Why You Need a Social Media Strategy

It’s a fact that, on a daily basis, more time is spent on the Internet year on year. Social media and the Internet is closely intertwined. This is why time on social media channels has also been increasing. Currently South Africans spend more than three hours per day (on average) on social media channels like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Not only can we see that these platforms yield a lot of attention but, unlike traditional forms of advertising, advertising on the Internet and social media channels is a lot more affordable. If you are still on the fence about whether you should create a social media marketing strategy for your brand, then hopefully the following can help convince you to get started.

Reasons why social media is the way to go

Most cost-effective way to build a brand

Have you ever wondered why Coca-Cola and Apple are such powerful brands? Yes, of course, it’s got to do with their products, however, there are a lot of delicious soft drinks on the market in addition to state-of-the-art computers in the world. Neither one of these products are necessarily superior in any way shape or form, but one thing they are better at than anybody else is building a reputable brand.

How many times have you seen an Apple or Coke logo in your life?

Thousands maybe?

Now, this is the one of the main reasons social media is such an attractive marketing channel. It allows you to not only show but also articulate your brand’s products and services to the world at a very low cost. (This is provided that you have a well-articulated social media strategy.) And like most brands, if you do this consistently, there is no doubt that you can also start building a brand people will remember.

Improved Audience Targeting

How would you go about marketing your awesome delicious cappuccinos and your buy-two-get-one free deal if you’re a local coffee shop these days? Maybe you would print a couple of flyers and leave it on the counter of a few businesses in the area? Maybe you will have people hand it out on the street?

Well, imagine if you could sit in front of your computer and take that R1500 you would have spent on flyers and use it to target people that actually love coffee up to 2 kilometres up the road from your shop? Such a digital marketing strategy will allow you to be more strategic as you can allow your ads to run during specific times of the day, not to mention that you are showing it to people who actually love coffee and not every Dick and Harry.

This is what makes Facebook and Instagram so powerful. These social media channels allow you to improve your targeting when it comes to showing your offer to the right people at the right time. And it’s not just for local mom and pop stores, this goes for everyone.

Measure the success of your efforts

When it comes to traditional marketing, it’s always difficult to pinpoint what really leads to the success of a specific campaign. Was it the flyers, billboards, or magazine ads? Who knows, right? And who cares as along as it worked.

Well, with digital marketing, one can both measure the success, return on ad spend on a specific campaign, and have a look at quantitative and qualitative data in order to improve your next digital marketing strategy.

If your business sells products and services directly to the public, then we highly recommend that you start looking into creating your first social media marketing campaign. Social media has helped numerous companies increase their brand’s message, visibility and reputation. On top of that it can also help improve your targeting while allowing you to measure the results of your campaigns.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Why not take your knowledge of social media to the next level with a digital marketing course? The Digital School of Marketing’s Social Media Certificate is accredited by the Media Information and Communication Technology SETA and is a pinnacle digital marketing certificate in the country. The Social Media Marketing Certificate will enable you to grow your brand strategically on any social channel, increase customer engagement and correctly target those who matter most. Interested? Sign up here.