PART II-MODULE 1
Introduction to the basics of digital entrepreneurship
Introduction to the basics of digital entrepreneurship
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an extended term for information technology (IT) which stresses unified communications, and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers (software, middleware, storage), and audio-visual systems, to enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.
ICT Provides:
Information refers to their knowledge obtained from reading, investigation, study, or research. Information has become increasingly central to a productive life giving rise to the term the Information Age.
Communication is an act of transmitting messages – a process whereby information is exchanged between individuals using symbols (sign or verbal interactions). Communication is essential to gain knowledge.
Technology is the use of scientific knowledge, experience and resources to create processes and products that fulfil human needs. Communication is enhanced through technology.
Digital Entrepreneurship can be defined as embracing “new ventures and the transformation of existing business by creating and using novel digital technologies. Digital Enterprises are characterised by a high intensity of utilisation of new digital technologies (particularly social, mobile, analytics and cloud solutions) to improve business operations, invent new (digital) business models, sharpen business intelligence, and engage with customers and stakeholders through new (digital) channels”.
The Digital component is developed among Digital platforms’ that consummate matches among producers and consumers and facilitate the exchange of goods, services or social currency, enabling value creation for all through the digital landscape.
Want to know more? Check out the VIDEO BELOW!
More on What is Digital Entrepreneurship
To be a successful digital entrepreneur there are a number of topics/themes to know, including the following:
Basic ICT concepts
Computer Systems (software /hardware)
Introduction to programming, databases, and information systems
Communication networks
The Internet – Web 2.0
ICT Security issues
ICT innovations
There are several skills that digital entrepreneur should develop:
Social Media know-how
Search engine and content marketing
Email, media and mobile knowledge
Strategy and planning
Check out this video on The Digital Skills Gap and the Future of Jobs 2020
At first, you’ll only need a computer with internet access to get started. But in addition to the equipment, certain features are essential so you can set yourself apart from the competition.
Curiosity: because it is only by researching a lot about the market and the behavior of consumers that you’ll find openings to operate and offer a solution that truly adds value to people’s lives.
Willingness to study/become specialized: if you are very curious but don’t like to study, digital entrepreneurship is not for you. It’s necessary to find the balance between learning more and using this knowledge to implement change. To get started, read at least one hour of news about your market daily.
Wanting to help people: entrepreneurship is associated much more with identifying problems and opportunities to implement an idea that causes positive impacts than being innovative and creating something never seen before.
Consider that you are abandoning the traditional work market and labor benefits to invest in an idea that you don’t know if it will work, yet. So if you don’t have any money saved or an investor to invest in your idea, we suggest you pay more attention to the management of your money from now on. Ideally, you should save the amount necessary for your fixed expenses for at least a year. If you have a family, you should also talk to all of them, present your idea, and explain that certain budget adjustments will be made. This way, everyone will be on the same page and avoid unnecessary spending
In order to be a digital entrepreneur you need to identify your strengths and weaknesses. To do so, there is a very good tool known as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). To create one, draw a table divided into four parts, with two rows and two columns. In the first column, list the aspects that impact positively, while in the second, those that may hinder the development of your new business, as shown below.
Niches are segments with specific characteristics and needs within a broader market of operation.
To find the ideal niche for you:
List your skills and talents: choose something that you enjoy doing and preferably something that you already have some knowledge.
Evaluate supply and demand: if you started a business in this segment, would you have enough customers to make a living? Search for a particular keyword and check the number of ads that appear on Google. This can be an helpful indicator indicator
Stay tuned to the trends: As with fashion, there are certain subjects that are transient trends, such as news and memes, and others that always arouse people’s interest, regardless of when they are broached, such as food and health for example.
To get started, you’ll need to purchase a domain for your web page. This step is very important both for those who want to create a virtual store and for those entrepreneurs who will produce content.
Before acquiring the rights to a domain, you need to choose a name that synthesizes your business idea. This name should be short and easy to write, so users can easily find your page or recommend it to friends.
Before entering the market, you need to confirm that your business idea is truly feasible. To do so, try answering the following questions:
Does your product solve a problem? Which one?
Can you execute this idea better than your competition?
Is your idea easy to understand?
If you put yourself in the place of consumers, would you buy your product?
Now it’s time to promote your solution to people and sell your products. A good advertising strategy is supported by three main aspects:
The consumer’s profile
Useful content
Communication channels
You need to find the right audience for your business and deliver useful content to them whenever they need it. And moreover, these people need to see value in the product or service you’re offering, in order to want to pay for it.
Nowadays communication is characterized by the digitization of informational content.
The term Digital Communication refers to any (communication or marketing) action oriented to promote products and/or services via digital media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, interactive TV, video games and mobile devices.
Digital communication is based on interactions between prospective users online and an information provider. The first interaction happens when a user searches for information that you offer on the pages of your website.
Successful online communications rely on the following principles:
Adaptation to the reality of the web
Meeting the needs of users visiting your website: usability, availability of relevant responses. It is extremely important to consider 3 different perspectives in every digital communication
User perspective: what users want
Corporate perspective: promises in response to expectations
Technical perspective: practices in line with feasible technologies
A controlled online digital communication strategy
The Internet has generated its own communication filters. Information is digitized and indexed so that anyone can find it. Therefore, you need to meet the existing demand. A digital strategy aims to optimize the user’s path on the platforms you use.
Social media for enhanced interactions
Social media, blogs and forums share information that has a much longer life than that of standard writings and that is accessible by anyone.
Mobile communication
Today, smartphones and tablets are the users’ primary tools for their everyday communication.
Content creation and management
Online communication means the creation of a variety of referenceable content that relates above all to visitor demand. You will need to build content that provides answers to users’ questions (Select the most appropriate social networks for your company’s visibility.)
Digital content creation is fundamental for any digital strategy
After you have identified your target audience, there are several steps that can help to improve the quality and impact of the digital content creation process.
Define the purpose
Different types of content have different purposes. By determining the purpose at the beginning of the content creation process you will achieve the desired results.
Create useful, quality content
Every piece of content must be useful and relevant to the target audience. The more useful the content is, the easier it will be for audiences to share it with others in their circles of influence.
Create useful, quality content
Every piece of content must be useful and relevant to the target audience. The more useful the content is, the easier it will be for audiences to share it with others in their circles of influence.
Promote content on social media
The content you share on each site should be unique to give your followers a reason to follow you on more than one network
Use photos and multimedia
Photos, infographics and videos are worth more than a thousand words!
The content you share on each site should be unique to give your followers a reason to follow you on more than one network
Photos, infographics and videos are worth more than a thousand words!
Netiquette is used to refer to the set of rules of general behavior on the Internet, the ethics you need to keep on the internet to make your life better
The term netiquette describes a protocol that should be used when making electronic "contact". This protocol has been driven by Internet users to provide greater security and humanity to the communication and thus fight network problems such as fraud, spam or rumors.
In Netiquette there are 10 basics rules and some recommendations to follow:
1. Be polite and use common courtesy: treat people with respect, measure the words you say.
2. Behave as in real life: be respectful and behave according to the common rules of society and cyberspace.
3. Know where you are in cyberspace: before participating in an activity on the Internet, you should respect behaviors, customs and rules of the site.
4. Respect time and bandwidth of others: be sure that what you send is relevant
5. Respect writing styles: be simple, nice, polite and do not use offensive language.
6. Share the knowledge: share your knowledge with other people in the network and cyberspace.
7. Keep disputes under control: stay out of discussions that you do not master.
8. Respect everybody’s privacy: do not read other people's emails, do not look at their files, etc.
9. Do not abuse of the know-how that you may have: knowledge does not give you the right to take advantage of others.
10. Forgive others for their mistakes: you should never judge someone for their failures. Help or make suggestions when you find a mistake
Feeling like you've already improved your Digital Entrepreneurship Skills? Take this test and check it out!
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
