The micro, small, and medium enterprises play a major role in the Indian economy. No matter what you sell and who you sell it to, using the right measures as a marketing tool can help you grow your brand. Social media marketing proves out to be the best tool for small businesses for branding. According to Social Media Today, 83% of customers prefer to connect to the brand on Facebook.
Understanding the importance of the same, Uttar Pradesh Government under the leadership of CM Akhilesh Yadav collaborated with Facebook to ensure the success of the state-wide Boost Your Business initiative. It is a program which trains MSME entrepreneurs to use social media platforms more efficiently. It is not only aimed at helping them get visibility but also to ensure that they are able to maintain a long lasting relationship with their clients using social media.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav directed the authorities to provide all possible assistance to Facebook for this initiative. This month long program was started on February 11, 2016 with various events and sessions being held at Kannauj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, and Lucknow. The team also went to rural parts of the state to generate awareness. An experts’ team from Facebook conducted the training to effectively utilize the platform and functionalities offered by Facebook to further their businesses.
CM Ahilesh Yadav launches the Facebook Collaboration program on February 11, 2016 with various events and sessions being held across UP stateUttar Pradesh has more than 3 million MSMEs, and Dimple Yadav, MP Kannauj, aptly said, “The state is the land of unlimited potential. It is full of craftsmen and artists. They need global visibility. The Facebook campaign would help them get global visibility and boost e-commerce.” On the Inaugural event, she expressed her hopes for the outcome of Facebooks beneficial strategies, The UP government is doing its bit, yet the local artisans need a global platform and this campaign would provide the same. Businessmen in UP are using Facebook and now they can use this page to increase their client base.
The programme, which was conducted on a massive scale, assisted MSME entrepreneurs in building Customer Relationship Management skills via Facebooks many functionalities, including Facebook Pages and sponsored posts, which help in the expansion of the MSMEs reach and influence. Also included were training sessions on constructive marketing strategies and the methods of creating a distinguished online presence.
According to the Infrastructure and Industrial Investment Policy of Uttar Pradesh, MSMEs have a crucial role in employment generation. Success of the MSME sector will also give a much-needed push to Uttar Pradeshs poverty alleviation schemes, while at the same time increasing the states rate of growth.
To guarantee Uttar Pradesh a competitive edge in its exports, the state government has made consistent efforts to garner the advantages of various Central Government schemes, such as the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme and the Quality Improvement Scheme. Apart from that, the revival of state-level financial institutions is also on the cards, so as to increase financial deepening of the MSME Sector.
More than 1500 SMEs were trained under this program to cater to their client base better. Such unwavering efforts to boost growth in the MSME sector undertaken by Akhilesh Yadav-led UP Government are sure to bear fruit in the near-future.