More things small businesses should know about social media

Many Nigerian small business owners have long been using social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp and Facebook, among others to sell their products and services to their clients home and abroad. This is why some analysts have said social media marketing has now become a new retail avenue for business owners in the country […]

Many Nigerian small business owners have long been using social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp and Facebook, among others to sell their products and services to their clients home and abroad. This is why some analysts have said social media marketing has now become a new retail avenue for business owners in the country and that the trend is only going to get stronger.

Now, Social commerce or social media marketing is well on its way to becoming a mainstream retail channel at par with other mediums like websites and offline stores. “This trend will strengthen further with more and more social networks introducing pro-selling features like ‘shoppable’ posts’’, said Chris Chung, the founder of Locate 852, a digital marketing agency.

From ‘shoppable’ posts to Instagram Storefronts, more social networks are continuously evolving to become retail platforms. Brands and marketers will continue to leverage these and incorporate social commerce in their sales strategies.

In Nigeria, most small businesses have no budget for marketing and adverting in the conventional media, and this has forced them to look elsewhere. And marketing through social media can be highly effective and cost-efficient if only small businesses know their way. If your customers and potential clients are on social media, then you need to be visible there too.

But many businesses either lack the time or skill to devote to running their social media marketing campaigns themselves. Instead, they prefer to work with social media marketing agencies to help tell their stories on social media.  In some cases, this may involve operating corporate social accounts; in others, it may be social advertising companies.

With the proliferation of social networks over the last few years, it should come as no surprise to find that many agencies advertise social media services. If you are a small business owner, you can use some of them.

SociallyIn

SociallyIn helps brands with different aspects of their social media marketing strategy by deploying result-driven services around social strategy, content production, community management, paid social advertising, influencer marketing, and more. They split their services into creative and production, community management, social media strategy, and social paid advertising.

SociallyIn films, captures, makes, paints, records, bakes, builds, hatches, composes, invents, writes, draws all of their clients’ social media content in-house. They begin their social strategy by having an in-depth meeting around the demographics of the audience they are trying to reach for the social media campaign. This meeting helps the creative team brainstorm content that will resonate with the ideal audience.

Once their team has an understanding of the business and branding, they move into a discussion around a brief. It can be a campaign, a seasonal holiday, or anything in between. After the brief, they move into a brainstorm session, using different brainstorming techniques to come up with unique ideas for various social platforms. Once they are ready to launch their strategy, they continue to test, measure and optimize.

Iron Roots

Iron Roots is a full service digital agency based in Austin, Texas. From social media to paid ads, the boutique growth shop specializes in customer acquisition using the top strategies built unique for each client. The client experience is simple: Discover brand > Develop strategy > Assemble campaign > Deploy & Manage. With in-house copywriters, designers, video pros, project managers, and in-house technology, the client experience is entirely guided. The agency understands the digital landscape very well. It simplifies collaboration and allows for a close working relationship with its clients.

LYFE Marketing

LYFE Marketing is a full social media management company. They offer social media services, search engine services, and website design services. They create and manage top-performing social media campaigns for clients on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Sculpt

This is a social media marketing agency that specialises in working with B2B companies. Their expertise lies in generating qualified leads for businesses from social media.

How do they do it? They do it by strategising, creating a customised plan for each client, and then executing it. They also have experience of running paid social media campaigns and can help you boost your advertising ROI. The best part about this agency is that it also provides training and guidance for your in-house staff. So, when you hire them, it’s not just for a campaign, but also to build a skilled in-house team that will be beneficial in the long run.

Vireo Video

Vireo Video is a video marketing agency specializing in YouTube marketing. This includes video strategy, YouTube SEO optimization, video advertising on YouTube and Facebook, and influencer marketing on YouTube. Vireo Video develops comprehensive Video Marketing Strategy Blueprints that guide your brand’s success and accelerate your growth. They help you create an effective data-backed video strategy that drastically increases your viewership and revenue. The agency identifies who your target customers are online and what video content they search for and consume. They then develop a strategy to ensure that your videos capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

With well-targeted YouTube and Facebook advertising placements, Vireo Video maximizes your ROI with video ads.

WebFX

WebFX is a full-service Internet marketing and SEO company offering innovative web marketing solutions to mid to large size companies across the globe. Their social media team are experts in creating and executing a social media management plan that gets the right message in front of your desired audience.

Thrive Internet marketing agency

Thrive proudly displays evidence of their results on their website. They can claim more than 100 5-Star Reviews on Google, more than 50 on Facebook, and more than 30 on Clutch. They also feature testimonials frequently, clearly being a believer in word of mouth marketing.

Audiencly

Audiencly is an influencer- and social media marketing agency based in Düsseldorf, Germany. They help brands and influencers build and maintain a solid presence in social media. This includes in-depth social media analysis and advice from their social media experts.

Evestar

Evestar is a Florida-based agency. It helps eCommerce brands deliver powerful and data-driven campaigns. And Evestar is more pragmatic than most. Brand scaling isn’t something every brand is ready for and Evestar’s approach is to identify how mature your brand is. This may sound like sales spiel, but it’s more of a math problem than anything else. Ad buying requires a budget and a healthy cash flow. Without the ability to test ad campaigns to find winners, it’s harder to scale.

To determine your brand’s scalability, Evestar looks to fundamental metrics that prove your brand is aligned for growth. Your conversion rate, average order value, and lifetime value are the best indicators, and once they add up, it’s off to the races.

Evestar understands that scroll-stopping ads and campaigns rely on strong creative content. To create the best possible ads, they lean into what makes your brand and product stand out but also touch on finer details that resonate with your audience. On social media, Evestar uses Facebook and Pinterest ads. It also delivers YouTube and Google ads, and email and SMS marketing campaigns.

WebFX

WebFX is a full-service Internet marketing and SEO company offering innovative web marketing solutions to mid to large size companies across the globe. Their social media team are experts in creating and executing a social media management plan that gets the right message in front of your desired audience.

 

Sources: www.influencermarketinghub.com, www.sproutsocial.com, www.stanventures.com and www.globalbankingandfinance.com