Social media is not a fad nor a trend. It’s here to stay and essential for any online existence.

Its indispensable for marketers, it’s but as a marketing channel, things can get a bit confusing.

Social media marketing includes 100’s of potential social media sites, a vast array of ways to engage, and a medley of styles for each platform. It’s obviously more than just Facebook but we also believe  that it’s better to have 3 or 4 quality and active profiles than have the whole caboodle albeit inactive profiles.

A digitial marketing strategy requires that you figure out which network to join.

Then, you need to determine optimal messages, posting frequency, cost of social media management, integration with other marketing channels, and how to make the most of the billions of people who hang out on social media.

This is the last (for now) in our series of Blogs dealing with our 8 Majors.

Here’s why we believe Twitter & YouTube belong in the Hospitality Industry…

Twitter

Twitter is a “micro-blogging” platform that is used to send out short updates about anything and everything.

Twitter is the second most popular social network with 288 million monthly users globally in 2014.

Twitter is essential for relationship-building with influencers and communicating with your customer-base.

Twitter is closely involved with what is trending so marketers on this platform must demonstrate their business is ‘in the moment’.

Why you should Tweet

• Twitter saw the highest percentage growth among the major social networks in SA, from 2,4-million to 5,5-million in 2014; a staggering 129% growth in 12 months.
• More than 500 million Tweets are sent per day; 46% of users tweet at least once a day.
• 78% of the active users are on mobile.
• 86% of tweets with links get retweeted.
• Twitter users are there more frequently than other platforms, with 46% logging in on a daily basis.
• The average user, with their 208 average followers, 307 average Tweets, and average of 170 minutes on Twitter each day, is a market segment full of potential.
• Many Tweeters are there to listen and learn that only 60% are actually actively posting! Bear this in mind when analysing engagement.
• Twitter is well suited for businesses based around things that are ‘happening now’ such as marketing companies, sports-related businesses and news organisations.
• The majority of users who follow a brand on Twitter, do so to take advantage of offers, contests and exclusive discounts. Although this is a great network for promoting deals, it is still more useful for building brand loyalty than for lead generation.

 Beginners’ Guide Twitter Tips Sharing is Caring

Audience
Everyone, from individuals to the largest multinational corporations; and, really well suited to Millennials with there need for immediate gratification.

Frequency
Tweet 4 to 5 times daily; more if you have depth of content but do be consistent.

Best Day
Weekend engagement rates are particularly high for sports brands, fashion, entertainment and publishing brands.

Content Inspiration

Interesting and fun content, news and updates, discounts and promos.
Start a conversation with a question.

For all our Twitter Tips Register for INSIDER TIPS now

YouTube

YouTube is not a “social network” in the conventional sense.

It is a search engine first, and one that lets you post content and generate traffic so you as a brand can engage direct with your audience.

People engage by liking, sharing, commenting or by simply watching your videos.

Here’s why YouTube is so important

• YouTube is now the number two search engine in the world ahead of Yahoo & Bing.
• It has more than 1 billion users and 80% of them are outside the US.
• Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube.
• One-third of all online activity is spent watching videos.
• Video can increase people’s understanding of your product or service by 74% (Digital Sherpa).
• YouTube is localized in 61 countries and across 61 languages.
• Google owns YouTube so videos shared on this platform do extremely well in search rankings i.e. a good thing for SEO.
• YouTube is a great network for any brand that is visually driven and for giving explanations like “How to Get there”.
• 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
• Video marketing is a growing trend and it gives you an opportunity to ‘humanise’ your brand.
• By creating videos that people want to see and building a following on YouTube, you increase your chances of having Ads placed on your videos and making money! How cool is that?
• When people know you and start to trust you, your chance of doing business with them is much, much greater.
• Video is an amazing tool that allows businesses to integrate the social power of YouTube with the personal power of real people and “live” presentation of content.

Redmatchstick recommends these YouTube Tips

Audience
Millennials (18 – 34 years) and Gen-Xers (35 – 50’s).

Frequency
Once or twice a week.

Best Time
It’s important to post same time same day.

Best Practices
Short (+/- 90 secs) video content.

Videos of 2.5 mins. are the most watched in South Africa, so keep your videos short.

For more Tips about the Best Time to post and other Practices

– register for our Insider Tips.

 

REFERENCE LIST

Here is a list of the many resources we used to compile this Report:

http://www.quicksprout.com/2014/09/05/what-social-media-platforms-are-best-suited-for-your-business/
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/03/05/social-media-platform-best-business/
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-platform-use/108057/
http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/salesmarketing/a/Social-Media-Marketing-Intro.htm
http://www.nashua.co.za/the-south-african-media-landscape-report-2014/
http://www.bluemagnet.co.za/blog/the-state-of-social-media-in-south-africa-2014
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-statistics-2014/499230
http://heidicohen.com/multi-platform-social-media-use/#sthash.ZHi6XaFq.dpuf
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Internet-Hit-3-Billion-Users-2015/1011602
http://www.fastcompany.com/3036184/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/the-best-and-worst-times-to-post-on-social-media-infograph
https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-analytics-tools
www.worldwideworx.com/wp…/Exec-Summary-Social-Media-2014.pdf
http://www.biznews.com/grubstreet/knowledge/2013/10/16/boy-is-mobile-big-in-every-way-in-this-country-social-media-landscape-2014-study/
https://www.lsdev.biz/south-africans-twitter-love-life-and-music/
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2351591/how-to-make-your-videos-rank-better-on-youtube
http://lifehacker.com/the-best-times-to-post-youtube-videos-for-maximum-viewe-1679338097