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Following my recent guest blog for Go Girl Entrepreneur I asked founder and business mentor Michelle for her thoughts on how modern marketing and social media have influenced her company, and the businesses she works with. Here she shares her insights and explains how online apps and social platforms helped her to expand and develop Go Girl Entrepreneur rapidly within the space of just a year.

I originally had the idea of creating Go Girl Entrepreneur at the end of 2016. I’m not going to lie, I was at a point in my life where I was incredibly confused regarding where I was going and what I wanted to do. I had a successful bridal accessory business, but knew I wanted to go into something more digitally creative to directly help people make a difference in their lives through changing how they thought and felt about themselves. I honestly believed that together these were the key components to building fellow female entrepreneurs up and helping them achieve success. I had a history of running social media successfully – however there were some essential aspects of a digital presence I had no idea about – including elements that would be integral, like email marketing. I was a complete beginner.

I felt so strongly that I wanted to create a platform for female entrepreneurs that was full of positivity, inspiration and a safe place for people to gain help with what they were trying to achieve. After all, this journey can feel lonely sometimes! So I was willing to embrace digital, and learn all about different marketing sources and platforms that would help me to share my perspective with thousands of business owners.

Learning how to develop a digital presence

After feeling slightly daunted at first, I set out to fill my head with knowledge. My mantra in life – if you don’t know how to do something, find out and get good at it! So that’s what I did. I got stuck in to Instagram – a social media platform I have never used before. I created an account bursting with positivity, full of original images which have had a great response.
Email marketing was more of a challenge for me however. I knew it was something I needed to master to be able to tell everyone who was interested what I was trying to achieve.
I started from scratch and enrolled myself on a 3 month course that tackled building a brand, social media, mindset, taking care of yourself and marketing. The course was so valuable and before I knew it I was using different apps to grow and build my audience. Another important thing that the course did for me was to recommend the best applications and programs I could use for my business. There are so many out there and it can be quite confusing. It made my choices much easier – and I love everything that I use.

Within the 3 months my course I was set up. I had everything under control – from marketing to keeping on top of my accounts and books. 2017 has really been a year for learning everything I need to know and I don’t think that this process ever stops. There is always room for improvement.

Top tips for business owners

Whether you are thinking of building a business or upskilling to help you to run the business you own more efficiently, these are my top applications and programs to use:

Mail Chimp – Great for email marketing. It’s low cost and effective – plus it allows full email automation for ease and efficiency.
Instagram – Good for creatives wanting to create an attractive visual account – also now an essential for all businesses, especially retail and hospitality companies. 
Facebook – Facebook holds a wealth of knowledge – from groups and support pages to networking opportunities.
LinkedIn– Great for networking with like-minded people – like Facebook, LinkedIn has no geographical boundaries.
Asana – Perfect for keeping you organised and all your tasks and activities in one place.

A digital presence is essential for entrepreneurs who mean business

I see the internet as offering endless possibilities. When used in a positive way you really can create and achieve anything. If you don’t have the time, resources or skills to learn how to take on digital marketing yourself, it’s essential to ensure that it’s covered by someone professional. As soon as I knew I needed help to set up Go Girl Entrepreneur, I enlisted expert support and enrolled on a branding course. Wondering where to start? Feel free to contact me or Rose Writes for friendly advice.

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Michelle is the owner and creator of Go Girl Entrepreneur. She helps women in business gain and improve a positive mindset to achieve success. She is also passionate about sharing her journey to inspire others to change their life.

Website: www.gogirlentrepreneur.co.uk
Instagram: @gogirlentrepreneur
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gogirlentrepreneur