Social media has transformed our lives by connecting more people across the world than any other online-based technology. On social media platforms, we can send messages, pictures and even videos to each other in real time. There are many examples of these platforms. They include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. People can congregate on these platforms and exchange meaningful ideas about any topic. By reading through their discussions, you can find their needs and come up with a business to satisfy them. Here are 10 smart ways to use social media to find business ideas.
1. Observe trending topics
When news is reported through social media, it takes the form of trending topics. They are easily recognizable since they have a hashtag. Trending topics are mostly associated with the Twitter platform. Also, whenever people have a problem, they air it out in the form of trending topics. You can pay attention to these topics and see what they are complaining about. After that, you can come up with business ideas to solve their problems.
2. Visit the most popular pages
On social media platforms such as Instagram, people can make pages about things that they are interested in. These could be places, activities or challenges that they face. You can visit as many of these pages as possible and they will give you insight of what people could buy to achieve their interests. After that, you go ahead to build a business providing them with exactly that.
3. Check what people are currently crowdfunding
Social media created an activity known as crowdfunding. This is the process of collecting enough money to bring a business idea to life. An entrepreneur can post their idea on crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo. If the people in the site like it, they can contribute some money to it. Influential financiers, investors and venture capitalists frequently visit such platforms in search of the next big business idea. You can browse through these websites and identify the ideas that people are interested in and willing to fund. After that, you can borrow from them and come up with your own unique business idea.
4. Read the online feedback on business competition TV shows
Today, there are business competition shows such as Dragon's Den and Shark Tank. In these shows, entrepreneurs approach a group of investors and present their small enterprises to the group. If the investors like the businesses, they can proceed to invest in them and improve their chances of success. When such shows air on television, there is always some chatter on social media about them. This chatter contains views from the members of the public. You can read through this chatter and it will give you the consumers' perspectives. By doing this, you can find out the ideas that the consumers like and those that they don't. This can give you some insight into generating business ideas that will gain traction among the consumers.
5. Search through the questions asked on social media
Consumers often take to social media to ask questions about literally anything and everything. One of the platforms where they excel at doing this is Twitter. You can go to this platform and search through consumer questions. This will help you to learn about the products they desire. In addition to that, you can learn their concerns about currently available products and learn where there is a need gap which you can fill with your own innovative products.
6. Spy on the activities of the big companies in the industry you want to join
The business environment is divided into industries. There are big companies that are already invested in these industries. They often post information about their progress on social media. For example, promotional material about new products and services is posted on their pages for the whole world to read. By reading through their social media pages, you can identify gaps that they have not covered in the consumer market. You can also identify weaknesses in their products or services that you could exploit for your own profit. In this way, gathering information on social media about the big players can help you to create your own business ideas.
7. Investigate keyword phrases
Every social media platform has a search bar. This is where you enter the name of a person or a group that you want to find. This bar is quite similar to the one found on search engines. It makes records of the words and phrases that are typed into it. This way, if you go and type a phrase that it has already indexed, it will bring you results that match your phrase or come close to it. You can type in the names of items that you think could be profitable in the business environment. The search bar will bring you results that indicate the how interested people are in this product. This can help you to find out and adopt the most popular products and ideas.
8. Check which products people are buying in online auctions
The biggest online auction is eBay. People create accounts on this platform and sell products in an auction style. Seeing as they can communicate with each other too, eBay qualifies as an e-commerce site with a social media twist to it. You can find out the products that people are interested in by browsing through the completed auctions. Simply create an account in the website and go through the completed auctions that feature products in your preferred business sector. By doing this, you can find out the level of consumer interest in these products. Moreover, you can find out how much people are willing to pay for these items. This information can help you to come up with you own business ideas.
9. Browse through specialty social media platforms
The most well known social media sites satisfy a general audience. There are others that are dedicated to a specific audience. For example, there is a social site for wedding enthusiasts that is known as Lover.ly. These specialty sites are good sources of business ideas. You can browse through the questions that consumers ask in these websites. By doing this, you can find out the challenges that they face and come up with business ideas to solve them.
10. Check through Pinterest to see what people want
Pinterest is a social media platform that is driven by images. People post images of literally anything and others can like these images and give their opinions on the content. It is a great place to find out the items that are currently most popular among consumers. Simply head over to the site and see the pictures that have the most likes. If you can come up with a product or service that is associated with the content in these pictures, then you are assured of a consumer following.
The Important Take Away
Not only have they boosted global communication, social media platforms are a great place to go if you are searching for business ideas. By following the tips indicated above, you can use these platforms to create an income for yourself. Try them out and maybe your idea could be the next big thing.
