97.2 million internet users in Nigeria - How many bought from you?

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently reported that the Nigerian mobile internet user has hit 97.2 million. This is more than the population of some countries.

 Is your business getting any share from these big numbers coming out and counting? if you are not, then these 7 steps will help you to have a successful online presence.

1. What are your goals

   It is important you understand what are your short and long term business goals for being online. Build your online presence to strategically meet your business goals.

2. Build a platform

   Building a platform starts with having a website with proper search engine optimization (SEO). Your website is your holding house. It is where people can go to learn more about your product and/or services, engage with your content and contact you. You don't have to wait till you have everything in your business perfectly setup, your website should be about the first thing you should do for your business, you can always improve your contents and optimizing your website.

3. Be Social

   Social media is a very important tool to promote your business and get engaged with followers. Being social does not mean you must have all social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, pinterest etc. You should have at least 3 of them to be consistent with your post and engaging with others. If you have more than 3 you just might be biting more than you can chew.

4. Consistency is King. 

   It is very important to be consistent in the content you provide on your website, blog, videos, audios or whatever you chose. Consistency gives you credibility and makes you an authority in your industry.

5. Get offline

   You need to be known and be seen. Move away from your computer and get out there, join a group with similar business interest with you and genuinely serve in the group, build relationships, you might be able to get referrals for your business, remember if you are not genuine and just in it for the money people will definitely pickup on it, that's not good for you.

6. Track your success

   You need to know what's working for you and what's not, after successfully building your online presence you need to track how well you are doing on your website and your social media profiles. There are several tools to help you do this such as Google Analytical and others.

7. PATIENCE

   After all done, you need to be patient with yourself. Your online presence has massive potentials to grow your business but it does not happen over night. It might seem like you are not getting any results initially but you need to keep pushing, building a strong platform, create consistent and valuable content, establish a presence on social media, and build meaningful relationships online and offline, then momentum will be on your side.