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Social Media.

Use it to CONNECT.

Social Media is more than just Facebook or Twitter – it is how we share ideas and connect with others. Over 30 MILLION people actively use social media in South Africa, with this number jumping to an estimated 40.6 MILLION by 2026. It’s a powerful way to connect with your audience, build trust and ultimately, turn viewers into customers and advocates of your work.

Social Media is the shortest route to creating a direct connection between the public and your company. The strength of that connection defines your organization’s social standing. Social media is a diverse landscape; with each platform having their own:

  • Unique audience

  • Best practices

  • Content expectations

    Knowing which platform to use and how to leverage it is critical to staying relevant, and standing out from your competitors.

You are What You Share.

- C.W. Leadbeater

What is the Purpose of Social Media?

The name of the game when it comes to Social Media is “connection”. Social media has the power to directly connect your company to your audience. It also has the added benefit of allowing you to build your brand, incite discussion, and keep your company in the loop. When it comes down to it, social media is all about having a conversation. How you direct that conversation and keep it going will determine how effective your business will be online.

FAQ's

1 /Why is Social Media important?

Social Media is now the most prevalent form of marketing due to its low cost and endless reach. People are creating and sharing content online more than ever before. When used skillfully, as a platform to connect with an audience, Social Media can be a powerful tool for building trust and converting followers into customers. When mismanaged or ineloquently approached, Social Media can backfire in unexpected ways.

2 / What issues does Social Media resolve?

Your social media strategy is vital to sales, and if you don’t understand how to maximize its power to your advantage you will be left behind by those who do. Take a look at your social media with a critical eye and see how it measures up to these questions:

  • Do you have a social media presence?

  • Is your social media poorly maintained?

  • Are you present on the right platforms?

  • Is your social media organized and well-presented?

  • Is your social media optimized for SEO?

We at The Original Brander have a successful, experienced, and effective social media team that can help your business get noticed by the right people, in the right way, and the results can be very quick. Contact us and let us show you how.

3 / Can I concentrate on social media management and drop all my other marketing?

No. Social media management is not a panacea for all your marketing ills. You still need to include other media in your marketing - no one is all digital in their consumption. Traditional marketing may not be what it once was, but having:

  • Business cards

  • Stationary

  • A website

  • And other marketing channels

is still vital to the success of your business.

Studies show that people are exposed to around 3,000 advertisements a day. These come in many forms, why limit yourself to one? Good social media marketing provides you with a powerful competitive advantage - but maintaining that advantage also requires customer service, advertising, and brand awareness.

4 / If I have active social media can people be openly negative?

Yes, and this is not a bad thing. Negative feedback can often be more valuable than positive feedback, as it reveals areas of potential improvement. Consumers are always eager to see how a problem can be resolved and whether or not you are listening to their core needs and wants. Look at negative feedback as an opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive one. A professional social media manager is invaluable when there is negative feedback as they are immediately on top of the situation, dealing with it before it can spread too far. Speed is of the essence, but so is knowing what can be done about the issue. A social media manager should be well-versed in damage control and know how to deal with situations fairly and openly. Every instance of negative feedback is a chance to impress your chosen demographic and show your commitment to customer service.

5 / Do I need to be on all social networks?

Ideally, the answer is yes, the more platforms you have to connect with your audience the better. Pragmatically, however, the amount of resources you invest in certain social media platforms may not be worth the return. Each platform appeals to a certain demographic and demands a certain kind of content, so figuring out which platform is the best fit for your company is essential. For example, an intangible service like a law firm might choose to stick with Twitter and share relevant publications and articles about their industry, where a visual-heavy business like a clothing store might instead focus on image-based platforms like Instagram or Snapchat. You may not need to be on every platform, but you need to be on the ones that matter. We can help you figure out which ones those are.

6 / Is social media for B2C or B2B marketing?

Social media marketing can be for both B2C and B2B marketing, but it is most effective with B2C customers. The power of social media lies in the conversations you can have that wouldn’t happen otherwise. You have a direct line to your customers: to find out what their needs are, what they like about you, what doesn’t work, and ways to improve. The conversations you develop on social media build loyalty and credibility, and create relationships where they are willing to advertise on social media for you. Social media management is the art of getting your customers to recommend your product to their friends – and nothing is more powerful than personal advice from a friend.

This is an interesting question. Traditional marketing has always been about the product. You photograph it, you talk about it, make it look sexy, desirable, and so on. With the popularity of the Internet the focus is less on the product and more on the company. Who you are and how you operate is just as important to the average consumer as your product. They can search the Web and come up with 1,000 products just like yours, so they look at who they trust, and more importantly, who their friends trust. Social media has a huge reach into consumers’ everyday lives, so social media marketing has adapted to the challenge and used the strengths of the medium to target issues their customers care about. Issues like how green a product is used to be irrelevant, but is now highly scrutinized. It can make or break a sale, and more devastatingly, leave a scar on the company image for that consumer for a long time. Social media has a long reach, and because of that people are more educated than they used to be. The bottom line is that the product is important, but protecting the brand may be more important still.

7 / How do I measure results?

There are many ways to measure the results of your social media marketing. Each platform has metrics and insights that allow you to track the growth of your campaign. These applications are not always free, but they are available. There are also apps you can buy from outside companies to monitor what is happening and compare all the platforms which can provide valuable insight. Interpreting the data you receive can be overwhelming and not offer much direction, but in the right hands it provides critical strategic information for your business. Measuring the results of social media marketing is not hard, but putting those results to work is – very much so.

8 / I have someone dealing with my social media - why do I need you?

Maybe you don’t, but exactly who is doing your social media marketing? A talented professional? Or an intern hired because they were cheap? It’s important to understand that social media is one of the closest forms of contact you have with customers. An engaging social media presence instills brand loyalty and promotes customer retention. A poorly-run account makes you look unprofessional and destroys your credibility. Not investing properly in your social media marketing can have drastic effects on consumer perception of your company: it’s not something you want to gamble on.

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