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Imagine having a tool at your disposal that can connect you with thousands, even millions, of potential customers. The possibilities seem endless, right? But now, picture that same tool turning into a confusing maze, where every wrong turn can cost you time, money, and missed opportunities. Welcome to the world of social media marketing—a space where the potential for success is vast, but so are the challenges.
Before I ventured into the social media marketing industry, I was a small business owner and a data analyst/wrangler for mining companies. Like many, I tried various approaches to get my side ventures noticed on social platforms. I experimented with what I thought were the right strategies, and inevitably, some of the wrong ones too. Unfortunately, none of these methods delivered the results I had hoped for.
This experience led me to shift the focus of my software development company from creating mining CAD software to tackling the social media challenges faced by my businesses and those of my partners. It’s been a mammoth task—one that I’ve come to realize is ongoing and ever-evolving, as you’ll discover throughout this blog.
Why do I need a social media marketing company when I can do it myself for free?
The learning curve
In today’s business world, it’s widely understood that having an online presence is essential for survival and growth. While it’s certainly possible to manage this yourself, it quickly becomes apparent that setting up and running your online presence effectively—especially when it comes to social media—can turn into an overwhelming, difficult, and time-consuming task.
This challenge has given rise to a surge of social media companies, including my own 😉. But choosing the right company to partner with can often feel less like a strategic business decision and more like taking a gamble, with uncertain outcomes.
Here is another wonderful blog for you to read on doing marketing yourself: https://medium.com/@dplayer/why-your-marketing-sucks-4f59aec41beb
What’s been your biggest challenge with social media marketing? We’d love to hear your thoughts—drop us a comment below!
So, what stands a small business to do?
You might consider handling your business’s social media management on your own—after all, every platform provides backend and frontend tools to any user for free, aside from the costs associated with paid ad campaigns. That’s where I began, diving into the process with enthusiasm. However, I quickly encountered a laundry list of challenges, including:
The Steep Learning Curve
Social media management isn’t as straightforward as it seems. There are countless options, settings, and methods available, and it’s easy to make mistakes. Learning the ins and outs of these platforms can take up a significant amount of your time, pulling you away from other important aspects of your business.
Specialized Tools and Analytics
While there are advanced tools available that professional marketing companies use to manage multiple platforms in one workspace, these come with their own steep learning curve and additional costs. If you’re managing this alone, the complexity can be overwhelming, even if these tools have the potential to streamline the process.
Rapid Platform Changes
Social media platforms evolve quickly. Unless you have someone dedicated to staying on top of these changes, you might not notice a shift until it negatively impacts your lead generation or sales. This can lead to unexpected slowdowns or even a complete halt in customer engagement.
Customer Expectations
When a potential customer engages with your post or ad, they expect a prompt and professional response. If your business fails to respond in a timely manner, you risk receiving negative reviews and damaging your reputation. The pressure to maintain consistent, high-quality communication can be overwhelming, especially when managing it all on your own.
Navigating these challenges made me realize just how complex social media management can be, and it highlighted the importance of having dedicated resources or professional support to ensure your business not only survives but thrives in the digital landscape.
Outsourcing Challenges
I firmly believe that outsourcing social media management is the best choice for small to medium-sized businesses. After struggling with the complexities myself and wanting faster, more effective results, I decided to hand over the reins to a professional agency. However, this decision also came with its own set of challenges
The cost
Pricing across marketing companies can be baffling. It often feels like rates are pulled out of thin air, with no clear standards or guidelines, leaving you unsure of what you should actually be paying for these services.
Additional Services and Products
Agencies frequently offer a range of additional services and products, each with its own associated learning curve and costs. These extras can complicate the process and increase your expenses.
Alignment with Your Brand
Not all agencies will fully grasp your brand’s voice or mission. Misalignment can lead to communication issues that may ultimately harm your company’s reputation.
Dependency
It’s easy to become reliant on your service provider, especially if they’re managing all aspects of your social media. This dependency can make it difficult to end the relationship, even if things aren’t working out as expected.
Our Real-World Example: Streamlining Lead Generation for a Multi-Store Business
Between June 1 and July 13, we launched a lead generation campaign for a client with three stores, initially casting a wide net to target a large audience. The campaign’s success was evident in the numbers, generating 794 leads and reaching 109,199 people at an average cost of just R8.21 per lead. However, this success brought its own challenges—the sheer volume of inquiries quickly overwhelmed the client’s small sales team, which consisted of just one person.
To tackle this issue, we revised our strategy by dividing the campaign across the three stores and advising the client to hire two additional salespeople for each location. Additionally, we introduced stricter entry criteria for potential customers, which helped reduce the number of inquiries but also led to an increase in the cost per lead. Initially, we grouped all three stores into a single campaign with these tighter qualifying standards, but this made it difficult to evenly distribute leads among the stores.
To address this, we decided to split the campaign into three equal parts, assigning each store its own budget of R166 per day. This adjustment not only reduced the number of leads but also stabilized the cost per lead. By the final weeks of the campaign, the three stores were averaging 53 leads combined, at a cost of R37 per lead. This refined approach optimized lead flow and allowed the sales team to manage inquiries more effectively, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and successful campaign.
Final thoughts
Diving into the social media landscape is crucial for every business, regardless of size. However, it’s not without its challenges—both in terms of complexity and potential cost. Whether you decide to handle social media campaigns on your own or opt to outsource them, each approach comes with its own set of obstacles that must be navigated.
Our digital agency has been operating for about a year now, primarily focusing on our other ventures and working with a select group of clients. This time has been a learning journey for us, allowing us to adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape.
My background as a data wrangling and mining standards expert has played a role in shaping our approach but has also slowed down our expansion as a full-fledged digital marketing agency. Despite these challenges, we continue to grow, learning something new every day as we refine our strategies and broaden our expertise.
Conclusion
At Skyspear, our goal isn’t to be just another company lost in the crowd. We are committed to being transparent, easy to understand, and setting the industry standard in both cost and quality. We believe in building trust by making our processes clear and our pricing straightforward.
When you’re ready to elevate your small business’s online presence, we’re here to be your partner in navigating the complexities of social media marketing. We view every client relationship as a long-term partnership, where we both thrive and grow together in this dynamic digital world.
Take the Next Step in Your Social Media Journey
Don’t let the challenges of social media marketing hold your business back. At Skyspear, we craft tailored strategies that produce real, measurable results. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by managing it all yourself or frustrated with the difficulties of outsourcing, we’re here to make the process easier and help you succeed. Let’s work together to drive your business forward.
Ready to transform your social media strategy?
Contact us today to discover how we can help you generate leads, grow your brand, and achieve your business goals Let’s make your online presence work for you!
