According to recent stats, 15 million people – in South Africa – use social media. This means that this arena is perfect for you to market your business. With the plethora of channels out there, you need to give some serious thought to how you put together your strategy for marketing on social media.

When putting together your strategy, you should be asking yourself a number of questions:

• Must I actively engage on all platforms?
• Should I select which I think will be the best to grow my business?

Just by using a few of the platforms that your ideal customer uses will give you the reach and the Return on Investment (ROI) that your business needs. Each has its own power and will offer great brand awareness possibilities.

The power of social media

The big deal about platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and the like, is that they are perfect for start-ups with limited budget and human resources. This is because no matter how much or little you spend on a campaign, you’ll be guaranteed a superior product.

All platforms considered, worldwide business strategist McKinsey emphasises that you must have bold, innovative plans when it comes to working with social media. As the authors state: “Yesterday’s tentative approaches won’t deliver. You need absolute clarity about digital demands, galvanized leadership, unparalleled agility and the resolve to be bold.”

A sure-fire winner!

Recent studies give a clear picture of the way social media platforms are evolving in South Africa:

• Facebook has 16 million users in SA.
• Cellphones and tablets are the preferred devices to access Facebook.
• Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds.
• LinkedIn has grown steadily to 6.1 million users.
• Instagram growth has slowed significantly.
• YouTube has seen a marginal rise at 68% growth.

Of the local businesses using social media:

• 86% of brands use Facebook for advertising. This figure decreases to 45% of brands who use Twitter for advertising.
• 35% of brands make use of LinkedIn in their advertising strategies.
• 45% of brands use Instagram’s solutions for advertising.

Research has shown that some 70% of business-to-consumer marketers have extended their business through Facebook. This platform outranks all other social media platforms with over 1.32 billion daily active users. If you combine Facebook advertising with a powerful website featuring great blogs, then you will have a sure-fire winner on your hands.

Don’t mismatch your input

Your social media platform arsenal needs to be equipped to handle your input. However, your input could be totally mismatched to the platform. Your input could also be not up to the standard that is required. This is where a social media marketing course of merit will put you in the correct place, quite firmly and squarely. The digital marketing strategy that you have been working so ardently at will guide you in what direction to follow.

The more forward-thinking companies and especially start-ups will realise:

• Choose the right social media platform(s) for your business.
• Choose them sooner rather than later.
• Be properly equipped by knowing each platform intimately.
• Even if your destination isn’t exactly quite clear, know you will reap rewards.
• This will build confidence all round.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

The Digital School of Marketing’s Social Media Marketing Course will provide all you’ll ever need to know about social media platforms. In addition, this digital marketing course will show students how social media can work for them. We are the only provider of digital marketing certifications which have been accredited by the MICT SETA. This means that when you sign up with us, you’re guaranteed to get a digital marketing education that you can be proud of. To find out more, follow this link.