By now, most of us have a pretty good understanding of social media and how it works. You possibly even have multiple social media profiles active for your business. But how many businesses out there have an actual strategy and stop to think, ‘why am I posting and what do I want to get out of it?’ I can tell you not many, so don’t worry about feeling alone if you are one of those businesses.
The obvious reasons why businesses are on social media is to create brand awareness and ultimately drive revenue. But for most, creating that desirable link between posting words online to generating actual dollars is miles apart. If we break this down and be realistic about our expectations from social media, it may help us create goals that are achievable and deliver tangible outcomes.
Developing a digital strategy is exactly what that does, and having one helps you create a plan that includes all areas you can generate income from, and the frequency is then matched with either the quantity of overall sales or profit. How often do you find yourself promoting the product that has the best images or is the most visually appealing? But we need to stop giving attention to the products and services that are the easy ones to market and take a wholistic view across our business and promote the products and services that make us the most money or are the products that our customers actually want. At the end of the day, we want every marketing dollar to generate a return, and in the marketing world, that outcome is making the phone ring.
If this all seems too hard or you only know the basics about social media, there is an entire industry out there that can help you craft a digital strategy; but be warned, this is a relatively new industry and there are a lot of companies claiming to be the best people to assist you.
Another option you have available is engaging a professional to map out your digital marketing strategy, and the best news is that there are digital grants available from the government to assist with both the cost and accessibility.
The Small Business Digital Grants Program is assisting businesses looking to access digital technologies and services to help work smarter, engage with the digital economy and make the most of online business opportunities. Our team can assist by supplying you with a quote to develop a digital strategy and also assist you with the grant application itself. We have had great success in gaining grant funds for our clients and we would love to assist regional businesses further.
If successful, matched funding of up to $10,000 (excluding GST) may be provided to eligible businesses for the purchase of hardware, software and services (such as digital coaching). The minimum grant funding is $1,000. The business must show how the digital technology or service purchased and adopted will enhance the digital capabilities of their business and help them to be more competitive and employ more staff.
To be eligible the business must:
• Have fewer than 20 employees at the time of applying for the grant
• Have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered for GST
• Have Queensland headquarters
• Have a turnover of $2 million or less in the last financial year
• Not be insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged bankrupt
Only one application will be accepted from an individual ABN or a financial beneficiary of a business.
If this sounds like something you would like to explore further, please give our team a call before grant applications close.
Remember, a digital strategy is the main method of online management for a business and it must relate and complement the overall business strategy. Having a digital strategy is also integral to business success because it allows the business to reach its target audience more effectively, using the preferred platform they are on.
Allowing your digital strategy to be cohesive is important as it allows the target audience to be reached more seamlessly which is the end result for the business.
Tips for developing a social media strategy
1. Determine what you are looking to achieve?
2. Who is your target audience?
3. Select the right platform to reach them
4. Create great content
5. Monitor your results
