Lai Marketing Agency has developed #TanzaniaTweetChat based on creating understanding of digital platforms among the small business in Tanzania. This platform brings together digital experts and online users (Twitter) on how to effectively utilize digital platforms for brand improvement and sales performance among the small businesses owners. Last week we had Gillsant Maseko from Swahili Digital who shared his digital experience by responding to prepared questions.
Gillsant Maseko has over 7 years’ experience in Digital Marketing and is one of the Tanzania’s top lead-generation experts. He has a particular interest in B2B, B2C and as well as regularly delivering training courses.
1: What is the value of social media for small business in Tanzania?
Answer by Gillsant:
- More people follow brands on social media than celebrities. On Instagram alone 80% of people follow at least one business. If you’re not taking advantage of social, you’re missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach almost 30% of Tanzania population.
- (2) Benefits of social media for small business
- .Increase brand awareness
- Establish your brand as the go-to source for information on topics related to your niche.
- Generate Sales leads
- Boost sales No matter what you sell, social media can help you sell it.
- Customer and audience engagement. Social networks give you the opportunity to interact directly with customers and fans.
- Customer service and customer support
- Learn more about your customers. Social media generates data about your customers in real time.
2: How to set social media goals and what does success look like?
Answer by Gillsant
Goal 1. Increase brand awareness Measure:
- .Followers count – “How many people can you potentially reach?”
- Reach of your social media posts – “How many people have do reach each day / week / month?”
Goal 2: Drive traffic to your website Measure:
- Traffic from social media – “How many visitors are coming from your social media channels?” Share of overall traffic – “How much of your overall traffic does social media account for?”
Goal 3: Generate new leads Measure:
- Personal information (usually email addresses) collected through social media – “How many leads have you collected through social media?”
Goal 4: Grow revenue (by increasing sales) Measure:.
- Revenue – “How many how much revenue is your social media channels bringing in?”
- Revenue from ads – “How much revenue is your social media advertising bringing in?”
Goal 5: Boost brand engagement Measure:
- Likes, shares, and comments per post – “How many people are interacting with your social media posts?”
- Mentions and replies – “How many people are mentioning your brand, and how many have you replied to?”
3: Which social media channel do you recommend for small businesses?
Answer by Gillsant
Social media platforms that work for large businesses will work for small businesses. The only thing to consider is where your target customer hangout. Youth use snapchat and Instagram. B2B use LinkedIn and some Instagram, “Watu wa mkoani” use Facebook etc.
4: Does small businesses can afford afford social media Ads?
Answer by Gillsant
Yes they can. Facebook or Instagram Advert is $1 = 2400 Tshs Approx Minimum.
Does Facebook offer free credit to their users?
Yes! Every Facebook user has $20 Advert Credit on their Facebook account. If you spend it on ads they give you 30 Days to pay them back!
5: What strategies fit for small business to generate sales leads?
Answer by Gillsant
- Aside from your existing network, you’ll need to find people who might be interested in your products or services. Online advertising tools like Google AdWords and Facebook ads provide you with opportunities to target the specific audience that might fit that description
- Create Content for a Specific Audience .You need to create some kind of great content with a clear voice and a defined audience. The more specific you get, the more the people who visit your pages are actually going to be interested in what you have to offer.
- Giving away some of your products .It lets people out there know that you exist. It gives you a chance to prove the value of your product. It provides your future customers with a risk-free way to try out your products or service without spending any money
- Offer discounts and deals. Just like free stuff, discounts and deals work well too. They are another creative and low cost way to attract more customers to your business.
- Get Listed on Popular Local Directories. Old days, long before we had mobile telephones, there were these books known as ‘the Yellow Pages’. Now you can get listed on platforms like zoomtanzania, advertising dar, airbnb, jumia, jumiafood, etc. for free.
6: How frequently should i post to social media to boost my business?
It doesn’t matter how many times you post, but what you post matters. Posting good content that your customers’ wants will boost your business. Share more valuable contents to your followers. I recommend 2 Post Maximum per day on facebook and Instagram.