Startups have to keep a close watch in their industries. This is especially important for most Bangladeshi early stage start-ups. Companies launch and fail everyday. It’s important to read up and stay informed as much as it’s important to learn from others in the industry. You can find what your competitors are doing to gain traction on social media and also follow updates on news and announcements. The best brands in the world innovate by looking at the smallest of trends. Therefore, being able to anticipate market trends (and acting on them accordingly) can keep your startup way ahead!

1. Analysis of Competitors

When you initially planned to penetrate a market, a fair share of your pre-launch surveys may have highlighted your competitors. They must have had to go through similar, if not the same milestones at early stages of their operations. Therefore their leg-work could give you a head-start into your business planning. The idea is not to just copy their strategies, but to gain from their research and design yours better. For example, boutiques, small coffee shops and such local businesses, can benefit from the understanding of what kind of networks, messages or contents are engaging their target audience. The smart and new startups bursting into the scene are all leveraging competitor analysis to take their work ahead before even launching their company.

2. Monitoring Customer Behavior

Simple statistics come handy here. Every set of audience has various patterns in their habits and response level to brands. You can use Google Analytics and other social media tools to find out what strategies work in your industry, when do most of your customers come online, what is the average age of your engaged audience, etc. Using these statistics, you can easily figure out the best timing to make posts and perfect category of contents to create. In fact, it can also reduce your advertising costs because this enables you to narrow down your target market and efficiently reaches only your potential customers and in right hours of the day. This in turn, can boost your sales and increase your ROI. The early movers in the digital world are already making the best of out the analytics available to them.

3. Appreciate Feedback Loop

Always remember that your business is trying to ‘engage’ your desired audience through social media as opposed to simply dumping tonnes of facts and information on them. It’s a two-way street; therefore, communication is vital. Listen to your customers. Shoot question-answer posts on twitter; receive feedback and act on them. Make your target audience feel that they are being listened to. That alone, increases your engagement rates by far.

Working out your strategies bearing these simple tricks in mind, can effectively expand your reach in the virtual world, boosting your online presence on a shoestring budget. Start-ups should also focus on measuring their social media with simple KPIs and tweak strategies accordingly.