Social media is a fast-growing, fast-moving, competitive, and disruptive beast! Something that was not around 20 years ago is now a crucial part of both our personal and business lives. In our current digital age, if you’re not on social media, you are non-existent. If you are not active on social media and do not have a social strategy, your efforts are often misguided.
But enough of all the grim and negative stuff! You want to know what you should do, not what you shouldn’t. Social media is a powerful tool that can supercharge your business and grow your customer base to a size you never thought possible. When done properly, you can use social media in South Africa to create long-lasting relationships with your clients. The question is, how do you do this? How do you succeed on social media?
While working with an agency like BRBD Marketing is beneficial, it is possible to do it yourself. DIY social media can be a great way to connect with your brand and your customers. This is why we have put together a Free DIY Social Media Guide to help you dominate your market. Let’s get into it!
What Content Should You Post?
Content is king, no doubts there. So how is it that most people are doing marketing wrong? Well, most people are focusing on the old, traditional style of marketing that focused on selling rather than building relationships. TV ads, billboards, and flyers are all good forms of marketing depending on your business aims, but they use a completely different tone and style than what works on social media.
If you just sell on social media, you will, unfortunately, become one of those business channels with little to no following or engagement, because most people just aren’t interested in what you’re selling. Instead, you should focus on creating and sharing value with your customers. Take this guide for example; if you are reading this you may never become a client of ours. However, you will remember us because you’ll gain value from this guide. While this may seem unimportant now, in the future you may decide that you need a marketing agency, or a friend of yours may be looking for one, and then the penny will drop and you’ll remember this detailed free guide you read over on BRBD’s website! This is what we call value marketing, and it is vital to make use of this on social media.
What Types of Value Do You Get?
There are three main types of value you can provide to your customer through social media. Which one you use will depend on your strategy, your goals, and your target audience.
These three types of value are:
- Tips & Tricks – Tips & Tricks is interesting and informative content that viewers will gain value from. Examples would be including a way to chop an onion without crying, or how to remain within budget while running Facebook ads. These tips & tricks should be related to your industry, but not directly to your product.
- Entertainment – Memes, videos, photography, and more all entertain people and keep them glued to social media. Use this to keep people glued and engaged with your brand.
- Guides & How To’s – Guides and How-To’s such as this article are a great way to add value to your customer’s life. Whether you use carousels, long-form posts, or videos to educate and add value, customers will return to your brand if they gain value from it.
Should You Sell at All?
While providing value has been shown to sell over time, there are probably a number of you who would prefer to use social media to sell. Sharing promotions, specials, and products/services with your social media audience is fine within small amounts. We recommend limiting these posts to a maximum of two per week. More than that and you’ll likely scare people away!
Where Should You Post?
With so many social media platforms out in the world today, it can be overwhelming to decide which one to use. One mistake we often see people making is to aim for them all. While this may seem to make sense in terms of social leveraging, it will cause you to be repetitive and can lead to burnout. Managing and posting on multiple social media platforms, even with a social media manager, can be a mammoth task.
Instead, we recommend choosing four social media channels that fit your brand and expanding from there. This will allow you to work on your content and grow naturally and organically.
The most commonly used Social Media Platforms today:
- Facebook – The OG. Every Business should be on Facebook as it is the central hub.
- Instagram – Perfect for high-quality photo & video content. Also good for memes.
- TikTok – The new trendsetter. Short-form video is the key here.
- Twitter – Great for financial brands and B2B brands. Short and quirky is the game.
- YouTube – Long-form video works great here. You will need some good editing skills, though.
- LinkedIn – The best platform to build your personal brand, as well as your business’s network.
- Pinterest – Great for interior designers, real estate, and artsy stuff.
- Snapchat – Ideal place to reach your audience instantly.
Do your research and work out which platforms suit your content plan, your business, and the place where your target audience is most active. Don’t be swayed by the next big thing or the shiny new toy. Focus on data, and places where you can be consistent.
How to Keep Track and Manage Social Media
Whether you’re on four or ten social media platforms, you will struggle to do it alone. Manually posting everything every day will become the bane of your existence. Trust us! We have been there. So, what is the solution?
The solution is to use social media management software. These systems allow you to post across multiple channels, schedule posts, and monitor engagement all on one easy platform. While these platforms do cost money, they will save you time and money in the long run, because consistency is key in growing your social media.
Here’s a short list of Social Media Management Software that we have tried and tested:
A Few More Tips
We’re almost done with this very lengthy, free social media guide. But before we go, here are a few more tips for you:
- Be You – There is no point in trying to copy another brand. Be yourself, be unique, and create your own brand.
- Be Real – Your audience will pick up if you are being fake! Be real and authentic on social media. It’s the only way.
- Be Patient – Things take time to grow. Stay patient and remain consistent.
There you have it. A full social media guide, all in one place! This should give you all you need to get started on your DIY social media journey. However, if you are considering bringing in the specialists, book an appointment with us and let’s chat!