Tune in to social media to reach customers
Jo Brothers, head of social media and digital at Westpac NZ, offers tips on how businesses can get the most out of their social media strategy.
In brief
- Using social media to start a conversation with your customers makes good business sense.
- Learn how to set up shop on Facebook and measure revenue streams.
- Social media is a visual medium that can be used to inspire your audience.
Using social media to start a conversation with your customers makes good business sense, but if you don’t know where to start it can all be a bit daunting.
Jo Brothers, who heads up social media and digital at Westpac NZ, has more than 18 years’ experience in digital and pioneered Air New Zealand’s social strategy. In the following Q&A segment, Brothers recommends four key concepts for businesses to consider when tweaking their social media strategy.
What tips and tricks can you share for businesses looking to leverage social media to grow their business?
I use Canva.com – where you can easily create eye catching designs using drag and drop features, pre-made professional layouts and perfectly sized social media graphics for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Video is growing in popularity and you could use Adobe Spark Video or Adobe Spark Post to produce short video content or animated images.
How often is too often when it comes to publishing on social media?
When it comes to posting content it’s a case of quality over quantity. A
customer would respond more to a well written post or an eye catching video,
rather than a flood of posts that had little to no information that was
relevant to them. Posting once a day on each channel and making sure that this
is useful and engaging would drive positive results.
What is a good starting point for SMBs wanting to drive their business through social channels?
Identifying clear goals around what you want to achieve on a digital platform is vital. A good place to find inspiration for this is by reading a range of case studies, based on real businesses just like yours. That way you can see examples of what was achieved through different channels, whether it is driving more people to your website, increasing sales or developing brand awareness.
If a business owner doesn’t have the budget to engage a consultant or agency, how can they learn how to use social media effectively and drive it themselves?
80% of Kiwis on Facebook discover products and brands on the platform, so it would really make sense to start there. The Facebook Blueprint Global Training Program is an e-learning tool designed to help businesses tailor a social media strategy to reach their own goals. Also, webinars for Facebook and Instagram provide great information. They cover a wide range of topics, from finding the ideal audience to creative storytelling – all with the goal of helping you drive sales and build your brand.