Monthly Archives: January 2020

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Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: To boost or not to boost, that is the question

If you own a business, there is a high likelihood that you have some sort of digital presence. More often than not, this will include a Facebook page. And at some point it is possible that you’ve used the boost button on your Facebook page to amplify the reach of your content. It looked like a good idea, the cost was not prohibitive, and the eventual reach was impressive. And that’s where it ended, not? Dear Facebook page admins, consider this an intervention. Should you be boosting? The short answer is no. If the answer is what you came for, you can stop reading right here – isn’t that a relief? But if you do want to find a better solution to your online ad spend, feel free to read on.

Facebook marketing is a challenge for many page owners. There is still a perception that page likes should be increasing, and that the actual page likes all see a post when it goes live. No, actually, they don’t. The Facebook algorithm changes all the time. And thanks to that, it means that only a small selection of your actual page fans will see a post from your business page at any given time. You’ve probably read/heard that Facebook has substantially decreased organic reach for business pages. That means that to be seen in your community’s news feed, you need to spend money. Yes, it shouldn’t be a surprise: Facebook is pay to play. It is a business, after all.

Here’s where the “solution” appears to come in. Facebook ads, surely? After all, it seems so many businesses are jumping on board with Facebook ads, and rightly so. It looks so very easy, everyone can click on that boost button. Trust me, you are not the only one. Hundreds of thousands of page managers have been using the ‘Boost Post’ button to increase their post reach. It is easy as pie: Targeting is set (general, usually to your page’s users and location, maybe also age), a budget is chosen, and there it runs: active until either the budget runs out, or you’ve reached the end date that you’ve selected.

So, what exactly is the Facebook Boost Post function that we are talking about?

The “Boost Post” option is technically part of the greater Facebook ad system, but it can be accessed through your actual business page post feed instead of the ads manager. This does make initial ad creation easier, but it requires you to promote specific posts (instead of creating specific ad-only content) and with fewer options about who you want to see your ad and where.

When you view posts on a Page that you manage, you’ll see that blue “Boost Post” option underneath the post itself, alongside its current engagement (people reached and actual views).

The Boost button is certainly quick and convenient. But in this case, convenience comes at a cost. Your digital Ad campaigns can be huge financial and time investments, so you don’t want to take any risks. The answer cannot be that you want to reach more people. You have to be more specific. Facebook engagement is a great goal for any social media strategy, but if you’re forking out money, you want more than just likes, comments and engagement. But let’s be frank, if you boost, you’re paying for reach. That means that you pay for people to just see what you’ve posted. While it might seem like a good thing, you actually end up paying for people to glance at (and then scroll past) your boosted post.

Make no mistake, the Facebook ad platform is the secret weapon for many businesses that know how to use it correctly to market their products or services to their target audience. There’s no other advertising platform quite like Facebook, and definitely not one that delivers the value that Facebook does in terms of its precise targeting. Also from a cost point of view, there is simply no other medium that can compete.

The Facebook ad platform offers more demographic information about people than any other advertising platform, including interests, behaviors, likes or dislikes, household income, age, gender, religious or political beliefs, married or single, whether they have children in the home or at a tertiary institution and much much more. However, please also know that the abundance of information and targeting options for advertisers that can be used for advertising from within Facebook can be overwhelming for anyone who hasn’t got the experience from working at a digital agency. Facebook knows this which is why it created the Boost Post option from the page interface as the above screenshot from our company page.

So, what are your options apart from boosting? We cannot emphasise this more strongly: if you want bang for your buck, if you want measurable results, the ad campaign is the best way to go. Creating a full ad campaign on Facebook is a little more complicated than boosting a post. To create an ad campaign, you’ll usually start from scratch in Facebook business manager, and you’ll need a little more advertising expertise. You have so many more options – you can define and fine tune your targeting, you can run split ads, you can run dark ads (ads that are not posted as actual posts, and that only your targeted audience can see – this is particularly helpful if you want to run a couple of ads that look the same visually, but you want to compare results, and you don’t want to spam your community). Did you know that Facebook provides more than 17 different marketing objectives, none of which you will find if you are boosting posts and advertising from the page interface.

The purpose of any ad spend should be to increase business. It could be to generate leads, build a database, drive traffic to your website – whatever your end objective is. But it cannot be to get more likes, more comments, or more engagement. Nobody has budget to waste on vanity reach, we want results.

If you are keen to take your advertising to the next level, and you want to connect with us to assist, give us a shout at: jolindy@besociable.co.za, or pop in at our website: http://www.creativetouch.agency

 

 

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Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Can the real digital marketers please stand up?

Digital marketing

Let’s be frank – nobody wakes up in the morning and enthusiastically jumps out of bed, saying: I cannot wait to spend money on marketing and advertising my business today! In a perfect world, that would be great, because marketing is one of the cornerstones of a successful business. But is has become a grudge expense, something we resent paying and the first thing we want to scratch when the belt has to be pulled tighter.

Why? I’ve always asked myself. I am a passionate marketer, I’ve been in marketing all my life and I simply cannot see myself doing anything else. There is nothing like sitting down with a client, brainstorming ideas, seeing those ideas implemented, being a part of the action and seeing a positive difference of which I am privileged to be a part.

However, over the years I’ve seen a trend, starting when I owned my very first fledgling advertising agency and publishing company in Gaborone, Botswana. My father-in-law thought he could also do what us young, and to him, inexperienced folks, were doing. Our work didn’t look that hard (he didn’t see the long hours), and he decided to open a marketing franchise in a new town that they just moved to. It didn’t work, and he ended up closing it a couple of months later. When we discussed it later, he ruefully admitted that this was not for him.

Years later, in 2001, I opened a marketing and publishing agency in the Garden Route. I’ve had staff members over the years who worked for me, and after a couple of months decided they know it all, opened opposition to us, undercut our pricing and are selling a solution they really know nothing about. You cannot learn decades of knowledge and experience by watching what somebody does for a couple of months, and then also not stay updated by continuing to study. All. The. Time.

We find ourselves in an environment where people are unwilling to invest in real expertise and knowledge. Most businesses want a quick solution, and they want it cheaply. A plaster is not going to fix existing problems overnight. And charlatans and pretenders are unable to keep up the ruse, to discerning business owners who understand what ROI means and how to measure actual results. Unfortunately, there are many, many small businesses who DO NOT understand how the digital space really works and they are taken in.

Then there are the actual businesses owners who were taken in, and who are now disillusioned. They do not believe in marketing at all, least of all this newfangled thing they do not really understand, called digital marketing. They threw good money after bad, and are reluctant to repeat the experience.

There are many credible agencies out there, including ourselves, who take our clients’ investment in their marketing very seriously. There are a couple of red lights that one could keep an eye out for. Is the agency wanting to run with your marketing a legitimate business? Do they have offices, staff, the right background, equipment? Who are their other clients, and how long have those clients been with them? Are they trying to strong-arm you into a contract, or are they willing to work on a month-to-month basis, measuring regular feedback and results?

Speak to us for a free digital audit, where we can give you advise on what you currently have, where you are positioned digitally and how it can be improved. Or attend one of our social media seminars – I am passionate about teaching, and believe in sharing knowledge as knowledge is empowering. Visit our website: http://www.creativetouch.agency or email me direct: jolindy@besociable.co.za

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Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Are Social Media Accounts the Property of my Business?

I thought long and hard about what the title of this article should be, and it is what it is. As a digital marketing company, we often come across clients who need assistance in marketing a business they just bought. They are all excited about having a social media presence, and getting us, Creative Touch South Africa, on board to sort it all out. More often than not, though, especially when buying over an existing business, there is already a social media presence. Now suddenly there is a dispute as to ownership of these platforms.

Look, it is really quite simple. When you buy a business, you buy it as a complete, operational entity. If you’ve been involved in the selling or buying of a business, you’ll know that when a business is sold there are different business assets that may be transferred as a part of the transaction to the purchaser during the sale.

Traditionally, transferred assets include the existing stock (if any), the equipment, vehicles (sometimes), furniture, supplier information and sometimes, client databases. Nowadays though, most businesses also have web pages and social media accounts that link directly to the business. These web pages and accounts contain information pertaining to the business, including addresses and contact numbers. There will be, on social media specifically, a creation date of the account, which also adds credibility as to how long the business has been online. There will also be existing analytics data, page fans, followers, etc. These are all assets from a marketing point of view. So now many business owners want to know whether these items count as the property of their business. The answer is yes, it is the property of the business. Which means when the business is sold, it stays the property of the business, like all the other assets, and should be transferred to the new owner.

There is sometimes a misunderstanding as to how to transfer ownership of social media accounts. In reality, it is very simple. It depends on what platform it is. Some accounts, such as Instagram, require a user name and password. Some accounts, such as Facebook, require an admin to be added to the page. Facebook can be tricky, because not everybody understands exactly how it works, and the platform used to also allow a business page to be run independently with its own user name and password. This has not been the case though for years, and Facebook business pages can only be accessed if a user is connected to the page via one of the admin roles.

Unfortunately, many people are under the perception because the business page is linked to their own personal profile, handing over the page will impact this. This is not the case at all. On Facebook specifically, you can have multiple “Admins” on a business page. There are other page roles available, such as “editor”, “analyst” and more – all of these roles have a place and a specific function. An owner though, should be “admin” as that gives full control over the page. There is a 7 day period during which a new admin cannot alter the role of any of the other “admins” or even remove them, you can only add. But as soon as the new admin is active, other admins can just remove themselves from the page. Be careful though, Facebook allows an admin to leave a page completely, which is then a headache of note to try and recover from “outside”. Also, if an admin leaves and the only roles left on the page are editors, there can be no new admins added, and an editor role cannot promote itself to the admin role. So be sure to transfer correctly, as the default role under the Page Roles section under Settings is “editor”.

Ideally, in a perfect world, a seller would make provision for the transfer of all the accounts, and keep the necessary user names and passwords secure to be handed over upon completion of the sale. If the seller chooses not to do this, and keep the accounts, there will now be duplicate accounts online, which will make marketing very difficult from a search engine point of view. How does the public know which account/page/channel to visit? If the seller chooses to deactivate all the accounts, this is again problematic, as it would mean that all of the followers and fans would be lost and the buyer would need to start from scratch. This would defeat the purpose of the buyer gaining access to the social media accounts if there is value and goodwill in the original accounts through existing social media pages and followers and subscribers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances with regards to social media accounts. Speak to the team at Creative Touch South Africa if you require any advice on this or other digital matters: info@creativetouch.agency

 

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Momday to Someday 1

At the age of 40, when most other people start planning their retirement, I became a mom to 10 week old adopted twins.

It has been a rollercoaster ride, from finding out our single expected girl was actually a twin girl plus boy (he was a hidden twin).

Within a week we upgraded our baby room, our home, our cars and our offices (our whole lives) to accommodate baby times two. But no amount of getting ready prepares you for the moment when babies are placed in your arms, and you realise you are now responsible for these tiny, helpless, fragile living beings.

The day I became a mom, my life entered a whole new fase. Suddenly every decision impacted not just me, but also two littlies dependent on me. It’s amazing how quickly one starts adulting. One look at those two screaming little “bundles of joy”, and all my priorities changed instantly.

Nobody tells you that your new perfume will be Eau De Vomit, that high heels and platforms instantly morph into trainers, flats and sandals. Nobody tells you that you’ll be halfway through a meeting with a client before you realise you have some substance that could only have leaked from either end of a baby somewhere on your outfit, or a burp cloth still draped over a shoulder. But… when their little hands reach out for you, their faces wreathed in smiles, when they want only their Mama, and you realise they mean you, then all the agonies are forgotten while you bask in the warm glow of motherhood.

I have been asked to chronicle “life with twins”, but much as I love writing, the last four years have been a blur. Coffee became a lifeline, with sleep (what is that??) measured in short bursts between bathing, feeding and changing times, I am amazed that I can look at my kids, and they are not just alive, but they seem to be thriving.

Even after four years of living the momlife, centered around my children, rocking the momiform of ponytail/braid, comfy pants and flats, it still astounds me how much one can fit into a day if you really have to. During the day I run my own business, dealing with the accumulating ever-present guilt that I should be spending more time with my children. Like many other working moms, I overcompensate with too many toys, activities, elaborate birthday parties and well-planned balanced meals.

Online, I am connected to a lot of parents. Older parents, young parents, single parents, working parents, stay-at-home parents, struggling parents, so many parents. I read about their struggles, their joys, their triumphs and their pride. There is a lot of support, but there is also a lot of really unnecessary judgement, parent-shaming and smug superiority.

It is my hope that there will be time (oh that precious, scarce resource) to add to these Momday Diaries. I hope that more parents will realise, along with me, that we are enough, and just as we are. If I can do this at 44, and with twins, you can also. The important thing to remember is just to love them. Everything else is secondary. Our time with them is fleeting, best is really to just not fret about everything. It will all work out, in the end.

In our house, we take this “raising kids thing” a day at a time. They did not want to have a bath today? Aah well, try again tomorrow. Didn’t fancy dinner? They’ll be hungry enough for breakfast. Went to school with mismatched socks and pj pants? It’s ok, maybe they’re starting a new toddler fashion trend.

Looking at my little busy bodies now, I am so so grateful for them. They are quietly (for once) building a 48-piece floor puzzle. There is a short moment of peace before pandemonium shatters this moment, when they start fighting about who owns what, where the pieces fit and who should pack away. But for now… we have that moment.

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The Elusive Muse

A writer is not a writer because you are published, a writer is a writer because you write.

I am that rare in-between of writers – a couple of my works are published. A poem here, a short story there, and then the well dried up, my muse went on permacation and I stopped … er… writing. For years. However, even an unpublished writer is still a writer, albeit a frustrated one.

In all the years, whether I’ve been actively writing or not writing, I’ve been thinking about writing. I’d stock up on the most amazing of notebooks, the most gorgeous of pens. I’d tell myself this is the start of my next Big Thing, and then I’d stash the stationery away, not wanting to make as much of a scratch on it in case I mess up the beautiful simplicity and then not be inspired to write.

It is beyond my understanding how the mind can come up with the amount of excuses that it does to not just start. Start writing. Write anything. Even gibberish can be edited – it is better to be editing and fixing than not to be writing at all.

The best novelists in the world talk about approaching writing as if it is a job. Have a separate area where you do your “job”. Decide on the actual time you’ll be spending writing every day, and then sit there and write. No matter what.

Do not wait for a better time to start, or a better age. Right here, write now. Write about what you know, research what you don’t. Get proofreaders, beta readers, any readers – get input, get advice. Listen to the advice. Don’t get all uppity and angry at criticism – if it adds value, accept it, process it, see if it works.

Have you got any ideas that inspire you to exit the quagmire of not writing? Please share in the comments section – let’s get writing!

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Revisiting the past

There is a mythical “ancient Chinese quote” referenced in a book by Terry Pratchett: May you live in Interesting Times. On the surface, the quote looks innocent, but if you ponder it for a few moments, how ominous those interesting times could be become clear as the tumultuous storms and tempests of a life on a road less travelled.

Having become a mom of twins four years ago, I have been spending a lot of time revisiting my own childhood in my mind. I avoided becoming a parent myself for many years, as I had a very abusive childhood, and I had a very real to me fear of also being an abusive parent. Irrational, I know, but the mind can play a powerful role in our choices.

It took me accidentally falling pregnant at the age of 39 and then having a miscarriage almost 12 weeks later to realise I desperately wanted to be a mom. Many attempts, doctors, and three miscarriages later, it became clear that I could not carry a pregnancy full term.

I became a mom of the most amazing twins through adoption. They changed my life and made me realise that none of us are bound to what happened to us in the past.

Having become a mother myself, it made me question my non-existent relationship with my own biological mother. I haven’t physically seen or spoken to her for many years. It was just too painful. I found myself questioning what it was that made me so unlovable, so very obviously disobedient, that I deserved the kind of abuse that happened to me as a youngster.

From being locked in a wardrobe with no food, to live cigarettes extinguished on my skin, to scars and welts from being hit with a sjambok, these were all commonplace to me. I became adept at hiding signs of abuse from my peers at school and my teachers, because I was so very ashamed. We already had a scarlet letter painted on us because of my mother’s promiscuity in a very traditional, small town, plus we were known to be poor white trash, dependent on the church for food parcels and clothing. The last thing I needed, was more attention focussed on me.

No matter how much I tried to hide everything, it soon came to light, and amongst much outrage I was removed from my mother’s care and I became a ward of the state at age fifteen.

Remember her? Your inner child, my inner child, ready to be embraced and freed

Then, just as I thought I had closed all doors to my past, I received an sms from an unknown number, asking to speak with me. I replied, and it turned out to be my biological mother. I realised that I was no longer afraid of her, and that it was time to let ghosts of the past get put to rest. If not for my sake, for the sake of my children.

This past Christmas found me trekking up north, to go visit the bogeywoman who gave birth to me, to find answers to questions, and to find peace.

What I found instead was an old, frail, sick woman. A woman who remembers fractions of the past, who found it hard to look me in the eye, who could initially only speak to me via her last husband. I found someone who needs my forgiveness, my compassion and my empathy.

There are no excuses

I learnt so many lessons during my visit. No matter what, we can forgive. I am not the sum of what happened to me, but the sum of my choice of what to make of all of it. I do not have to make the same mistakes, nor can I claim to be a victim because of what happened to ne. I am stronger because of all of my history. I am a better parent to my twins. And I am able to provide advice and support to so many more people because I survived the storms and tempests.