The Power of Early Adoption

In the past, joining a new social media platform early on presented an opportunity to get ahead of the competition. Early adopters could swiftly become influential figures in their fields, amassing a substantial following. Just look at the success of TikTok influencers as proof.

Threads operates differently from other platforms. It is linked to Instagram, meaning you can only create a Threads account if you have an Instagram account. This association ensures that Threads can tap into Instagram’s vast user base, which already exceeds 2.5 billion. On its first day, Threads attracted 30 million sign-ups.

Also read: Maximizing Your Ad Efforts on Instagram: The 6 Key Factors for Success

The Challenge of Standing Out

Amidst a content base that can grow by tens of millions in a day, standing out on Threads is a significant challenge. Outpacing prominent Instagram accounts like Mr Beast or Wendy’s to secure a spot in the top 10 is highly unlikely. Threads’ rapid growth suggests that being an early adopter does not guarantee success, especially with its close ties to an existing mega-database like Instagram.

The Audience on Threads

The current active audience on Threads primarily comprises individuals seeking fame rather than engaging with brands. This poses a challenge for businesses aiming to place their content in front of an audience with a genuine intent to purchase. The attention-seeking wannabe-influencers may overshadow your message, prioritizing “viewsss” over meaningful interaction.

Opportunities for Businesses: Despite the challenges, there is a potential opportunity on Threads. If you can tap into their desire for attention and assist them in achieving it, you may find success on the platform.

The Power of Commentary

When it comes to text-based social media platforms like Threads and Twitter, commentary takes precedence over content. If your content strategy revolves around sharing valuable opinions, you are likely to find an audience on Threads. Passive users on these platforms seek information, conversation starters, and participation in discussions (threads) about topics of interest.

Consider the opportunities and challenges outlined here before deciding whether to join Threads for your business. It’s important to understand the platform’s unique dynamics and adapt your strategies accordingly.

If you do decide to join Threads, why not follow us on @mediaholic_marketing?

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Hashtags are a powerful tool in social media marketing. They allow users to easily discover and engage with content that is relevant to their interests. By using hashtags based on the days of the week, you can tap into popular themes and topics that are relevant to your audience. Doing this, you can create content that is both engaging and shareable.

Also Read: Facebook Pages: The first Steps

Here are some of the most popular hashtags based on the days of the week, along with content ideas that can help you leverage these hashtags for your social media marketing campaigns:

1. #MotivationMonday – Share inspiring quotes or stories that will help your followers start their week on a positive note. You can also share motivational images, videos, or infographics that provide practical tips or advice on achieving personal or professional goals.
2. #TransformationTuesday – Share before-and-after photos or success stories that showcase the transformational power of your products or services. You can also use this hashtag to highlight your own personal or professional transformations, and inspire your followers to do the same.
3. #WisdomWednesday – Share interesting facts or insights that relate to your industry or niche. You can also share articles or blog posts that provide thought-provoking perspectives or opinions on current events or trends.
4. #ThrowbackThursday – Share nostalgic photos or memories that will resonate with your followers. You can also use this hashtag to showcase the history or evolution of your brand or industry, and highlight the progress or achievements that have been made over time.
5. #FridayFeeling – Share fun or lighthearted content that will help your followers unwind and prepare for the weekend. You can also use this hashtag to promote special offers or promotions that are exclusive to your social media followers.
6. #SaturdayStyle – Share fashion or beauty tips that are relevant to your audience. You can also use this hashtag to showcase your own personal style or fashion sense, and encourage your followers to do the same.
7. #SundayFunday – Share fun or adventurous activities that your followers can enjoy on their day off. You can also use this hashtag to promote local events or attractions that are relevant to your audience.

By leveraging these popular hashtags based on the days of the week, you can create content that is both timely and relevant, and engage with your audience in a meaningful way. So, the next time you’re struggling to come up with content ideas for your social media marketing campaigns, consider using these hashtags as a starting point, and see how they can help you connect with your audience and grow your business.

The post Daily Hashtags for Social Media Success appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

Objective

Before you run any ad (or business venture) you need to define the objective. Ask yourself, “what action do I want my customer to take?” You can choose between the following;

Also Read: 5 Things You Need for an eCommerce Website

Targeting

One of the most important things to consider when running an ad on Instagram is your target audience. The platform offers a variety of targeting options, including location, demographics, interests, and behaviors. It’s essential to select the right target audience to ensure that your ad is seen by people who are more likely to be interested in your product or service. Make sure to take the time to research and understand your target audience before setting up your ad.

Ad format

Instagram offers several ad formats, including photo, video, carousel, and stories. Each format has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it’s important to choose the right format for your ad based on your objectives. For example, video ads tend to have a higher engagement rate compared to photo ads, but they also require more time and resources to create. Make sure to choose the ad format that best suits your goals and budget.

Creative

The creative aspect of your ad is crucial in determining its success. Your ad should be visually appealing, easy to understand, and align with your brand’s overall look and feel. Make sure to include a clear call to action and a compelling message that motivates users to take action. Also, consider the aspect ratio, resolution, and image size of your ad to ensure that it looks great on different devices and screen sizes.

Timing

Timing is key when it comes to running an ad on Instagram. Make sure to choose the right period to run your ad based on your target audience’s behavior. You don’t want to run your ad too late for the customer to take action, or too early when they will lose impulse. You won’t need to specify time of day as the algorithm will work out when is best to serve the ad to your audience. You might need to consider a schedule if your objective is to get messages.

Budget

The budget you set for your ad will determine how many people see your ad, how many times it’s shown, and for how long. Make sure to set a realistic budget for your ad based on your objectives and budget. Consider the cost per click, cost per impression, and cost per action when determining your budget. Also, monitor your ad’s performance regularly to see if you need to adjust your budget to achieve your desired results.

In conclusion, running an ad on Instagram can be a great way to reach a large, engaged audience. However, it’s essential to pay attention to the right things to ensure that your ad is seen by the right people, at the right time, and with the right message. Make sure to target your audience effectively, choose the right ad format, create visually appealing and compelling creative, consider timing, and set a realistic budget. By following these guidelines, you’ll be on your way to running successful ads on Instagram.

If you would like to have someone else run the ad for you, click here to see what we can offer.

The post Maximizing Your Ad Efforts on Instagram: The 6 Key Factors for Success appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

It may seem silly; after all, isn’t all growth good?

Not necessarily.

You can have a strategy that costs more money than it brings in. You need to know if your marketing spend is bringing a return on the investment otherwise it’s wasting money.

A great example of this is an abandoned cart email on an e-commerce store. These will likely increase the conversion rate by an extra 2-5%.

However, if your site traffic and Add-to-cart ratio is low, at what point do you determine if it is worth spending on a system like this or not?

Let’s look at an example.

Your site gets 3000 visitors a month and converts 1% with an average basket spend of R350
This means that your sales will be R10,500 per month. (3000 x 1% x 350)

A good email automation system like mailchimp can cost around R200 upwards, depending on your audience size. If you increase your sales by 10% your conversion rate becomes 1.1% for a sales figure of R11,550.

That is a net return of around 550% on the spend. Sounds pretty good.

But what if there is a way you could take that same money and instead of increasing sales by R1,050, we increase it by R3,500?

As we are today, a click on Facebook to your site can be as low as 20c per click. For R200 you could realistically target 1,000 more visitors to your site. If you close 1% of those at your average basket spend that amounts to an extra R3,500 in your bank. That’s a return of over 1700%, triple that of the email reminder.

You should always look at how you can get the greatest return for your marketing spend. This concept is called ‘opportunity cost.’ It focuses on maximising return by seeing where best you could spend your money.

Find that avenue and focus on it until you reach the crest of that wave. Then ride the wave and find the next avenue for improvement.

The e-commerce formula for success is simple;

Site visitors x conversion rate x average basket spend = sales

If you can increase all of them, you get exponential growth.

Prioritising site visits allows you a greater opportunity to test how to improve conversion and basket size. Often conversion rate and basket size can be improved for free by testing variations on your copy, product photos and

Get your bottom line and cash flow working. Then try the fancy stuff.

The post Stop chasing small growth when you need big growth appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

The goal of all marketing activities should be sales. Selling your product or service is the only way to get an in-flow of cash. The goal of your digital marketing road map should always be the sale. Sales can be done in your store or on your website. Ultimately the goal is not just to have the customer visiting you, but to have the customer handing over money in exchange for a product or service.

Digital marketing can be broken down into the following categories;

Website

You should always treat your website the same way you would treat a physical store. It is not a “set-and-forget” business tool and needs consistent attention to get it working for you.

3rd Party Advertising

There are a host of sites that can help you drive traffic to your website, leads to your inbox or direct sales. These are mostly classifieds or listings sites and,
depending on your product or service, information can be fed between your CRM system and the site.

Search Marketing

When a person is looking to solve a problem, they can turn to a search engine like Google or Bing. These search engines will have categorised your website, read all your keywords and determined if your site is relevant to answer the question being asked.

Social Media

Social media has become an entertainment format; much like TV, radio and print. Social media gives you a great opportunity to communicate why people need your service or product. It is also a great channel to educate customers on topics that may interest them which will cause them to want or need your product or service.

Display Ads

Display advertising is very much like traditional print advertising. These are adverts that sit alongside content with people are consuming like news article, blogs or learning information

Video Ads

Using videos for marketing has been around for a long time. Ads which interrupt content, much like it was done on TV, are still present on platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo.

Email

Email marketing is a great way to keep your customer updated on what is happening in your business. One of the greatest benefits of email marketing is that it drives action. If your CRM system can help you understand what a client wants, then you can tailor the email message to suit their interest.

SMS

SMS boasts an open rate of 99%. It is a quick way to reach your customer where they are with a short marketing message.

Ultimately you will need to make use of multiple marketing channels to get the most out of your marketing effort. At first, you don’t need to get all of them working, but as you grow it is important to diversify your marketing plan.

Click here to download the Digital Marketing Roadmap and learn more about how the different channels fit into the consumer decision making cycle.

The post How Digital Marketing Fits Together appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

Before you jump up and write off your website for marketing, lets quickly look at 3 things a website should for your business.

1. It should be a Virtual office/store/staff to answer questions about you
2. It should be a shopfront / till point to make money
3. It should reach out to find more customers using the content you add

That sounds like something every business SHOULD want, but it’s not in everyone’s reality to achieve. If you are one of the following types of business, you could get away without a website;

Small – home services

Let’s be honest, who views the website of a local plumber or electrician before calling them?

I thought so. Have a Google business listing so you can at least turn up in searches, and maybe a Facebook page for people to recommend you.

Local restaurants or bakeries (superettes included)

The biggest selling point for food is high-quality photographs. It’s not like you need to educate people on why they NEED your product. An Instagram account and Facebook would do wonders here. Lots of pics of enticing yumminess and details on specials or events will do well. Also, a google business listing for sure.

Also Read: Content ideas for any business

Local personalities or performers

In the “old” days (ie the early 2000s) the internet was a quirky place. The website for the Smashing pumpkins had amazing effects that would follow the mouse wherever you moved. Other than that there was no reason to be on it.

You can literally contain all your information on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. Even Twitter if that’s where your audience is. There is very little need to set up a whole website for yourself.

The exception here is if you are blogging, although you might find other publications to regularly publish your work and earn some bucks from it. They’ll probably even create a page on their site to showcase you and your work.

If you only serve your local community.

You don’t need an app to sell Magwenya at the taxi rank. You could be an estate agent, a mechanic, a convenience store, or even a car dealer. If you only serve a small market, a website might be overkill for your needs.

There are plenty of 3^rd party sites to advertise on that could generate more business with less effort than a website would. Keeping up a website could prove to be a marketing burden that just gets in your way.

In these cases you’re better off putting your marketing budget into channels that have more impact on your bottom line, as opposed to trying to impress people with a website that nobody looks at.

Having a website means you need to maintain it AND spend on advertising to get traffic to the website. If your website is not part of the sales cycle, that is a waste of money.

If you want to learn some unique social media strategies that can help you grow, with or without a website, give us a follow on Facebook, LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter.

You can read about our social media services here.

The post Do you REALLY need a website? appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

That said, there are some times when it is well worth it to spend a little extra on a tool that helps you make money. But, if you are still small and need some help, these companies have got your back with an awesome free tool.

There is no order to this list, but I can assure you that I have used all of these and they are 100% free for the basic functions.

Media Creation

In order to advertise, you need to be able to create slick media. This is not just for print ads, but social media as well as email or Whatsapp campaigns.

Canva

Canva is free and has loads of free templates for all social channels, print designs, and even animated posts. It is easy to use and can make your content look like it has a professional touch. https://www.canva.com/

Stock Images

Pixabay and Pexels are my go-to for free images. Pexels also has some stock videos for you to use. I currently pay a subscription for Adobe stock. After a while, you start to see other advertisers use the same free stock images and I prefer my content to be different. These 2 are great for free images and videos.

Video editor

While on the topic, I use iMovie on the iPhone to edit and create video content. There is a debate still going between Android and iOS, but for a content creator, iPhone has amazing tools on board that allow you to create 4K video with no subscriptions and no watermarks. Even a slideshow video with music will take seconds and look amazing. Here is a sample from a few photos and videos on my phone. (If you’re on a budget, get an older iPhone with larger storage capacity)

Video Messages

Soapbox is a Chrome add-on that allows you to record yourself and your screen simultaneously to send a personalised video presentation. I use it all the time and it is amazing.

Social Media tools

There are a few scheduling and posting tools available. Facebook’s Creator Studio is an excellent tool to manage Facebook and Instagram pages. You can find it on the Facebook page menu.

For other social channels, I use Buffer. It can post to multiple channels and you can schedule pretty far in advance. For LinkedIn content, it doesn’t keep the same aspect ratio for your images so you need to plan your media carefully. It will also shorten links automatically for you.

Website tools

The best website tool I suggest for any business is Google Analytics. If you don’t have any tracking installed you are missing out on a wealth of information to improve your business.

URL Builder

If you have analytics you can use UTM codes in your links to track the campaigns. Google has a good one here.

Website Chat

A website chat is an amazing way to encourage people to contact you while on the site. Often people get lost (or lazy) and don’t want to look through the site for what they want. Using a chat function means they can ask the question with ease.

Tawk is a live chat that you can respond by using an app on your phone or with your browser.

Facebook has a chat function that links to Facebook Messenger. I have used Google’s Dialogflow to build an automated chatbot within Facebook Messenger. This is definitely for the advanced user.

CRM Tools

Without a doubt, Hubspot is my go-to for CRM. The free functions are so useful with add-ons for Gmail, Outlook and Google Chrome. They also can extract lead data from Facebook and LinkedIn lead ads and add them directly to your CRM.

I use Mailchimp for my bulk emails. Under the free package, you get enough functionality to maintain a good list for emails. I pay a small fee per month for the basic package and have automation campaigns, and a free website and domain. The website function is quite limited though. I stick to WordPress for my customers.

Zapier helps me move my contacts instantly from Hubspot to Mailchimp. This means I can automate campaigns from Facebook to Hubspot, to Mailchimp and initiate a series of emails without touching a thing. (I love technology)

I’ve also recently started using Calendly to schedule meetings. I’m new to this one so if there is a better tool on the market let me know.

Whatsapp Business is almost exactly like private Whatsapp but you can have an automated response and template responses for frequently asked questions. You can also get a link for people to message you instantly. Click here to send me a Whatsapp and try for yourself.

Get help

You might not always have time to manage these marketing efforts and that’s where I come in. You can visit my website here, to see the services that can help grow your business.

Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get information and tips like this direct to your inbox.

The post Best Free Marketing Tools -Tested appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

So when I decided to start an agency, I want to practice what I preach, and share the journey with my customers. After all, you won’t buy shoes from a barefoot cobbler will you?

So here goes; here is the Facebook page and below are the basics of building an audience.

Complete the basics

There is a bare minimum of information and media you need to add to Facebook pages. Very simply they are;

1. Contact information
2. Small, Square logo for the profile picture
3. Landscape image for the page header
4. Your Website address

If any of the above are missing, your page looks incomplete.

Add some content

Before you get going, post some content to beef up your page. If anyone views your page with only one post you run the risk of looking like a one-hit-wonder. We have some content ideas for you here.

Invite your friends

The next step is to invite your friends. This will beef up your page likes a bit to add a little credibility. I choose to invite only relevant friends or those who will support the page. You don’t want to SPAM everyone but don’t be shy either.

At the time of writing the page is sitting on 12 likes. Lets see how fast we can grow this page.

(I have chosen NOT to invite a lot of friends because I want to show you how you can grow your Facebook Page with real customers)

Promote the content

If you want fast growth, you are going to have to put some money into advertising the page. Facebook have a number of promotional options for you to use. I am going to focus on using two of them for now; Boosting content and Promoting the page.

Currently I have a post being boosted for 5 days at R150 in total for the campaign. You can see the results after 3 days in.

I’ve chosen to boost a post before promoting the page because I also want to drive traffic to the website where I aim to collect newsletter subscribers.

The next step will be to Promote the page. This is where Facebook works to grow your page audience.

Post Regularly

You will need to be consistent in your posting and the content. There are scheduling tools to help you do this, or consider making use of service providers (like me) to ensure you have regular posts on the page.

There are also steps you need to take to grow your audience organically.

If you have a current Facebook page that you are struggling to get off the ground, like and follow the mediaholic marketing Facebook page. You can also sign up for the newsletter to receive updates and statistics to your inbox as well.

The post Facebook pages: The First Steps appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

1. ​How many people have interacted with your brand at least once on Facebook
2. ​It shows credibility to new visitors

​Here are some things you can do to grow your Facebook audience organically;​

Post regularly​

Keeping your page active will keep eyes on your content and your brand. The more you post, the more likely it is that people will share your posts to their own audience, exposing your brand to others. Often, new viewers relate to a post and will like the post or your page​.

​Invite people

Facebook allows you to invite your friends to like your page. Which is a good start, although not a sustainable approach to growth. You can also invite people who react to your posts. This means that if a person interacts with a post of yours, you can see this and invite them to like the page. 

Ask people to check in​

Ask your customers to check in when they are at your business​. Offer gifts or freebies to people who do so. This will get your brand out there in front of more people, enticing them to like you as well. 

Share user content and feedback​

Has someone posted about your products or services? Share that on your page. Show them the appreciation and recognition that they showed you and thank them publicly for it. ​This will put your post in front of their friends who may not be part of your Facebook audience. 

Ask them to review

A review goes a long way in establishing credibility. Ask your customers to leave a review. Let them be honest and say good or bad things. Respond to every review thanking them for feedback. If it is negative, share your lesson publicly and be grateful for the feedback. If it is positive, thank the customer and show gratitude publicly. More ratings mean your page is show before others in Facebook searches. 

Offer an Incentive​​

I was recently at a restaurant that offered a free dessert if you checked in and showed the waiter. People love a freebie, and are very happy to be part of the experience if there is something in it for them. The best part of this is that it doesn’t have to be an expensive offer to your business, but must be worthwhile to the customer. Offering something that is too cheap will be treated with disdain. ​​

Give more than you ask​ for

In your posts, make sure you are giving more to your customers than selling to them. People are not on Facebook to be sold to, they want to be entertained and taught. If most of your content can fit into that bracket, then people will engage with it. The more relevant it is, the more people will see it and share it. ​

Also Read: Content Ideas for Any Business

ALWAYS have a call to action

​Every post you make should have some call to action for the viewer. A simple comment added to the end of the post “Hit the like button if you want to see more of this” or asking them to follow your page, or visit your website for more. In posts where you are selling, you will add actual products or information as well. In post that you are not selling, give them the option to ​learn more with ease. 

Visit our Facebook Page here

Don’t be shy to boost posts either. It is an inexpensive way of getting your content in front of many people and quickly. 

Want more like this? Sign up for our newsletter and follow our page growth direct to your inbox every week.

The post 8 Ways to Grow Your Facebook Audience appeared first on mediaholic marketing.

We’ve taken a simple approach to ensure we never run out of content ideas for our social media posts. Here are some content types that you may find easy to source or generate

Other people’s content

A quick and easy share is an industry article, or a how to video that is based around your product or service. These are always useful and by sharing the content, you not only provide something useful to your customer, but also to the generator of the content.

Behind the Scenes

A photo or video of what is going on behind the scenes can be created quickly using your mobile phone. This kind of media does not need to be fancy or well produced, just genuine.

Success Stories

Has a customer done well with your product or service? Tell that story. If they are willing to share the story and perhaps a photo or video then it serves as a testimonial for your business as well.

Also Read: Digital Performance analysed: YouTube vs Facebook vs LinkedIn

How to

How-To content is very popular in the internet age. How-to videos have seen a rise in popularity on all video platforms. This kind of content also serves as advertising for the products being used.

Memes

People love a good laugh. If you have a meme, or funny video related to your product or services then share that. If it hits the mark then people will also share it which is a win.

Seasons Greetings

There are many festivals, religious days, and days of observance that you can generate quick posts with well-wishes for that part of the audience.

Make use of tools like Canva and Buffer to design and schedule your posts well in advance so that you don’t have to focus on it all the time. Remember to add a call-to-action on every post.

(If you don’t have the time to post regularly, consider using our Social Management Services to do it for you.)

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