Social Media Marketing: Gateway to Success for Homepreneurs

As stated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment rate in India was at 3.5% in 2018 and 18.9 million people were jobless. The government of India constantly motivates its citizens to become entrepreneurs and create employment opportunities for others by launching programs like start up India, mudra bank, fund of funds and many others. As per the Indian government data, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) contribute nearly 8 percent of the country's GDP which reflects they play a significant role in the country's GDP. Each year, thousands of determined entrepreneurs start new businesses however only handful of them survives and plenty of small business are gone by the end of four years of their establishment. The major reason behind business failures are lack of experience, insufficient capital and poor location. Entrepreneurship is so dynamic in nature that it gives plausible solution for all potential entrepreneurs out there. One of the solutions for budding entrepreneurs is becoming a homepreneur. Homepreneurs are business entrepreneurs operating from their home. They are managing their business operations from home. It is a splendid opportunity for those who want to start something new without investing huge capital and taking bigger risks. The question arises is how do they attract their target audience without investing larger amount and time to meet them. One of the answers to this question is social media. Social media are interactive websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content quickly, effectively and real time. Social media channels and online marketplaces have made it simple for homepreneurs to reach new audience, deliver products and receive payments. Platforms like Face book, Instagram, Watsapp, YouTube, Twitter, Google Ad, Mobikwik and various other applications are useful for marketing. Almost every individual is connected on one of above mentioned platforms. Social media has changed the face of marketing and completely taken communication, advertising and online marketing to the next level. The researcher will use phenomenology as the method of research. This research paper will explain the concept of homepreneurs; will put a light on various social media platforms for homepreneurs; will talk about their advantages and highlight its working. It will also share many examples of homepreneurs actively participating on these platforms and achieving success. This will definitely help the group who want to start a small business to understand the framework of homepreneurship and functional for those who want to expand their business operation online. As said by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee “Empowering the individual means empowering the nation. And empowerment is best served through rapid economic growth with rapid social change”. Entrepreneurship is pivotal for individual empowerment, economic growth and sustainable development.