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The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing for Your Business [15 Tips]

The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing for Your Business [15 Tips]

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As a company owner, you can’t avoid social media. Social media is a business goldmine.  You only need to learn how to dig it properly. This article will tell you how.

Your customers spend most of their time on social media and as a serious business, you need to spend as much time with them as you can on the channels they like. 

Social media is where people talk about their favorite brands and products. It is also where people go to complain about a certain service or company. You need to be there to listen to all these conversations and learn the sentimental language people use to talk about you. 

Many companies find it difficult to have a successful social media presence. Without knowing what you’re doing online, it is easy to ruin your business reputation just in minutes. Here are the best tips to stay on top of the social media game. Without further ado, let’s dive in;

Be familiar with social media platforms and their users 

Social media networks are not interchangeable. They’re different platforms with different content types and different types of people. 

For example;

  • Instagram and Pinterest are highly visual mostly used by young people. So you need to be visually creative. 
  • LinkedIn is a career based platform joining professionals
  • Twitter is a microblogging platform which is perfect for texts than images 

Knowing the differences among these channels will help you to better navigate and engage people within each channel. 

Be human, not a company 

Many companies have no idea what they are doing on social media. They usually make a terrible mistake of making these social platforms all about themselves —posting about programs launching, talking to people instead of talking with people. Or even worse, going silent for weeks and only come to post when they have something nice about themselves to say. 

Social media marketing is not about great advertising and branding, it is about building meaningful relationships with your followers. You can make your social media channels feel more human by doing the following;

  • Talk with people, don’t talk to people.
  • Make your followers matter, listen to them carefully
  • Take time to interact and respond to their comments
  • Create a comment response chart for frequently asked questions

Social media is human and that’s exactly how you should approach it. Don’t be a company speaking in tones that limit your followers from interacting with you. 

Do you prefer a professional and authoritative tone? Then you might consider using it on LinkedIn. Is your tone light and friendly? Then social networks like Instagram and Facebook are perfect for you. 


Do not spam

Just because you have that great product or service you offer, it doesn’t mean you have the right to cluster your feed with the same product every post you make. That is spamming. Using too many hashtags is also spamming.

cluttered Instagram feed
Do not clutter you feed with the same images

Let’s say you run a smartphone shop at Kariakoo and you have decided to open an Instagram account to find more customers online. You really don’t have to post smartphones every time you make a post. You won’t last long. 

You can be creative with your feed by making it more interesting. On certain days you can post customer testimonial videos, how-to tips, offers, quotes, tips, facts, funny memes and many more. Be creative. 


Don’t be too selly 

No one goes on social media to buy. People go on social media to socialize. There’s a reason it was called social media in the first place. While you are there, don’t be overly promotional or too selly. Be strategic. Hang out with people while you are pushing your agenda. There is no need to be aggressively promoting your business because people who follow you, are already interested in your product or service. 


Do not lie!

It takes years to build a company’s reputation. However, with the rise of online conversations, it only takes minutes for a company to suffer. Always be authentic. People can smell it when it’s fake. 

Have a plan

Make things easier for you by having a plan to act on. Without a clear thought out plan, social media is going to be tough for you. Try to use a content calendar that will guide you. With a calendar, you will know when and what to post.

A good content calendar should answer the following questions;

  • What type of content are you going to share? 
  • At what time you’re going to share the content and how much time you will spend on social networks? 
  • How often are you going to post on a specific channel? 

Stay updated and motivated

Social media isn’t something you learned three years ago and keep believing you know it. Being a social media enthusiast means being a lifelong learner. These platforms are constantly evolving —adding in new hashtags, new tools, and features. You need to be alert when these new features arrive and use them to your advantage.


Content is king

Without great content, the window to succeeding on social media is very narrow. Connect with your audience with great content such as video clips, infographics, images, and eBooks. Create content that will build trust, help people answer their questions and establish yourself as an authority in your field. 

Use videos often 

If a picture says a thousand words, a video says a million. Video has become the most important part of the online experience. Internet speed is getting faster and our devices are getting smarter. All these factors contribute to the booming of video marketing. Use video to tell a story, to showcase your store or sharing helpful tips —or anything. With the help of video editing apps, you can create great videos at any budget. 

Tell moving stories

This should be on number one. Storytelling, the oldest form of art has proven to be at the core of every successful marketing strategy. This is because there is nothing more powerful that can unite people than a good story. Remember the ‘Dream Crazier’ advertisement by Nike? or the ‘No Human Is Limited’ story? That’s what we are talking about.

Use employees advocacy

The easiest way to grow your visibility on social media is by using your employees as brand champions. Make sure you empower your team so that they understand and live the brand in online and offline life. If your employees love their job, they will surely become brand protectors and promoters online.


Try influencer marketing

We live in a world where people are becoming brands while brands are trying to be people. You can use influencers to skyrocket your brand’s awareness or grow your sales. Influencers are affordable and provide social proof because they have the capacity to affect people’s opinions about a certain topic, service or product. 

Pay attention to metrics and KPIs

There is no planning without measuring. The good thing about digital marketing is that we can’t wait for people to inform us about our mistakes. We can use data to make educated decisions about our online strategy. Social networks know a lot about their users and you can use the analytics they provide to gain insights about your followers. 

To measure your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), you need to set clear and attainable goals. Start with the question; what do you want to accomplish in social media. See the metrics chart obtained from HubSpot below;

Social media table
Image by HubSpot

Find inspiration from other brands 

Here are my favorite brands on Instagram. Check them out and learn how they are engaging their audience by creating content that is more than just their products. 

Keep your eye on your competitors 

When you look at your competitors’ social media channels, do you feel proud? Or you feel jealous? If you feel jealous, then there are things you really need to improve on your strategy. 

It is no doubt that social media is among the new ways of serving the 21st-century business. The internet has given customers the power to choose the way they want to receive information. Business owners no longer have the luxury to choose advertising methods as they used to with traditional marketing.

Whether you choose to be on social media or not, people are already talking about you there. It is up to you to join these conversations or start your own conversation and empower your followers to do the marketing for you.

Jinsi ya kukuza biashara yako kupitia mtandao (Digital Marketing)

Jinsi ya kukuza biashara yako kupitia mtandao (Digital Marketing)

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Biashara na matangazo ya karne ya 21 yanategemea sana teknolojia. Tunaishi ulimwengu wa dijitiali hivyo kila kitu hakina budi kufanywa kidijitali.

Unaweza kuwa na biashara yako au kampuni yako inayotoa huduma ama bidhaa imara na uhakika kabisa lakini usipotumia bidii kujitangaza ama kujiweka online, unaweza kuzidiwa na watu ambao huduma zao hazina ubora zaidi yako.

Kujitangaza (au kutafuta masoko) kimtandao ni njia rahisi na isiyo gharama kuwafikia watu wengi zaidi. Ukweli ni kwamba usipofanya matangazo ya biashara yako, yote uyafanyao yataishia kwa watu wachache tu wanaokuzunguka.

Nenda na wakati

Siku hizi mtu akitaka msaada wa jambo fulani wazo la kwanza kumjia ni kushika simu yake na kuperuzi kuhusu akitakacho. Hapo ndipo huweza kukutana na majibu ya swala alitakalo mtandaoni.

Fikiria wewe ndiyo hauko mtandaoni, mtumiaji huyu wa internet atakufahamu vipi? Atafahamu vipi una duka la nguo Kariakoo? Badilika. Nenda na wakati, hamia ulimwengu wa digitali. Wazungu wanaita ‘Digital Marketing’ mbinu ya kutafuta masoko na kujitangaza kupitia majukwaa ya kimtandao kama vile tovuti, mitandao ya kijamii, email, whatsapp na kadhalika.

Unaanzia wapi?

Ni rahisi. Ingawa  waweza kutumia pesa panapohitajika, kujitangaza mitandaoni ni bure kabisa. Ni kama vile ulivyo na akaunti facebook bila malipo yoyote. Cha msingi ni wewe kujifunza mbinu za uendeshaji na kuchagua njia ipi inakufaa zaidi

Miliki tovuti/website yako

Tovuti hasa kwa mashirika, makampuni na biashara kubwa ni kitu cha lazima. Hii huongeza hadhi ya kampuni kwa ujumla. Tofauti kubwa kati ya tovuti ama website na mitandao mingine ya kijamii ni namna ya kuweka maudhui.

Kupitia tovuti, mtu anaweza kupata taarifa kwa kina kuhusu kampuni au bidhaa. Pia kwenye tovuti kunaweza kufanyika shughuli kama manunuzi ya mtandaoni, kuandikisha watu kwa ajili ya program, newsletter na kadhalika.

Unatengenezaje tovuti? Ni rahisi. Kuna watu na makampuni mengi yapo kukusaidia kufungua tovuti yako. Sisi Kampuni ya Tanzlite Digital tunatengeneza website za kisasa kwa bei nafuu ili kukusaidie wewe na biashara yako katika ulimwengu wa digitali.

Mitandao ya kijamii

Karibia kila mtu yuko Facebook au Instagram. Maana yake ni kwamba soko liko huko kwa sababu ndiko watu waliko. Cha kufanya ni kupeleka biashara yako huko. Fungua akaunti kwa jina la biashara au kampuni yako na uanze kujitangaza.

Nini cha kupost ukiwa huko? Hapa ndipo wengi hukosea. Makampuni mengi hapa nchini hayafahamu namna ya kutumia mitandao ya kijamii.

Mitandao ya kijamii ni watu, hivyo wewe kama kampuni unatakiwa ufahamu namna ya kuishi na watu. Fahamu namna ya kushirikiana na watu. Isiwe kila siku unapost kuhusu wewe na bidhaa zako tu. Utawachosha watu. Kuwa mbunifu.

Unaweza ukawa unapost picha za bidhaa zako, picha za wateja wenye nyuso za kuridhika na huduma yako. Kama utakuwa mtundu zaidi waweza tengeneza vipande vifupi vya video. Kumbuka pia hautakiwi kupost mara kwa mara ikawa too much.

Jambo la msingi kuzingatia ni kwamba mitandao ya kijamii ni majukwaa tofauti tofauti yenye maudhui na makundi ya watu tofauti. Ni muhimu kulifahamu hili ili aweze kutambua kipi cha kufanya ukiwa kwenye haya majukwaa.

Boosti tangazo lako kupitia Sponsored Ads

Kama ndiyo kwanza unaanza na wateja hawakuji na huna followers wengi, njia rahisi ya kufikia watu ili waone unachouza ni kulipia tangazo. Kama huwa unaona post ya page ambayo huja-follow imeandikwa “Sponsored”, basi hayo ndiyo matangazo ya kulipia. Bei ya kutangaza ni rahisi tu; kwa upande wa Facebook na Instagram kiwango cha chini ni dola moja tu (Tsh 2400*)

WhatsApp pia ni fursa kubwa

Kwa kaiwaida WhatsApp hujumuishwa kwenye kundi la mitandao ya kijamii. Lakini kiuchambuzi zaidi, WhatsApp pamoja na majukwaa mengine kama Telegram na Messenger yanaitwa private messaging platforms. WhatsApp imekuwa kimbilio la wajasiriamali wengi wa kitanzania. Kupitia magrupu na status whatsapp, watu wanatangaza bidhaa zao na kupata wanunuzi. Soma zaidi jinsi ya kutumia WhatsApp Business hapa

Weka biashara yako kwenye Google My Business

Kampuni ya Google wana mfumo wa kukuwezesha kuweka biashara yako kwenye ramani ya Google ili watu wa karibu na eneo lako waweze kukuona wakitafuta huduma au bidhaa inayoendana na yako. Pia wanaweza kuacha maoni kama vile kukupa five star rate ili kuongeza visibility yako mtandaoni.

Pia zipo tovuti zingine zinazokuwezesha kuorodhozesha biashara au bidhaa yako kama vile Kupatana, na Zoom Tanzania.

Kuwa mbunifu katika maudhui (Content Marketing)

Karibia kila mtu anaandika maudhui mtandaoni. Iwe ni mstari mmoja kama status za facebook na whatsapp laikini yote ni maudhui. Kinachokuja kutofautisha kati ya maudhui mengi yanayoandikwa kila siku mtandaoni ni aina na stadi za uandaaji maudhui hayo.

Nichukulie mfano wa mchekeshaji maarufu nchini, Idris Sultani, kuna wakati huandika posts kwenye ukurasa wake wa instagram akitangaza makampuni kama Uber. Uandishi wake ni mwepesi na wenye ucheshi, lakini hapo ameweza kutangaza biashara.

Kwa makampuni na taasisi mbalimbali unaweza kuajiri muandaa maudhui na mwongozaji wa akaunti za kijamii za kampuni. Hili ni jambo muhimu sana katika ulimwengu wa mawasiliano ya kidigitali.

Kampuni yetu ina wataalamu wa masuala ya Digital Marketing ambao wanaweza kukurahishia kazi kuandaa yote haya. Kazi yako ni kufanya biashara, sisi tunaimarisha uwepo wako mtandaoni (online visibility)

Amua sasa!

Siku hizi mambo yanaenda kidigitali, hivyo hata biashara yako haina budi kuenda na wakati.

Kama uliwahi kujaribu tovuti au mitandao ya kijamii na haukupata matokeo mazuri basi kuna mahali haukufanya kwa usahihi. Tafuta wataalamu wakusaidie. Unapitwa wateja kwa kushindwa kuwa online. Amua sasa!

TANGAZO: Tumeanzisha group la WhatsApp kuwapa USHAURI Wajasiariamali wanaouza bidhaa mtandaoni kama vile Instagram, Facebook na WhatsApp. Bofya picha hapo chini.