 22 at 6:00 p.m. The webinar was presented by The Toledo African American Chamber of Commerce (TAACC) and Assets Toledo and focused on social media benefits for busy entrepreneurs.
“I want to thank everyone for joining this webinar today, presented by The Toledo African American Chamber of Commerce and Assets Toledo,” said Roy Hodge, TAACC president, during opening remarks.
Smith earned a masters degree in business, has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, worked in the area of marketing and branding for 15 years and has spent over four years as an entrepreneur and CEO of The ADS Agency. Smith also shared her significant number of social media followers on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
“It’s a pleasure to be here today, and to connect with you today,” said Smith immediately following the introduction.
The webinar focused on five key social media points: meaningful audience growth takes time so adjust your expectations; consistency is important but not at the price of quality engagement; say “yes” to vanity metrics because it all comes down to your target; you have to stand out and this means taking a moment to do your competitive research and also the game is not sales but relationships.
“Social media isn’t always mission first, but we want to perform well and service our clients with excellence. People need to see us and know it’s your business. We are the face of our company and customers should know who you are and what you offer,” explained Smith.
According to the presenter Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter have the largest number of users and entrepreneurs should develop a plan to utilize each social media platform. Facebook has 2.8 billion users, 2.3 billion YouTube users, 1 billion Instagram users, 740 million LinkedIn users, 689 million TikTok users, and 353 million Twitter users.
“You really have to pay money to play on Facebook and Instagram, even $50 per month towards advertisements will make a difference. You have to share your story and share about your business. You don’t need to have expensive equipment, you just need your phone, a $15 tripod and a simple microphone. Instagram is a must for entrepreneurs because Instagram is a visual space while Twitter is where connections happen. Also create a business profile on LinkedIn that you can connect to your personal page,” said Smith.
The presenter discussed types of content to post on social media and data that entrepreneurs can receive from social media platforms.
“It’s not just about posting, it’s about quality engagement. Take time, at least 30 minutes on Instagram to research likes and comments from your target audience. View hashtags and who is your competition. Also check your status or data on each social media platform and Google, you can gather information on key metrics and track that data over time. This includes leads, views and followers,” concluded Smith
For additional information about The ADS Agency visit www.theadsagency.com, for additional information about TAACC visit www.toledoaacc.org and for additional information about ASSETS Toledo visit www.assetstoledo.com.