“People do business with who they like and who they trust which is why social media is important. Instead of abusing it one should use social media tools to be more likable and to earn trust.”
– Keron, Creator – Tech4Agri
People are watching you always. This might be quite annoying but it gives you the chance to make a good impression; to connect with your potential audience. We met many who shared these same thoughts at the Caribbean Blogger’s Meetup late last year, organised by SiliconCaribe.
This leading media brand, has both an award-winning technology and digital lifestyle blog and also the largest roster of Caribbean Technology Events.
The event was quite motivational for us as we were able to meet the people behind some of the best online content in the country.
With ever growing access to mobile internet the number of online content producers in Trinidad and throughout the Caribbean has increased. For us this is a great positive as many of these persons are simply using the tools at their disposal to express themselves and provide value to a specific community or target market.
Some entertain us, such as the comedy related channel Jemel The Entertainer. Notable as well is the Late O’clock news which aims satire at current events and political world.
We at Tech4agri are trying to do something similar – produce that online content that not only entertains you but also provides value with knowledge and support for the overall community. In this sense we are capitalizing on the change that has emerged in terms of the way news and information is presented.
By this we mean social video.
Social video is concise, entertaining or interesting, and shareable. Taking a look on any major news outlet or organisation and you will see this trend; that of short shareable pieces of content, is quite common.
Social video is creatively made through a combination of pictures, videos, text, graphics, data and music.
Satisfied we were with the meet-up having found a new network and also another target market for our services specifically as it relates to mobile journalism.
Did you know we recently had our first training session? See photo album covering the event on our facebook page.
How would you stand out with your business? Be yourself!
But what can you learn from such as event. We have some tips for our agripreneurs out there:
Be yourself be your brand – Your business client wants to know about other experiences rather than just your qualifications. Activities such as travel, networking, volunteer work or personal interests – any activity which in some way benefits other persons, are all positives when presenting yourself to a client or even an employer.
Risking stability – Would you give up a stable income and life for blogging and branding yourself? At some point you may come to this crossroad if you are building a business. Would you rather work from home being financially strapped at times yet happy or would you prefer to face trials of having a career working for others?
Think about it.
Having presence without having presence? – No one wants to become so addicted to social media that it becomes all they do for their business. There are many other tasks when it comes to managing your business activities. Find a balance between your social media activity for business and for actually socializing.
Having a presence does not mean slaving over your channels to every second of every day
It means being consistent. I would rather see 1 post, every day or two for a year rather than an overwhelming amount.
Simply put, find a balance that works for you while ensuring you engage with your followers on a consistent basis.
The importance of collaboration – This is all what Tech4Agri is about these days! We have limited resources, so why not collaborate instead of competing.
Now this is much easier said than done. However it is not impossible and you will find out if you haven’t already that collaboration can be a blessing as all parties involved should benefit.
Met a new business owner, and interested in working with her? Start with a short term arrangement to work together on a project. Be upfront about what resources you have to share.
Agree to split whatever profits or losses that could occur. Proper contingency plans and simple contracts should help for such collaboration. And above all give an effort to work with your potential partner.
Always think of how to compromise.
These are the tips from local content creators themselves! What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below!
