Social Media use in South Africa has been growing in leaps and bounds, add that to your advantage when marketing your business. Dimakatso Moloantoa shares how
Facebook heads up the growth with a 14% growth since 2016. A staggering 29% Mzansi uses Facebook- mainly on mobile devices. 8 Million South African’s use Twitter, 3.8 Million on Instagram and 6.1 Million use LinkedIn. These statistics point to the opportunities that Social Media presents in Marketing SMME’s. It has proven to be one of the most accessible and affordable platforms to use to grow your business.
Here are some ways to leverage Social Media to grow your business:
Afford Value to your audience: Although talking about product features and benefits on your business Social Media platforms may be a low hanging fruit, people on Social Media want to be educated and entertained in the process. Sharing best practice, tips and tricks and other creative ways to use your products and services serves as a way to ensure that more traffic is driven to your platforms and also improves retention.
Make engagement a priority: Create content that encourages your audience to interact with your brand and generate curiosity and interaction. This will also assist in giving you insight on what your audience needs are and what their feedback on your product or service is- which leads to improved product development.
Follow the 1:7 Rule: Aligned to creating content that adds value for your audience, this rule insists that one of seven posts should be completely focused on the product or service that you offer and the other six are focused on tips and tricks, motivation, entertainment, education, etc. that is still aligned with the sector that your business is in.
Create credibility for your business: The importance of creating credibility for SMME’s can never be overemphasized. Normally as the small player and new comer; an SMME will have to prove its abilities much more sternly than other businesses that have been around for longer. Social Media can be used by SMME’s to share their expertise, qualifications, and associations to create that credibility that they desire so much.
READ MORE: Digital Mistakes First Time Entrepreneurs Should Avoid
Even though Social Media has many advantages to grow your business, there are some key watch outs:
- Be aware of legal requirements before sharing content on your Social Media platforms.
- Negative reviews by unsatisfied customers or consumers may taint your brand.
- Focusing on Social Media ineffectively will lead to wasted time and money loss.
With that said; there are some incredible upsides to using Social Media:
- It is an easy way to reach your target audience.
- It is a low cost Marketing tool to use.
- Dissemination of information is real time and quick.
- It is one of the fastest ways to get feedback from your clients/ target audience.
There are many ways to use digital platforms to grow your business. The first step would be for you to experiment with a few elements at a time to find out what works for your business.
AMARI Marketing and Communications PTY (LTD) offers comprehensive and integrated marketing solutions that are tailored for SMME’s. You can visit them on the below platforms and contact them at marketing@amarimarketing.co.za.
Twitter: @AMARI_Marketing
Facebook: Amari Marketing
Instagram: @amarimarketing
LinkedIn: Amari Marketing
Image source: http://www.shaycochrane.com
