Content Creation - Social Media 101
7 SOCIAL MEDIA WINS EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD FOLLOW

7 SOCIAL MEDIA WINS EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD FOLLOW

by | Jun 9, 2021 | Community Management, Content Creation, Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy

Over the years, businesses have enhanced their digital footprints tremendously. Social media is undoubtedly one of the best vehicles that brands can use to drive their business objectives and achieve their goals. With that being said, not all businesses achieve success through social media. Here are a couple of things that you can do to gain an edge over your competitors.

CONTENT THAT DRIVES BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

Social media is not fluffy, it is a strategic tool that can be used to drive tangible business value. These objectives could include (but not limited to): brand awareness, building a database, increase app downloads, registering for an upcoming event or driving traffic to your online store. Whatever your objective, it is important to create content that provides value to both the business as well as the customer.

UTILISING THE RICH PLATFORM DATA

The various social media platforms have gathered an incredible amount of user data, by utilising this data you are able to communicate directly to your ideal customer with little to no wastage. You are able to target your ideal customer based on demographics, interests or behavioural data. Thus, allowing your business to speak to the right person, at the right time, with the right message – at scale.

SUPPORT THE ENTIRE CUSTOMER LIFE CYCLE

 
Social media can support the entire customer life cycle all the way from brand awareness through to the actual sale and even after sales support. With the data contained within the various social media platforms you are also able to track and retarget users with customised content based on where they are in the sales cycle and to support them throughout their customer journey.

CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT DELIGHTS

Customer service online should not just be a box that needs ticking. It is important that when your customers reach out to you online with questions, queries or complaints you are able to respond quickly and effectively. There is nothing more frustrating than reaching out to a brand online only to be redirected to a dusty email inbox. It is important that your community managers are empowered to solve issues in real-time.

PEOPLE DON’T HATE ADS

People don’t hate ads; they hate irrelevant ads. Social media allows brands to connect and advertise directly to their ideal customer solving real problems, offering solutions and adding value. Make sure to customise your content and messaging based on your target audience.

CONTENT SCHEDULE

It is important to keep track of your digital marketing strategy. A good way to do this, is by preparing a monthly / weekly content schedule. Not only is this for time management, but this allows you to have a bird’s eye view of your key messaging, content and publishing dates.

LESS IS MORE

The saying ‘less is more” is oh so relevant on social media. The notion that businesses have to post every day is flawed. Content creation is expensive and takes a lot of time and resources, thus you have to ensure that you’re getting the most value out of the assets that you have created. Focus should be on quality over quantity. This is where utilising paid adverting can be useful in terms of extending the longevity of your posts.

If your business needs support with its overall digital strategy, paid media booking, content creation or community management schedule a free call with one of our digital specialists.
7 SOCIAL MEDIA SINS EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD AVOID

7 SOCIAL MEDIA SINS EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD AVOID

by | May 11, 2021 | Community Management, Content Creation, Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy

Social media has increasingly become a powerful tool that businesses in various industries have tapped into as means to drive their business objectives. With that said, some businesses are unaware of the social media sins that they are inadvertently committing that could be hindering their success. Here are Social Media 101’s 7 social media sins that every business should avoid.

WASTING TIME GROWING FOLLOWERS

Over the years, social media platforms have throttled the organic algorithm. This means that the organic reach is now limited to 1-5% of people who follow your page and have opted in to hear from you. The days of posting and expecting your entire audience to see your posts are in the past. Paid advertising is a must for every business on social media. It allows you to reach a wider audience than just the people following your page. The advantage that comes with paid advertising is the ability to target your ideal customer based on their demographics, interests and behaviours. This ultimately gives your business an edge over others that have not yet tapped into this social media function.

ONLY FOCUSING ON ENGAGEMENT

While engagement looks good on your business and personal page, does it drive business values? Engagement is a vanity metric that gives the business social clout however there are other metrics that you should be focusing on to measure true business value. Tracking metrics that drive business objectives should be the number one focus. Metrics such as ‘Traffic’ lead potential customers to the website, and more often than not turn into sales, while ‘Reach’ helps businesses get more eyeballs on their content. It is important to track the metrics that directly relates back to the business objective that you are looking to achieve with a post. Ask yourself the question “does this metric support my business objective.”

TRYING TO NOT LOOK LIKE A BRAND

Several businesses try to slide into social media timelines trying to not look like the brand to feel more relatable, but all that does is confuse the user. If you are a brand, brand like a brand and add value. The key here is to be a brand that posts content that adds value to both the business as well as the end user. As business you have access to a wealth of industry knowledge use this opportunity to inform, educate, inspire and convert the user.

NOT UTILIZING RICH DATA CONTAINED WITHIN SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Spraying and praying is one of the biggest sins businesses make on social media. If a butchery would not waste time trying to sell meat to vegetarians, there is no reason for you to speak to people who are not interested in your products. When it comes to social media, businesses should be razor focused about who they want to speak to through ‘Targeting’.

NO STRATEGY

Winging things may work in other things but certainly not on social media, especially when running a business. Social media has the ability to drive tangible business objectives, not #MondayMotivation & cat pictures, this is why it is crucial to have clearly defined business goals that can be supported through social media. Some common business goals that can be supported through social media includes website driving traffic to your online store, event registration, ticket sales and even customer service.

TRYING TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY

Trying to be everything to everybody is never a good idea as it leaves users feeling confused. In a world with limited resources it is vital that you use your time and money optimally to drive maximum bang for your marketing efforts. Having a clear picture in mind of your niche audience, you are better able to create content for them that speaks to their needs.

NOT RESPONDING TO CUSTOMER COMMENTS

Leaving customers high and dry is a recipe for disaster. If you wouldn’t turn your back on a customer if they walk into your shop, why do that online? What happens when you do not respond to customers? In the world of business word of mouth is everything! If customers can give good reviews about a wonderful experience they had with customer service, they will most likely give a bad review too should they feel ignored. After using their hard-earned cash on your business, people expect a response. Don’t lose your business credibility because you failed to respond to a customer.

If your business needs support with its overall digital strategy, paid media booking, content creation or community management schedule a free call with one of our digital specialists.
COMMON MISTAKES BRANDS MAKE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

COMMON MISTAKES BRANDS MAKE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

by | May 10, 2020 | Community Management, Content Creation, Data and Analytics, Digital Strategy

Running a successful social media campaign can be tricky. Below we have highlighted the most common mistakes that brands make on social media and how to avoid them.

INCONSISTENT POSTING

When it comes to social media marketing, consistency is key. Similar to traditional marketing efforts brands still need 6-8 touch points on social media in order to convert their prospective customers. It is therefore important to share regular updates that help build brand awareness and trust – so that when your customer is ready to buy, your product or brand is top of mind.

POOR QUALITY CONTENT

Social media is all about snap judgments and just like in real-life first impressions matter. Before a customer will buy from you, they will do some product research. Whether that is checking out your catalog, website, or social media pages. If you content is badly sized, not legible on mobile, pixelated, or blurry it will leave a negative impression. Business owners spend a lot of time making sure that their in-store experience is positive, but often forget that the same principles and attention to detail is required for their online presence.

ADDING NO VALUE

There is nothing more annoying than brands that take, take and take. When building an online brand it is important that business’s focus on a healthy value exchange. Content shared on social media should add value to both the customer and business. Successful brands keep their audience updated and engaged with valuable content.

OBSESSING OVER PAGE FOLLOWERS

Historically having a large audience allowed you to share regular updates with customers who have opted to follow and hear from your business. Unfortunately, as the platforms have evolved organic reach drastically decreased and social media now is a pay to play platform. Page followers have become a vanity metric. Having a large audience makes you look good, but contributes very little to your overall marketing success, because you are no longer able to speak to them.

NOT RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS, QUERIES AND COMPLAINTS

You would not turn your back on a customer in real-life, so why do it online? We are always shocked to see how many customer questions go unanswered. Customers are the life force of any business, without them there is no business. It is important that brands respond to customer questions, queries and complaints timeously.

If your business needs support with its overall digital strategy, paid media booking, content creation or community management schedule a free call with one of our digital specialists.