It can at times be hard to understand how something like social media has had such a large impact on the business world. “…Roughly 94% of small businesses use social media as a marketing tool.” EVE’s aim is to enable you to embrace social media as an effective tool to engage customers, as well as to select and focus on the kinds of social media that would be optimal for the goals of your business.

In 'We Are All Cyborg Now', anthropologist Amber Case’s 2010 TED talk calls the tool of technology “an extension of the mental self” that enables us “to travel faster, communicate differently”. It “gets adopted because people use it and it’s made for humans”. We can take social media, as an expected “side product” from the advancement of technology, and the kind of person we are online becomes a sort of “second self” to our being.

This phenomena of the second self online gives businesses the opportunity to curate a unique and interesting persona that, when effectively used, can not only reach out to existing customers to keep them engaged, but also to new potential customers, with the click of a button. People trust these online personas of companies to be representative of the brick and mortar stores because we display ourselves similarly through social media.

As a small business owner, you must define your target audience creating buyer personas or an ideal customer profile. Persona is an effective tool to help craft a target audience. “Speak, act and think like your target audience. Get inside their heads, hang out where they hang out, care about what they care about.”

Facebook users like to connect on a more personal level. People crave this attention on Facebook. There are about 2.08 billion daily active users on Facebook. It makes responding directly to user’s comments easy, and by interacting on a small scale you can connect with the audience that is interested in your product or services by direct messaging.

Facebook provides the possibility of advertising events and sharing photos that users can easily share on their personal pages and continue spreading the word. “If you click on “People” under your insights on your Facebook page, you will be able to see if your page is reaching your desired market.”

Instagram does a lot to set itself apart. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the fourth-most popular social media platform in the world. Instagram connects with people through visual imagery such as food, clothing, jewelry. These types of industries thrive on their product looking good. Instagram will benefit these industries.

Hashtags are the most important aspect of connection with your audience. As the data collects, the analytics will tell a story about what connects with your audience such as stylized photo or particular hashtag. “The more info you have about the content your audience resonates with, the more you can improve your future posts.”