There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? That seems to be the case when it comes to social media marketing, both in Africa and around the world
There’s no denying that social media, by many once considered a here-today-gone-tomorrow fad, is a key arrow in a marketer’s quiver. It’s word of mouth on steroids and free, right?
Or not.
Social media experts in Kenya and South Africa warn companies not to view social media marketing, on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, as free. Yes, these platforms are umpteen times more cost-effective that traditional advertising such as TV or print, but do need time, money and strategic thought to be effective.
“Although putting content onto Facebook using fan pages is free for brands, the challenge is attracting the right people to that page and for them to, in turn, share that content with the right people that will ultimately help the brand achieve its objectives,” said Sifiso Mazibuko, Habari Media’s national Facebook account manager.
“The age old adage of ‘build it and they will come’ definitely does not apply on Facebook. There are more than 25 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook every month, with so much choice, why should a user choose your content to not only view, but share?”
"Unrealistic expectations"
Kenyan social media expert Mark Kaigwa concurs: “Kenyan companies are realising we're a hotbed of digital activity, people are understanding that Kenya has some of Africa's enlightened digital citizens, with our growing Twitter population and one million users on Facebook.
“However, they aren't counting the cost of engaging and the investment required. On one hand you need to give them credit for seeing that ignoring the channel does more harm than good, but as far as return on investment, there are unrealistic expectations, given how organic social media tends to be.”
Africa - dynamic Facebook continent
According to SocialBakers, the place to go for stats on Facebook, Africa is currently the most dynamic continent on Facebook and gained more than 50 percent of its 25 million Facebook users in the six months up to February 2011. The top three countries in Africa are Egypt (5.6 million users), South Africa (3.7 million users) and Morocco (3 million users).
Kaigwa points to a number of Kenyan companies embracing social media, and doing it well: Safaricom, with @SafaricomLtd and Facebook.com/SafaricomLtd; Kenya Airways, with @KenyaAirways (the only Twitter verified brand in Kenya) and Facebook.com/KenyaAirways; and Bata Kenya, facebook.com/batakenyafan & @BataKenya. It’s noticeable that all these brands are integrating social media very tightly with other marketing channels and working hard to strike up a conversation with their community.
South African retailer Woolworths is another great example of a company that has embraced social media and integrated it tightly with other web as well as offline marketing initiatives. See http://www.facebook.com/WoolworthsSA and @woolworths_SA.
Nokia Ovi Store
Habari Media’s Mazibuko gives some examples of companies that, once they have built their social media platforms, effectively use Facebook advertising to drive awareness and interest particularly by using social endorsements in the ads to boost word of mouth.
A seven-week ad campaign around the launch of the Gautrain in South Africa generated 1,513 fans directly from the ad campaign and an additional 5,340 fans from organic spread and ongoing engagement by the client. The engagement rate was 0.62% and click through rate (CTR) was 0.44% - both very high results for social media according to Habari Media.
A Nokia Ovi Store Facebook campaign during the 2010/2011 summer season in South Africa was intended to drive awareness for the Facebook fan page, and encourage entries in a competition. The campaign generated an overall CTR of 0.54% with the ads including polls achieving far higher rates. 2,133 Facebook fans were also acquired.
“The ongoing challenge that Facebook faces in Africa is low internet penetration, however the incredible growth and high penetration of mobile in this market, still offers brands the opportunity to connect with Facebook users on their mobile phones,” said Mazibuko. “Through the use of integrated through the line strategies, there are numerous opportunities waiting to be unlocked for brands on Facebook in Africa, all it requires for success is effective planning and implementation.”
“Brands looking to differentiate themselves from their competition have proven social media and consumer interaction as a factor that cannot be ignored. On tighter budgets, big brands or those in competitive markets can get better returns by creative brand building exercises online. More than just running online adverts on social networks or search engines, the idea with online is to give consumers an experience, a journey,” concluded Kaigwa.
Email tompetergallagher@hotmail.co.uk
Or not.
Social media experts in Kenya and South Africa warn companies not to view social media marketing, on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, as free. Yes, these platforms are umpteen times more cost-effective that traditional advertising such as TV or print, but do need time, money and strategic thought to be effective.
“Although putting content onto Facebook using fan pages is free for brands, the challenge is attracting the right people to that page and for them to, in turn, share that content with the right people that will ultimately help the brand achieve its objectives,” said Sifiso Mazibuko, Habari Media’s national Facebook account manager.
“The age old adage of ‘build it and they will come’ definitely does not apply on Facebook. There are more than 25 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook every month, with so much choice, why should a user choose your content to not only view, but share?”
"Unrealistic expectations"
Kenyan social media expert Mark Kaigwa concurs: “Kenyan companies are realising we're a hotbed of digital activity, people are understanding that Kenya has some of Africa's enlightened digital citizens, with our growing Twitter population and one million users on Facebook.
“However, they aren't counting the cost of engaging and the investment required. On one hand you need to give them credit for seeing that ignoring the channel does more harm than good, but as far as return on investment, there are unrealistic expectations, given how organic social media tends to be.”
Africa - dynamic Facebook continent
According to SocialBakers, the place to go for stats on Facebook, Africa is currently the most dynamic continent on Facebook and gained more than 50 percent of its 25 million Facebook users in the six months up to February 2011. The top three countries in Africa are Egypt (5.6 million users), South Africa (3.7 million users) and Morocco (3 million users).
Kaigwa points to a number of Kenyan companies embracing social media, and doing it well: Safaricom, with @SafaricomLtd and Facebook.com/SafaricomLtd; Kenya Airways, with @KenyaAirways (the only Twitter verified brand in Kenya) and Facebook.com/KenyaAirways; and Bata Kenya, facebook.com/batakenyafan & @BataKenya. It’s noticeable that all these brands are integrating social media very tightly with other marketing channels and working hard to strike up a conversation with their community.
South African retailer Woolworths is another great example of a company that has embraced social media and integrated it tightly with other web as well as offline marketing initiatives. See http://www.facebook.com/WoolworthsSA and @woolworths_SA.
Nokia Ovi Store
Habari Media’s Mazibuko gives some examples of companies that, once they have built their social media platforms, effectively use Facebook advertising to drive awareness and interest particularly by using social endorsements in the ads to boost word of mouth.
A seven-week ad campaign around the launch of the Gautrain in South Africa generated 1,513 fans directly from the ad campaign and an additional 5,340 fans from organic spread and ongoing engagement by the client. The engagement rate was 0.62% and click through rate (CTR) was 0.44% - both very high results for social media according to Habari Media.
A Nokia Ovi Store Facebook campaign during the 2010/2011 summer season in South Africa was intended to drive awareness for the Facebook fan page, and encourage entries in a competition. The campaign generated an overall CTR of 0.54% with the ads including polls achieving far higher rates. 2,133 Facebook fans were also acquired.
“The ongoing challenge that Facebook faces in Africa is low internet penetration, however the incredible growth and high penetration of mobile in this market, still offers brands the opportunity to connect with Facebook users on their mobile phones,” said Mazibuko. “Through the use of integrated through the line strategies, there are numerous opportunities waiting to be unlocked for brands on Facebook in Africa, all it requires for success is effective planning and implementation.”
“Brands looking to differentiate themselves from their competition have proven social media and consumer interaction as a factor that cannot be ignored. On tighter budgets, big brands or those in competitive markets can get better returns by creative brand building exercises online. More than just running online adverts on social networks or search engines, the idea with online is to give consumers an experience, a journey,” concluded Kaigwa.
Email tompetergallagher@hotmail.co.uk
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