Building a successful online presence

The success of an online presence can be seen clearly in the most recent Mxit Brand Index, with the top companies reaching and engaging over a million consumers.

The potential

Globally, the pace of social media growth continues, with just under 2 billion global users expected to be making use of these services this year. That translates into roughly one in four people being connected to social media worldwide.

Of course, the potential for marketing your business and the returns for establishing a strong presence on these networks is extremely large, and cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, South African businesses are some of the best placed to capitalise on this continued growth.

Internet users have rocketed in South Africa in recent years, and this trend continues. Currently, just under 20 million new browsers have been recorded for this year alone, with just under half of that number browsing through mobile devices. In fact, the mobile market is also booming, and as a result we can expect to see huge numbers of new internet and mobile device users in the coming years.

This does of course, present the opportunity to engage millions of new potential customers and consumers, and one that any business cannot afford to be complacent about.

The dangers

While we have established that social media platforms are an essential tool for any business, there are a lot of pitfalls that can easily drain your business resources and do little for you in the way of generating successful marketing and reach.

One of the fundamental factors of understanding social media is understanding its users. Most of the time, users of Facebook for example, are not there to look into potential buying opportunities or searching for a business solution - they are there to simply be 'social', interact with their friends, post updates, and so on.

This is very different to someone who may be actively looking through a search engine for a purchasing opportunity or business that fits their needs.

A common marketing mistake is assuming that a strategy that works for funnelling hits to a company website to generate sales will also work in the social media arena. More often than not, it won't, simply because of the difference in attitude of the user.

However, this doesn't mean you should avoid engaging potential consumers through social media networks at all. In fact, sites such as Youtube, after being acquired by Google, offer some great opportunities for businesses.

Videos that engage users are a great way to spread brand image for example, but thanks to the wide range of downloaders and file converters, using Youtube as a site for audio is also a viable option. Embedding keynote speeches from conferences, or podcasts from thought leaders in your company is another option.

The rewards

Social media use needs to be seen as more than just a marketing tool. It provides a unique opportunity to engage with users on a level that was previously unachievable, as that of a friend. This allows a business or brand to explore its relationship with consumers, and can be a lucrative and rewarding process if handled correctly.

A key factor to achieving success with social media really comes down to understanding that not only are the rewards gained a lot slower when compared to traditional online marketing techniques, but the real advantage lies in where your company places on search listings, many of which are social media dependent.

When looking at the most successful brands that use social media effectively, we can see that a focused approach on the major social media sites globally and locally, an understanding of the platforms, and a measured, patient approach is what will reap the rewards for any business in the long term.

The current climate offers an excellent opportunity for South African business to jump on board with social media, with the unique advantage of being able to learn from previous mistakes and beneficial approaches made by others in this field before it was so established.