How to Create a Slaying Social Media Strategy
Social media has become the next big thing. One can’t deny the relevance of social media marketing in driving website traffic, creating brand awareness and generating leads. Statistics show around 90 percent of adults aged 18-29 are on social media. Most people mention social media as their preferred source of communication with businesses. After reading this, you may consider creating a social media strategy and want to start straight away. However, there are a few things to consider before creating a social media strategy. These pointers ensure you don’t mess up your campaign. Define Goals and Objectives The first thing you want to do before coming up with a social media strategy is to have a clearly defined set of goals. You need to ask yourself, ‘what do you want to achieve out of your efforts?’. Social media marketing isn’t about flipping a switch and calling it a day. So to start, it is important to set SMART goals. These are goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Your goals will not only determine how much effort you put but also what type of resources you will need to invest in to get certain results. Some social media goals you can consider include: Increase brand awareness Higher quality of sales Improve ROI (return on investment) Create a loyal fan base Target Audience Where are your customers likely to be found? Approximately 70 percent of adults use Facebook but that doesn’t mean your customers are actively engaging with your brand there. When you target your audience, you get to understand things like who buys your products, their age groups, and income level. It’s important you understand demographics such as age, location, job title, and income level. What are their pain points? Their challenges and needs? All these are necessary as they inform the type of content to use. But more so, you also need to determine what social media channel will be most effective towards achieving your goals. You can learn more about this through researching essential demographic data for each social media platform. This will help you determine what tactics to employ. Track, Measure and Improve Remember those goals you set out to achieve? You will need to find a way of measuring your work to ensure that you are meeting your goals. Metrics are important in social media marketing as they help you understand how your business is doing out in the public. To select metrics, you ask yourself, ‘what social media metrics are associated with my overall goals?’ Vanity metrics such as likes and followers will not be enough to tell the full story of how well your brand is doing on social media. There are 4 main ways you can measure metrics – reach, engagement, clicks and hashtag performance. Finally, it is important to often and always check up on how your social media strategy is doing. Change is constant. Platforms such as Facebook change their algorithms all the time. Therefore, there is a need for you to continuously track and measure your online activities to see which areas need improvement. Investigate your competitors This is an important step to an effective social media strategy. It’s important you investigate your competitors to see what they’re doing. In doing this, you learn from their failures and successes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to copy exactly what they’re doing. No! Researching your competitors lets you know what’s working for them so you can adjust and incorporate it into yours. Before creating content, it’s good you investigate what others are doing. You often find new ways to look at the content by analyzing what’s making your competitors successful. Create engaging content No one maintains interest in content that is not engaging. Therefore, it is very important to always try and create content that is engaging, but that it also aligned with your brand’s identity. So you need to ask questions such as what type of content should be posted? What about time and frequency? In doing all these things, you will be able to have a successful social media strategy.
Facebook Live with Kike-Lola: Becoming your own boss (Jun 5)
The moment you realize you dread going to work three out of five days a week or you develop a passion for something bigger than your salary, you know you’re on the highway to becoming a boss. Following your passion and becoming an entrepreneur can be a significant lifestyle change especially when you’re scared of getting cash trapped. Alright, you’re giving us the side-eye and asking – “How do I pursue my passion when the bills are piling up”? No need to worry, the real boss herself has answers for you. Sign up for a Facebook Live session with business coach and founder of My Boss Is Me – Kike-Lola Odusanya. On Monday, 5th June she will be talking to us about ways to becoming your own boss. Kike-Lola is on a mission to help women around the world see their deepest desires and dreams come to fruition through what she calls “the gift of entrepreneurship.” Sign up below to get Kike-Lola’s 7 Steps To Quitting Your Job Like a Boss for FREE. Register below to have access to this opportunity. Some of the topics we’ll cover Why you should be your own boss Things to do and think about before quitting your Job 7 steps to quitting your job like a boss Maximizing financial security and money issues Facebook Live Details: Date: Monday June 5th 2017 Time: 12pm Toronto // 5pm Lagos // 6pm Joburg Place: facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/ Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/videos/1892996607590317/ Get the guide [ninja_forms id=131] About Kike-Lola Kike-Lola is the founder of My Boss Is Me, a virtual and personal development firm. She is a “serial entrepreneur”, author, speaker and a network marketing industry professional best known for a straight-shooting and result-driven approach to business and life. Born and raised in Toronto, Kike-Lola believes entrepreneurial experience encompasses life skills that all women should develop as a way to reach their fullest potential. That’s why she refers to the entrepreneurial experience as the ultimate life skill. She realizes business ownership is not for everyone, but Odusanya believes all women can benefit by exploring the mindset, talents, and knowledge of successful entrepreneurs and take control of their lives, proudly declaring, “My Boss Is Me.”
Boost your business with Morin Oluwole: How to market your business on Instagram (May 23)
Now that Instagram has over 300 million daily active users, true Motherland Moguls are leveraging on this huge market to boost their businesses. Social media is the new marketplace for anything, and Instagram is taking the lead, become the most popular platform. So why are you not selling on Instagram? As part of our Boost Your Business digital marketing training series, we are bringing you a Facebook Live session on Tuesday May 23rd with Morin Oluwole. Morin will be showing us how luxury brands sell their products on Facebook and Instagram and how you can do the same for your products. Morin is now Head of luxury at Facebook, and was formerly Chief of Staff to the VP, Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook where she developed business strategies for global brand partners. Register below to get the exclusive link to join this session Some of the topics we’ll cover How you can leverage Facebook and Instagram to get clients Key digital marketing lessons learned while working with global luxury brands Best practices of selling fashion on Instagram and Facebook Social and digital strategies to market online Facebook Live Details: Date: Tuesday May 23rd 2017 Time: 3pm Lagos// 4pm Paris// 5pm Nairobi Where: facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/ Watch video here: https://www.facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/videos/1887518318138146/ About Morin Morin Oluwole is an expert in positioning brands on social media. With more than 10 years of experience at Facebook, she knows what works and how to best maximize it. Morin holds a BA and MA from Stanford University in Human Biology and Sociology and an MA in Management from Columbia University. She was a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar and received the Dean’s award for academic excellence – both for 5 consecutive years. Morin who has lived on three continents and currently resides in Paris, has been featured in the New York Times, Black Enterprise, Movelifestyle.com, and Alder Social Media Report. She speaks four languages (English, Yoruba, Spanish, and French).
Growing and marketing your brand via social media – The tale of 5 #MotherlandMoguls
[bctt tweet=”When used right, digital media can be harnessed to make a direct impact in the society” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] It is not often that one catches five aspiring women in the same spot. Well, maybe it’s often, but what are the chances of finding them engaged in a fashion project to raise awareness and funds for charity? These five #MotherlandMoguls are part of the ongoing Romperade Campaign, an online fashion charity event to raise funds for Living for the Needy Foundation. SLA contributor Emma Kwenu Smith caught up with the five who have successfully grown their brands online, to ask them quick questions about the impact of social media marketing on their businesses. What’s the role of social media in charity organizations and specifically for your brand? How has social media given you exposure as a brand/charity foundation? Caritas Aryee, Founder, Tatas and Friends Foundation. You would notice that, largely, Ghanaian charity foundations have always run on traditional media. It’s easier to hear a radio ad calling for donations for the Osu Children’s home etc. rather than a social media campaign for funds. This is the exact reason why Tatas and Friends Foundation has been a game changer in the industry. We started with social media and still the story has not changed. It has been a huge boost for us, and we encourage others to do same. First off, our publicity is done via social media. It is easy to get Kenkey for the Needy, (which is our major fundraising project) trending on platforms such as twitter and IG. Since we are a charity organization, we are unable to invest in traditional media for publicity. However, through social media, we receive access to grant interviews on TV and radio. In doing so, we have been profiled alongside other solid brands on platforms such as Starr Woman Project, TedX campus, Reach for Change and many others. And to think this publicity is free! We just had to capitalize. The second bit of using social media is that we are able to reach out to people both locally and internationally to raise money. People we do not even know, reach out to us so that they can donate to the cause. It is amazing! Social media is a powerful tool, it has shaped the Living for the Needy brand and has given us a lot of exposure. How do influencers promote a brand and how rewarding is it to include them when building your brand online? Jessica Naa Adjeley Konney, Fashion Blogger, Trends&Blendsgh. Influencers have become the new voices of brands —they are already largely recognized on social media for carving a niche. At this point, they have grown an audience that is interested in every content they churn out which is great for people who would like to patronize their services. [bctt tweet=”If you’d like to speed up the process of advertising a new brand, influencers are the way to go” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Being an influencer myself and having featured influencers as well, I can say that the exposure they give to a brand is immense. Featuring an influencer takes many forms —you can have them use and review your products and put up posts on social media. They can also be included in events and can feature in huge campaigns so that it gains traction. How do you know which digital audience to engage with for your brand and how do you decide which social media platform to use? Constance Efua Mensah, Creative Director, EfuaStanzz Fashion. It starts with knowing the general audience target for my brand. We are more skewed towards women’s clothing but basically, all our marketing is geared towards the confident woman. In that light, it is important that we build an identity that resonates with our targeted audience. [bctt tweet=”Choosing one social media platform starts with knowing & understanding your audience” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Images are essential for my fashion brand —it helps clients (both potential and existing) know what my brand is capable of providing. After all, to be comfortable enough to purchase a dress, you need to see it and assess it from all angles. As such, I mostly use Instagram and Facebook as a means of communicating to my audience. Facebook has a wider reach, meaning more people see our posts and it also allows for effective picture/video sharing. Instagram also has a beautiful and simple approach to marketing. Content, particularly on Instagram, is simply more shareable, easier to understand, and far more universal than other types of content. Also, it is full of people eager to connect with a brand on a more intimate and tangible level. Does social media directly affect your client base? Lamisi, MakeUp Artist, Lamisi Artistry. Truth is, I do get over 80% of my clients via social media. The rest is through word of mouth. [bctt tweet=”MUAs need social media, people need to see your work before trusting you with their faces” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I leverage heavily on Instagram particularly so that people see the images —it is an excellent platform for sharing all my works. However, the industry is very competitive, as such, it is important to make sure that your images are of good quality. Else, how will you stand out and win potential clients over? For brands like Coca Cola, Vodafone etc. there may not be a very direct correlation between the sales you make and your social media investment. However, for us in the beauty industry, it’s very plain. [bctt tweet=”Social media dictates our potential client base and ultimately, it is where we get our clients” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The more posts on your social media pages, the better? Why? Maud Mensah, CEO, WigClub That statement is indisputable. The more you post and engage your audience, the more visible you are. However, you do not want to share too much information that it suffocates them and drives them away, and you also don’t want to share so little that they become disinterested. It is important to find the right balance for your brand. As
Diarra Bousso: It’s hard to be taken seriously in the beginning
Diarra Bousso is making significant waves in the global fashion industry with her bespoke luxury brand Dakar Boutique Group. The brand houses DIARRABLU and Diarra Bousso target swanky and contemporary consumers. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Huffington Post among others., and was showcased at New York Fashion Week. Diarra has gained recognition and acclaim from the global business community. She was a panelist at Harvard’s Africa Business Conference last year where she discussed the evolution of Africa’s consumer growth story. We caught up with her to talk about her journey. Tell us a bit about yourself I was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal and moved to Norway at 16 to finish high school. Upon graduation, I moved to the States where I attended Macalester in Minnesota for a B.A. in Maths, Economics, and Statistics., before moving to New York and starting a career on Wall Street. Two years later, I resigned and returned to Senegal to found Dakar Boutique Group, a luxury holding company that celebrates ‘Made in Africa’ through my various brands: Diarra Bousso and DIARRABLU. The Dakar Boutique Group – what does it do and why did you decide to start it? I always knew I was going to end up in fashion and for me. And it only made sense to do it in Africa, because I wanted to also focus on development and rebranding the continent. Dakar Boutique Group is a luxury holding company and basically owns other companies such as Diarra Bousso and DIARRABLU. Each subsidiary has a particular focus but they all share the ‘Made in Africa’ signature. Diarra Bousso focuses on premium leather goods whereas DIARRABLU focuses on womenswear in geometric cut. Coming up with an idea is the first step. What did you do next? My next step was to raise awareness. We launched at a big party on a private island and followed it up with a traveling fashion show in June 2013 titled African Voyage. This allowed us to get a lot of attention, both in Senegal and abroad. It also marked our first appearance in the media. Talk us through the first 6 months of starting up DB. What were your priorities and how did you determine them? My main priority was visibility. I was focused on the African Voyage event production and PR and put all our energy on it. I have no background in fashion but I definitely knew that I needed to set a high standard for the brand’s image. For me, the best way to achieve that was through a high profile original event. What were the key challenges you faced when you first started? How have they evolved over time? I think it’s always hard to be taken seriously in the beginning, especially when you are not trained in the industry. I was always confident about my vision and so I didn’t let anything discourage me. I focused a lot on communicating aggressively on social media and sharing the essence of my brands in a very transparent manner. I believe this makes you more credible and engages your audience. You’re a fashion designer but you also run a fashion business. How do these roles interact? Is there ever a conflict? The two roles compliment each other very well actually. My background is in finance so business comes naturally. That said, I spent all my free time growing up daydreaming, drawing, painting and designing. This job now allows me to align what I learned in school and what I am naturally good at, which creates the perfect balance. In the fashion business, making beautiful clothes is one thing, getting them to your customer is another. Tell us about your distribution strategy We are available online on the main website, www.dakarboutique.com, where customers all over the world can shop at their convenience. We are currently working on a few in store placements, especially in New York, and will be announcing that very soon. Our strategy focuses on distributing to areas we have customers. You created two lines DIARRABLU and DB . What was the business rationale of creating two separate labels? I wanted to reach two different demographics: DIARRABLU is a very trendy womenswear brand priced under $500. The brand focuses on daydreams which is something accessible to everyone and suits the bold, fun and modern shopper in major cities such as New York, Lagos, Paris, Rio etc. It is therefore only natural for us to aim for distribution in such places. Diarra Bousso is more exclusive and focuses solely on leather accessories. Everything is limited edition, so the customer has to find us, create a relationship, live the experience and then get their bags made to order. It’s a completely different business model as well as a different customer. How have you funded your business growth and what was the fundraising process like for you? Any specific tips and tricks for startups out there? We have been self-funded so far which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. I think it is important for startups to first try on their own and show what they can deliver before approaching investors. It’s a good test of the viability of your business and definitely makes you more credible when it’s time to raise capital. Can you talk to us about some of the specific marketing strategies that you have used? We have a very strong marketing team that’s very focused on the digital space. Our customer is modern and online, thus it is important to focus on high quality images alongside strong social media fluency and transparency. Lifestyle marketing has also played an important role, and we achieve this with the African Voyage concept which we share on social media through photographs and videos. You’ve managed to get over 12,000 followers on Instagram. What role does social media play in your overall strategy? How have you grown your following? We have grown our following in a very organic manner. I think our audience likes to
How I got 10,000 real and engaged followers on Instagram
With a reported 300 million users and 70 million photos shared each day, Instagram has become a key marketing and social engagement tool for businesses. It is also a great platform for testing out new business ideas. To leverage Instagram as a marketing tool, some marketers have resorted to buying followers and using automated liking or commenting programs to increase their reach. Buying followers might make your page and product look popular. However, you will have no real insight as to who is actually interested in your brand or who will buy your products or services. What’s more, you risk getting banned by Instagram for violating its Terms of Service. In this quick guide, I’ll show you how to gain real followers by walking you through the steps I used to grow my Instagram page @MakeupforMelaninGirls to 17,000+ in just two months. Here are some tips for engaging your target audience: 1. Upload Quality Photos Instagram is a photo-sharing app after all, and people want to be inspired by the photos you share. Think of a colour scheme and/or theme for your photos. White is a popular background colour and for good reason. It helps keep focus on your image and is less distracting. If your products are in fashion or beauty, consider showcasing your products with the flat-lay style. Flat lay photo on Instagram by Beauty Blogger @thatigbochick 2. Use Web Apps that make managing your account a breeze Since Instagram is primarily an app for mobile phones, it can be tricky managing all your tasks on a small screen. Crowdfire is a social media management desktop & mobile app that grows your Instagram following by letting you copy followers of accounts in a similar niche as you. You can also see who follows or unfollows you. You can perform following and unfollowing tasks very quickly via desktop without violating Instagram’s terms of service. Crowdfire is free to use for one account but costs $9.99 per month for more than account. Another great web app is Iconosquare, which allows you manage your Instagram page on the web (comment, like photos, view feed etc). And though its popular optimization feature (shows you the best time to interact with your followers) is now a paid feature, you can see several other statistics about your page, including most commented posts. Crowdfire Homepage 3. Use hashtags relevant to your target audience Most people are already aware that using hashtags attracts more likes and interest. However, using popular hashtags that are searched by your target audience is the difference between getting engaged followers and just getting likes. For example, if your brand focuses on African fashion, use Websta (an Instagram Web Viewer) to look up related tags in order of popularity. Secondly, create a list of 30 hashtags and save it to any Notes app you use. Looking up #Africanfashion not only helped me find other popular hashtags within that niche, but it also helped me find similar accounts. Using the Crowdfire app in step 2, can also be used to follow people on those similar accounts you just found. There is no guarantee that these people will follow you back, but if you are uploading quality and interesting photos relevant to your target audience, you increase your chances of them liking in your page. When we looked up #Africanfashion, 260,000 posts is the highest number of uploads related to this niche. #Fashion also has a lot of visibility of Instagram, so adding it to your list of hashtags is a good strategy. The audience in your niche are those most likely to engage with your page. Create your list of hashtags by combining very popular hashtags with those most related to your niche. To create a list of hashtags for our #AfricanFashion example, Instagram has a limit of 30 hashtags so we can divide it into 15 popular #Africanfashion and 15 popular #fashion hashtags. 4. Post at the Right Times and Days Putting some thought into the days of the week and times of the week will also help your follower base and visibility. Iconosquare’s popular Optimization feature displays a graph of the best times for you to post is now a paid feature, but don’t despair. I’ve got you covered. Lunch time and 5 pm when people are getting off work are examples of optimal times to post. Keep in mind that these work better if your audience is in the same timezone as you. A view of the Iconosquare Optimization section 5. Engage with your audience Completing the steps above, should build a group of connected followers. Do not forget to have fun with your followers by liking and commenting on their photos, sending them messages if necessary, and answering their questions. Instagram is a social media page, so connect with your followers! They want to know that there are real people behind the brand and that you care about the same things they care about. Many people log onto Instagram to take a break or pass the time so make sure browsing your page is an enjoyable experience. Finally, below are some extra tips below did not make the cut because they cost money. However, if you have the money, they are great tools to use to grow your follower base. Host an Instagram contest or Promotion Negotiate with an Instagram Influencer or personality for a promotional shout out of your product. (Caveat: Some Influencers are known to receive products but do not promote it. Research influencers before finalizing any payments.) Pay a Popular shoutout page in your niche to promote your page (This could be risky as some of this pages buy followers. Browse their page to see if they have users that comment and engage with the page). Find a friend or hire someone with an aesthetic eye that will showcase your page in the best light
Don’t vex: 10 must do’s for using social media for business
There is so much hype on using social media for business. Yet, many brands are not using it at all or many of those who are, are not getting it right. We’ve complied the basic must dos for all of us to revisit once more. Thousands of businesses have taken to platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus to build a brand that’s accessible, lovable, and profitable. Instagram has proved to be an especially viable means of building a customer base for fashion brands. Think Orange Culture, Eve and Tribe, Shop Zuvaa, Iconola, Tzar Studios, and so on. Social media gives you access to an enormous audience that could be converted to loyal customers if you play your cards right. Below are 10 steps that will help you dominate social media and harness its potential. 1. Know your why Explore why your business is on social media and why you are on each specific platform. While social media allows you to build a relationship your audience, the nature of the relationship you have with your consumers is completely up to you. Are you on social media to share relevant information to your industry, showcase your business products, establish yourself/business as an expert or some mix of them all? Whatever it is, knowing your ‘why’ is an imperative first step. 2. Decide the best platforms for your business Use your why to inform the social media platforms you choose for your business. There are over 400 social media platforms currently active and it is impossible to be them all. What platforms do you think would be more beneficial for your business? Let’s dive into the benefits of a few: Instagram and Pinterest allow you to connect with audience on a visual and emotional level. Google Plus helps with search engine rankings. LinkedIn is great for publicizing your company profile page or business resume. Ryze is a social network for businesses, may especially helpful for business to business (B2B) companies. Twitter, Facebook, Talkbizniw, Affluence, and Quora; the list is exhaustive. Take time to study the benefits of each of these platforms then pick at most 3 of the those platforms for your business. 3. Develop a strategy Wondering why 100 fashion bloggers are talking about the same shirt from a particular fashion brand at the same time? Well, it’s no coincidence. Welcome to the world of strategy – the ultimate key that unlocks opportunities for businesses. To start, your key strategies must align with your company’s mission. While all of the elements listed below are part and parcel of doing the strategic work, it is important to understand that setting time aside to write our your overall social media strategy is a vital actionable step that stands alone. Having a good social media strategy is essential for growth. Your strategy should include all of the elements listed below as well as data and feedback metrics. With a clear metrics for examining progress and growth, this work will be for naught. 4. Get the timing right Preparation + opportunity = success. Opportunity is a function of time, and posting the right content at the right time makes a difference. On Facebook, post from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m any day for the highest average click through rate; 3 p.m. on Wednesdays is the peak time. For Twitter, post from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. from Monday to Thursday. The peak times for LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Plus are 5 p.m. daily, 3 p.m. on Fridays, and 9 a.m. on Wednesdays respectively. 5. Be human Think of developing a well rounded person as you develop your brand on social media. You must clearly articulate your mission and choose consistent brand colors, style, and tone for all of your social media accounts. Remember to show empathy in your branding, after all, there is a person on the end of the screen. 6. Know what your audience wants and give it to them As you begin to build your followers and audience, take the time to listen to them. Study the kind of posts they react to; which posts get the most comments? Which ones get the most likes? Which of your social media pages does your audience constantly engage on? Are they creating content and visuals related to your product that you can repost. Social listening and data collection is crucial: once you provide your audience with what they want, they’ll stick around and tell others about you. 7. Use hashtags As distracting as they appear to you, hashtags go a long way on social media. People are constantly searching for things, and correctly hashtag-ing your posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, will put you on the radar and increase your visibility on search engines. Use hashtags reasonably and strategically, and soon enough you’ll see the benefits. 8. Offer promotions, contests and discounts Everyone likes freebies in every shape and form. Giveaways, special offers, and discounts will get people to notice your brand. Be clear on how every giveaway you host improves your business, helps you grow, or increases audience interaction and participation. In order to create a win-win situation, everything you do must also be beneficial to your brand. 9. Link back to your website Many people forget this step: don’t forget that social media is there to help improve your business and as such, people must know where to find you off social media. Connect everything to your website so that your followers can actually make the purchase after you’ve done the work of building the relationship and converting them to loyal fans. Don’t just add your website link to your social media profiles; share that link with your audience intermittently as reminder. 10. Stick to the plan Finally, it is so easy to fall off on social media as a tool to grow your business if you are not consistent with steps 1-9. But there only way to win in the long run is to be consistent. As famous