In my previous article, I said:
“The algorithm continues making it harder and harder for your content to be seen in the flood, so make sure that when you do catch a wave, you are prepared to capitalize on it. How can you be prepared?”

This guide takes a more practical, in-depth approach to preparing for virality, and I hope it answers your question, Adrian Gordon, and helps others seeking more insights.

PS – Your questions are always welcome! They help me understand what’s important to you and challenge me to put my brain to work.

Understanding Virality: It Can Happen to Anyone

We’ve all seen viral moments—from the meticulously planned “Barbenheimer” movie release in 2023 to the unexpected Gangnam Style craze of 2012.

Fan Artwork – Email for credit to be applied.

Sometimes virality is manufactured by big brands, but often, it happens out of the blue. You never know when your content will hit the right note at the right time, reaching the right person, and boom—you wake up to find your name, content, or brand everywhere.

Since virality is unpredictable, you can’t control when it happens, but you can prepare for it to ensure you make the most of the opportunity.

(Note: This guide focuses on positive virality; handling negative virality is a crisis management issue requiring specialized handling.)

Step 1: Strengthen Your Digital Foundation

Before virality strikes, ensure your infrastructure can handle the surge in interest. Here’s how:

1. Website Readiness

• Optimize for speed, scalability, and uptime.
• Consider upgrading your hosting or using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for faster load times.

2. E-commerce Optimization

• Streamline checkout processes, payment gateways, and inventory management to prevent stockouts.

3. Customer Service Scalability

• Ensure your contact channels (email, chat, social media) are functional and easily monitored.
• Set up automated responses (chatbots, FAQs) for quick inquiries.

Pro Tip: Not sure where to start? Talk to a web developer for a quick assessment and upgrade while things are quiet.

Step 2: Build a Crisis and Response Plan

Viral attention can bring both opportunities and challenges. Having a plan in place ensures you remain in control.

1. Pre-Drafted Messaging

• Prepare responses for media inquiries, customer concerns, and PR opportunities to maintain consistency.
• Use AI tools like ChatGPT to draft quick responses tailored to different scenarios.

2. Social Media Monitoring

• Use tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to track brand mentions in real time.
• Not ready to invest? Take advantage of free trials or check if your current CRM offers social listening features.

3. Crisis Management Plan

• Be ready to address negative feedback professionally.
• Consider consulting a PR professional for support if things escalate.

Tip: Many PR professionals offer consultation hours—take advantage of them before taking action.

Step 3: Ride the Wave (Turn Virality into Longevity)

Once you’ve caught the wave, it’s time to convert attention into long-term success.

1. Optimize Your Sales Funnel (Internal Actions)

• Implement lead capture strategies such as email popups, lead magnets, or SMS opt-ins.
• Set up retargeting campaigns (Facebook, Google, TikTok) to re-engage visitors.
• Offer upsells and cross-sells to maximize revenue.

2. Leverage Partnerships (External Actions)

• Fulfillment Partnerships: Work with logistics providers to scale order processing efficiently.
• Influencer Collaborations: Connect with influencers who can amplify your message. Check out our previous article on engaging influencers to support your marketing efforts.
• Media Relationships: Build connections with journalists and bloggers in your niche.

Step 4: Stay True to Your Brand

When all eyes are on you, it’s easy to feel pressured to change. However, staying authentic is key to sustaining your success.

How to Stay Authentic:

• Stick to your brand voice and values—don’t let sudden attention push you into unfamiliar territory.
• Be transparent about delivery times, stock availability, and customer service capacity.
• Engage authentically with your audience, thanking them for their support and fostering community.

Lessons from Valiant: Preparation Meets Opportunity

Valiant – Courtesy of DanceHallMag.com

At the 2024 Creator Summit, artist Valiant shared how his viral moment with “Kotch e Hat/ Fadda Dippo” didn’t happen by chance. He had an extensive back catalog of music, allowing him to sustain his success beyond the initial viral buzz. Check out a little synopsis of the trend here.

Lesson: Stay prepared. Your viral moment can happen at any time, and if you’ve put in the work, you’ll be ready to capitalize on it.

Final Thoughts: Be Ready Before It Happens

My biggest takeaway? Engage your inner Valiant—do the work and lay the foundation.
If and when your digital moment arrives, you’ll be prepared to ride the wave into long-term success.

Have questions? Drop them in the comments or reach out—I’d love to hear from you!

Want support with your digital strategy? Drop us a line: rae@startsocialcaribbean.com

PS – Here’s a FREE checklist to help keep you on track: Check Out Our Free Resource!

The post Prep to Go Viral: Are You Ready to Catch the Wave? first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly revolutionized content creation, offering businesses and brands powerful tools to streamline processes and enhance productivity. However, while AI brings numerous benefits to the table, relying solely on AI-generated content can be limiting and may ultimately cost you the very thing that sets you apart in the eternal quest for the ever-wondering eye of your target audience.

With “recency” of content being one of the factors considered by the different content ranking algorithms that run the platforms we use daily, it’s tempting to boost your consistency by what I informally call “churning” which is supercharging your content cadence and releasing large quantities of content daily.

“churning” – supercharging your content cadence and releasing large quantities of content daily.

Now CHURN doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Upping the amount of relatable content you produce increases the likelihood of your content being seen. It becomes a problem however when your content strays from your core; purpose, ethos and objective and uses misaligned tactics to grab short-term attention or loses the VALUE component that audiences are hungry for after being INUNDATED daily with copy-and-paste content (PS – a great place to see this happen in real-time is on THREADS)

The marketplace is now rife with low-quality, AI-generated, replica content and the tech giants are starting to take notice. Google in March 2024 proclaimed a crackdown on a few types of AI-generated content schemes used to game their algorithms (check out this article on the move by Google from Wired.com).

On social media, we’ve seen a proliferation of bots in the comments section and our inboxes promising “engagement” for a few dollars a day. Changes are afoot because these tech companies simply cannot afford to lose access to what they sell, our attention which wanes when we get bored of seeing the same old, uninspiring content daily.

How can you use AI tools in content creation though? Marry them with human insights and discerning.

Rather WATCH or listen to the content in this article? Click here: https://youtu.be/uZBo9Hz56UI

AI: Efficiency and Scale + Human: Creativity and Innovation

 AI tools excel at generating large volumes of content quickly and efficiently. They can automate repetitive tasks like data analysis, content curation, and even basic writing tasks, allowing businesses to scale their content production without exponentially increasing costs.

Unlike AI, however, human creators bring creativity and innovation to content creation. We can develop unique ideas, storytelling techniques, and fresh perspectives that captivate audiences and differentiate brands in crowded marketplaces.

Use your AI tools to help you ideate and brainstorm. Prompt the tools with questions you want to explore and see what comes up. AI does make it easier to pull together data in a way that is easier to review and understand. Then spend some time thinking through, researching and adding your take on the ideas that spark for you.

Authentic content is more likely to evoke emotions, spark discussions, and leave a lasting impression. Anyone can prompt, it’s your insights that will make a difference.

AI: Data-Driven Insights + Human: Nuance 

AI is adept at processing vast amounts of data and extracting valuable insights. By analyzing user behavior, market trends, and content performance metrics, AI tools can guide content strategies, helping businesses create more targeted and relevant content that resonates with their audience. While AI excels at data processing and generating text, human creators offer nuanced insights, context, and subjective interpretations. Behind your data points are real people and real stories that can help you understand what resonates with your audience and amplify it.

The existence of the human trait of nuance is what helps us address complex topics, adapt to cultural nuances, and respond to evolving trends in ways that AI algorithms currently struggle to emulate.

Don’t believe me?

1. Prompt ChatGPT to give you the latest Gen Alpha (People born from 2010 to 2024) slangs. “LIT” may appear on that list.

2. Find your nearest Gen Alpha and refer to something cool as LIT.

3. Pick your pride up off the floor.

4. Call your therapist.

My thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

3. AI: Consistency and Optimization + Human: Emotional Connection and Trust

AI ensures consistency in tone, style, and brand messaging across various content pieces. It can also optimize content for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by identifying relevant keywords, improving readability, and structuring content to enhance its discoverability online. But it is the authentic nature of content that builds genuine connections with audiences. Humans relate to human experiences, opinions, and narratives. When brands use human-created content, they establish trust and credibility because audiences perceive such content as more sincere and relatable.

And it will be the sincere and relatable that keeps people coming back ESPECIALLY younger, less easily impressed audiences who have grown up in the digital age.

Cookie cutter is OUT, authenticity is always in.

The point remains that AI is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance content creation processes for businesses and brands. However, leveraging AI as a foundation rather than a replacement for human creativity is key to unlocking the full potential of content marketing. By combining the efficiency of AI with the authenticity and ingenuity of human creators, businesses can produce content that not only engages audiences but also builds lasting relationships and drives meaningful business outcomes.

Ultimately, the fusion of AI technology and human creativity represents the future of content creation—a harmonious blend that maximizes both efficiency and impact.

Meet Racheal ‘Rae’ Callaghan

A digital Marketing Consultant, strategist and entrepreneur with 10 years and counting in the advertising & and digital marketing space she has experience creating digital campaigns for well-known and loved brands.

She holds an MBA in Management Information Systems and is the Founder and Managing Director of Start Social Ltd, a digital media consultancy.

Follow Start on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube: @startsocialcbn

LinkTree: linktr.ee/startsocialcbn

The post The Role of AI in Content Creation: A Foundation, Not a Replacement first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

As a digital marketing strategist, I’ve witnessed an analytics revolution that has completely reshaped how we measure success and optimize campaigns. Gone are the days of agonizing over basic metrics like print ad impressions and call centre volume. Today’s marketers are empowered with unprecedented levels of data to dissect every facet of the customer journey.

<<<< Get the shortened AV version of this article here >>>>

At the core is the ability to map intricate multi-channel paths to conversion. From the first organic search visit to remarketed Facebook ads to cart abandonment emails – each touchpoint’s impact on revenue can finally be quantified through advanced attribution modeling. This unified cross-channel view is what allows us to get smarter and continuously refine our strategies.

Consider the wealth of data streams now at our fingertips: sophisticated website analytics tools capture granular user behavior patterns and audience segmentation. Social media platforms feed us a constant stream of post-level engagement metrics segmented by demographics and interests. Search engines illuminate our most coveted keyword drivers of traffic. Email marketing provides a direct line to measuring list engagement and conversions.

But the influx of information can be daunting. Before you even start considering advanced attribution modeling, have you been paying attention to your base-level statistics in your reporting?

Do you know what metrics you should be paying attention to? Is growth the most important measure of how well you are doing in the digital space? The answer doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with the end in mind.

Establish your overall GOALS – you are investing your time, energy, and resources into the digital space for a reason. So, what do you WANT? Some common goals are brand awareness, lead generation, boosting customer sentiment, etc. You may have multiple goals, and that’s fine; prioritize them! Ideally, establish your top 3 and note if your goals differ based on platforms

Identify & define the metrics associated with your goals – one goal can still mean tracking different metrics depending on the platforms you are using. Make note of what these metrics are. You will reference these when you begin reading your monthly reports.

Get S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) – this is where you want to define the destination you are working towards on a platform-by-platform basis. If you are brand new to the space, you may be tempted to set a LOFTY goal. Go for it, but be realistic and remain open to tweaking your goals as you get more information and see how your audience actually responds to your activities (take a look at your competitors as well).

If this isn’t your first rodeo, make a quick run to your past reports to see how you’ve been doing and use that as a benchmark you can build on.

The fact is, this data influx is only as powerful as how you leverage it. The real advantage lies in using these insights to eventually predict rather than just report. But you cannot begin predicting until you get comfortable with simply tracking and using this information to boost your decision-making on and offline.

Never be afraid to look at the FACTS, regardless of what this looks like. Poor performance isn’t an indictment; it’s an opportunity to face up to what can be done better or even to spot what’s going well to encourage you to do more of that!

With data as our compass, we can be smarter, more agile, and relentlessly relevant at every touchpoint.

Meet Racheal ‘Rae’ Callaghan

A digital Marketing Consultant, strategist and entrepreneur with 10 years and counting in the advertising & and digital marketing space she has experience creating digital campaigns for well-known and loved brands.

She holds an MBA in Management Information Systems and is the Founder and Managing Director of Start Social Ltd, a digital media consultancy.

Follow Start on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube: @startsocialcbn

LinkTree: linktr.ee/startsocialcbn

The post Tracking Digital Marketing Metrics That Matter first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

We OUTSIDE! This is the battle cry of consumers as the veil of Covid-19 has lifted and the masses have re-entered “real life” to exchange the almighty dollar for goods and experiences ergo brick and mortar offline touch points have become important again after 3 or so years of a HEAVY digital push.

Let us be clear Digital is going NOWHERE. Your digital platforms will remain a driving force behind campaigning due to their wide reach and impressive ROI. What is going to happen is we now need to shake off the cobwebs of our offline strategies and bring them back into the mix.

Why? According to a report on B2C consumer behaviour, 84% of (U.S.) consumers have researched products online before buying offline (in a store), and 77% have browsed products in-store but purchased online.

What does it all mean? Consumers are engaging with both online and in-store resources to learn about products, reinforcing the importance of an omnichannel strategy. (2023 B2C Survey Results, Akeneo)

So, what should you be doing to give your customers the BEST experience on and offline? Well, after you are done reading this you should be able to answer that question.

Get Back to Basics

You thought you could avoid this step? Think again! The core of EVERY strategy begins with the Ws of strategy i.e. the WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE and HOW in whatever order you choose.

Explore these basics for a digital campaign here

Actions:

·       Define Your Goals and Objectives:

o   Start by clearly defining your campaign’s goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve with this campaign, and how will success be measured?

 ·       Understand Your Audience:

o   Conduct thorough audience research to understand where your target audience spends their time online and how they prefer to engage with brands.

 ·       Choose Relevant Channels:

o   Identify the most relevant channels for your campaign based on your audience research. Common digital channels include social media, email marketing, websites, mobile apps, search engines, and more.

Keep It Consistent.

From messaging to look and feel there MUST be cohesiveness in the presentation of the campaign across mediums. Now hear me out, cohesiveness doesn’t mean replication so we will 100% be considering best practices for the different mediums in optimizing for customer experience and expectations.

Actions:

·       Develop a Consistent Message:

o   Craft a consistent brand message and storytelling strategy that can be adapted for each channel. Ensure that your message aligns with your brand values and resonates with your audience.

 ·       Create Cohesive Content:

o   Develop content that is tailored to each channel’s strengths and limitations while maintaining a unified brand identity. Content may include text, images, videos, and interactive elements.

 ·       Implement Cross-Channel Branding:

o   Use consistent branding elements such as logos, color schemes, fonts, and tone of voice across all channels to reinforce your brand identity.

 ·       Coordinate Timing and Messaging:

o   Plan your campaign timeline to synchronize messaging and promotions across channels. This can help create a sense of urgency and anticipation among your audience.

Let’s get PERSONAL…within reason.

Consumers are getting used to being served what they want (or sometimes what they don’t know they want yet ) when they want, where they want it. You have an opportunity to use what you learn over time about a consumer set to give them just that.

How? Data. Google is the granddaddy of using TONS of data scrapped from consumer interactions to serve relevant ads, so DO use this for ads and remarketing for your website and digital platforms but it doesn’t have to start or end there.

Consider building consumer databases and collecting information from on and offline touch points that can help you understand your customers and then use this information to customize offers. Sounds complicated? It doesn’t have to be.

Re-marketing and subscriptions/opt-ins can take care of the digital space but what can you do offline? The same thing. Collect information by providing value and then building on that.

How To Get Personal? An Example

Are you a small business that participated in a fair? Exchange an email address for a future purchase discount coupon for visitors interested in a particular product e.g. necklaces. Once that information is captured, tag it accordingly. Begin serving this customer base with RELEVANT information about what they expressed interest in. This keeps your brand top of mind and will increase the likelihood of them making a future purchase.

“There are 4 billion daily email users. This number is expected to climb to 4.6 billion by 2025. (Statista, 2021)” (Hubspot)

Chances are your customers are part of these 4 billion users. Make this COUNT!

PS – Building databases also ensures that you own your user data. Remember the social media blackouts that have happened a few times in the past few years? Don’t get caught out being completely disconnected from your customer by being dependent on 3rd party platforms. Own that one-to-one connection.

Actions:

·       Personalize the Experience:

o   Leverage one-to-one customer insights to personalize content and offers for individual customers. Personalization can significantly enhance the customer’s experience.

 ·       Use Data Analytics:

o   Implement tracking and analytics tools to monitor campaign performance on each channel. Collect data on customer interactions, engagement, and conversions.

 ·       Provide Seamless Cross-Channel Integration:

o   Ensure that your channels are integrated so that customers can easily switch between them. For example, allow customers to start a transaction on one channel and complete it on another without any friction.

Get Your <Technical> Ducks in A Row

A great campaign means NOTHING if the core components do not work! This means everything from making sure links and re-directs work to ensuring that contact information provided will result in customer service being rendered in fair timelines. If it doesn’t work, park it until it does. The Akeneo report noted that “a bad product information experience from any source can result in 60% of consumers abandoning their purchase.” Need I say more?

·       Mobile Optimization:

o   Given the increasing use of mobile devices, make sure your campaign is optimized for mobile experiences, including responsive design and mobile apps if applicable.

 ·       Customer Support and Engagement:

o   Offer consistent customer support and engagement across all channels. Provide multiple contact options and ensure that customer inquiries are addressed promptly.

·       Compliance and Security:

o   Ensure that all channels adhere to industry regulations and security standards, especially if you are collecting customer data or processing transactions.

Keep Your Finger on the PULSE of your campaign.

This goes without saying. Numbers don’t lie.  Place Kaizen at the core of your campaign and seek to continuously improve based on results. Never be afraid to make changes mid-execution. Whether it’s cutting back, ramping up or tweaking the output. The goal remains to create the BEST customer experience which oftentimes means, letting the customer rather than our own intuition guide what that looks like.

·       Test and Iterate:

o   Continuously monitor campaign performance and collect feedback. Use A/B testing and customer feedback to make improvements and refine your omnichannel strategy.

·       Measure ROI:

o   Evaluate the return on investment (ROI) for each channel and the overall campaign. Adjust your strategy based on the channels that are performing best.

And there you have it! Creating an omnichannel experience requires careful planning, execution, and ongoing optimization to ensure a seamless and consistent customer journey across all digital and non-digital touchpoints.

Remember that the specific channels and strategies will vary depending on your industry, target audience, and campaign objectives so DO spend time clearly defining these elements.

Good luck with your next campaign!

Was this helpful or insightful? Like, share it and subscribe to the “Rae Does Digital” newsletter!

Meet Racheal ‘Rae’ Callaghan

A digital Marketing Consultant, strategist and entrepreneur with 10 years and counting in the advertising & and digital marketing space she has experience creating digital campaigns for well-known and loved brands.

She holds an MBA in Management Information Systems and is the owner & operator of Start Social Ltd., a digital media consultancy.

A Distinguished Toastmaster, she channels her love of public speaking into her role as the current host of Kingston Beta and her YouTube series #StartStories where she talks to Caribbean entrepreneurs about their journeys.

Follow Start on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube: @startsocialcbn

LinkTree: linktr.ee/startsocialcbn

The post Omni-Channel Strategy for Digital Campaigns first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

Those personalities constantly show up on our timelines, their content gives us quick hits of dopamine, we indulge, and then quickly move on to the next one.

For some people these interactions are fleeting, the content consumed and forgotten as soon as something else pops up and steals our attention. For others, the commitment is a little deeper. We choose to follow these personalities and opt into being served their content as soon as it is available.

Deeper still, we create ‘relationships’, subconsciously beginning to trust the opinions of these sources, looking to them for everything from new things to consider, opinions on existing products/services, and even validation of our own choices.

It’s a no-brainer then that marketers have added capitalizing on these online “relationships” to their strategic wheelhouse via Influencer Marketing, word of mouth scaled to a ba-zillion.

Influencer Impact = Word of Mouth 2.0

Word of mouth and referrals/recommendations are the OG and influencer marketing really is just that, word of mouth amplified by the ubiquitous reach of social media.

Hubspot says it best, “While a recommendation from a friend or family member is valuable, it’s only a one-to-one interaction. But with influencers, this interaction could happen with hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people. Plus, influencers work hard to gain their audience’s trust, making their recommendations more persuasive than other forms of advertising.”

The stats definitely show that marketers ACTIVELY see ROI from investing in using influencer marketing. But it begs the question, does an investment in influencer marketing ALWAYS reap rewards? Say it with me….NO.

Can you take some steps to be smarter about your partnerships AND spend when you decide to engage in influencer marketing? Absolutely.

What does it MEAN to influence?

Formally, according to Merriam Website, influence is “the power to change or affect someone or something—especially the power to cause changes without directly forcing those changes to happen.”

“To change or affect”. The ability to move someone or something from one state to another, in this case, moving an audience member from viewer to ultimately a consumer of a particular good or service.

Does this sound like the average modern-day influencer’s skillset? When you hear the word ‘influencer’ what comes to mind?

If the ‘Hey guys!’ just rang in your ears you wouldn’t be the only one. Or perhaps you thought of extra large follower counts, premium, always-on content, brand after brand making an appearance in some way shape or form, #ad accompanying that well-curated image.

Influence Definition

The word influencer has become synonymous with popularity. But what we sometimes fail to realize is that Popularity ≠ Influence. A large following does not mean this personality, no matter how large their following will be the right person to move their audience from viewers to consumers of your product or service. In fact, many struggle to monetize their audience as liking someone’s content doesn’t automatically mean a willingness to spend on it.

Side Bar: Check out this interesting, but nuanced incident

This fact is even more important for companies who engage these personalities at a cost with hopes of furthering the achievement of some business goal or another.

You see, there are a bevvy of reasons why audiences choose to follow personalities but not many of these reasons are aligned with these people being primed to take the next step with your brand.

So, if you are considering engaging an influencer for your next campaign, or perhaps even failed with engaging one before here are a few considerations for your next foray into partnering with an influencer/content creator;

1. Match Your Influencer to Your Funnel Position

The kind of “influencer” you’ll engage to support your efforts should be guided by where in the customer journey you estimate the target audience to be and what you are trying to achieve with your campaign.

Going for awareness for mass reach v. high conversion from a specific audience? The strategic selection of an influencer personality will differ IMMENSELY. Before you think of WHO, consider the purpose of your campaign efforts and what success looks like for you.

Customer Journey Visualization

2. Consider the Cadence of Content from Your Influencer Partner

On average 95% of a brand’s potential customers are “out of market” i.e. not ready to purchase. Statistics show that the average person needs to see at least 8 pieces of content from a brand before they take the next step to deepen their interest/consideration. In many cases (especially on the local scene) influencers will be engaged on a one-off basis to post or create content once with hopes of having an impact.

The unfortunate fact is however that unless your target audience is being touched with your content from other angles that one interaction may have little to no impact on your brand lift.

Think about, how long and in what ways will you be working with this influencer. How will you make the transition from that influencer relationship (in most cases short term) to continuing to serve your content to this target to increase your chances of moving them down the funnel?

PS – If you are planning a campaign for the first time or want to make sure you are hitting all the notes as you plan for something new, check out this article

3. Determine the SYNERGY between brand offering and influencer content. 

Remember how we said people follow personalities for a reason? Becoming a follower is a sign of commitment and with that commitment comes expectations guided by the experiences the audience would have had before. The moment there is a disconnect, like with any relationship there is the potential for the connection to break down.

“Becoming a follower is a sign of commitment…commitment comes with expectations”

As a brand you are renting the eyes and attention of that personality that was built on these experiences. Simply put, does the offering match, what is expected by or the needs of, the influencer’s audience? No. Hold your horses and go back to the why of your campaign and re-think your selection. Normally this should be considered by the influencer themself however a large budget can sway critical thinking so as the holder of the purse strings making an investment you will need to protect your own interests. A mismatch between your offering and the audience’s needs/expectations may lower your ROI.

Another very important consideration is this; is the influencer themself an authentic source of information on that particular offering?

Consider that the person one would trust with makeup selections may for many people NOT be the person they trust to guide them about security concerns BUT they may be open to their suggestions on other complementary products/services/industries.

Note: This is nuanced however the HOW behind an influencer partnership can bypass some of these hurdles. When you are weighing partnerships getting feedback from the influencers/creator themselves on what their audience responds to can be useful. They will have a better understanding of their community than you do.

There you have it, a healthy top 3 out of a list of so many more.

Your Home Work

I could spill the beans a bit more BUT I know you are here for a good time and not a long time so here are a few other others you can add to your list with just a LITTLE bit of homework.

1. Measure their impact
2. Bigger isn’t always better, go micro
3. Rethink your idea of WHO an influencer IS – a BIGGIE!
4. Diversify your selections, impact/engagement > follower count
5. Check if the stats are REAL – yes, I said what I said.

And with that, good luck and happy partnering!

Want to optimize your digital presence? We can help! Learn more about who we are and what we do. 

Ready to get started? Let’s talk! Get in touch!

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The post Influencer Marketing: 3 Considerations for Maximizing Your ROI first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

One of the questions I get asked when I introduce myself as a Digital Consultant focused on strategy the question that often follows is, “Ok, so what do you DO?”

As a digital strategist, I view myself as the cornerstone of every project that has a digital footprint. We strip down an idea to its bare bones and bridge the gap between; a. the overall business goals, b. the specific project goals and c. the KEY components that need to be understood to make the idea not only a reality but one that achieves real impact and supports the big picture.

Often the simplest things are the most overlooked so whenever faced with anything major, I go back to basics.

Building your own digital campaign for your next project? Before you spend one or one million dollars, lay the foundation with a solid strategy.

If the term “strategy” feels like a bit much, think of “a plan of action” designed to address the 4Ws – Who, Why, Where, What, of ANYTHING.

Who – Define your target. And no, it’s never EVERYBODY.

Depending on what your goal is, ideally, your target should be both willing AND able to partake in your offering.

Ask; do the people I am targeting have any real reason for being interested in my offering? If yes, the next thing to ask is, do these same people have the resources to partake in my offering? This can be money, time, or any other thing you are asking for in return.

If not, you risk targeting people who are not your customer and wasting your resources. (Quick caveat: If your goal is growing FUTURE customers through awareness, you do not have to be hard and fast on these criteria being met immediately)

Once they have met these criteria your next step may be to segment or group your targets based on similarities (think demographic, geographic etc.). Ideally, you will walk away with no more than 3 segments which you will plan for specifically.

Pro Tip: If you are doing this for the first time and have no customers you can do a couple of things;

1) look at your competitors & their audience and use that as a guide

2) define & test your ideal customer profile

3) let your audience define itself – a risky & expensive endeavour, especially if you have limited resources.

Already have a customer base? Audit them. Sometimes whom you DESIRE as a customer doesn’t align with the current customer base. If that’s the case, try and find out why. If there is alignment, double down on that audience profile and cater to them.

Why – Identify a purpose (for yourself & your audience)

Just because you care doesn’t mean your digital audience will. Every day and every dollar spent online is spent trying to get the attention and interest of the people that matter. You are exchanging valuable time & money for this interest.

Ask; What do I want to achieve from this campaign? One campaign can have MULTIPLE goals. Identify them in broad terms; growth, awareness, lead generation etc. (Ideally your top 3) and keep them close! You are going to use these to define your success later.

When it comes to your audience, they too are exchanging their interest for a reason.

What better way to capture their interest than tying their motivation to the value of your offering? Makeup brands market confidence, luxury speaks to your sense of self-worth & ego, educational programs play upon that urge to be more, and the list goes on.

Ask; how will my offering BENEFIT my customer base? Remember you may have several offerings that appeal to different segments. Identify how these benefits align with the value of the target and use that as the foundation for your communications.

Pro Tip: Single services can be tailored to the values of different segments as well. Think of something as simple as deodorant… the communication to a youthful female audience will differ from that of the older male even though both products do the EXACT same thing.

Strike a healthy balance between audience value and service offering.

Where – Find your audience

Each digital platform has a varying audience, demographically and otherwise. And many digital platforms have research and insights on how people use them and with what frequency.

Ask; on which platforms am I most likely to find my target audience(s)?

Match your target profile to these insights and choose the platforms you will be focused on based on how available your audience is in this space (again, no…it won’t be all of them)

Pro-Tip: Don’t guess. Trends in activity & audience behavior are CONSTANTLY changing. Regardless of how much you know about the digital space take the time to look for the latest numbers and trends while planning your strategy. Google is your friend.

PS- Caribbean numbers can sometimes be hard to access. Not to worry, US high-level stats tend to translate into this market. Pair this up with the Hootsuite yearly digital usage report for your current year. They offer a great breakdown of trends by country! (Including those in the Caribbean). Once you start your campaign, tweak based on your results.

What – What kind of content will you produce

Content creation is the hardest, most crucial (and often most expensive) part of the digital campaigning process. This is because at this stage that your primary messaging culminates in the creation of assets that will be shared with your audience

Knowing what to create (video, text, audio, photo, graphic), the frequency with which to release it, what works best on what platforms and the other nuances of content creation require some knowledge & expertise so if you are thinking of “Just posting something” …please don’t.

If you are doing this on your own, there are tons of great articles to read that will answer most questions you have on how to get started. Chances are though it will not be enough unless you are committed to investing the time in learning some of the technicalities of the content creation process.

Don’t be shy about getting support from an expert in this space to help you build out a content strategy & support content with resonance for your target.

Pro Tip: Don’t approach a content strategist/ creator empty-handed. Outlining a base strategy (like this) for your campaign is the first step. Then take the time to identify brands, pieces of content and happenings you like in the digital space and why. It provides a guide of your preferences making it easier for them to factor in your preferences in their creation process.

Tried something before? Share it and the results, good or bad.

Define Your Success

Remember how we touched on defining your goals in the WHY phase? Now it’s time to quantify them. Good goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) and yours will be no different.

Identify & define the metrics associated with the platforms chosen that you will be referencing e.g. fan count, reach, website visits, video views etc. and set a quantifiable target.

Example:

• Platform: Instagram
• Goal: Audience Growth
• Metric: Follower Count
• Target: 500+ new followers in the next 30 days

If this is your first time, this can be difficult but again some research on general trends of the platforms of your choice will be helpful.

Notable Considerations

·      Duration of Campaign – this will help you plan out your content strategy. A short flight or duration may mean a higher frequency of content release & vice versa

·      Budget of Campaign – the size of your budget will impact content creation, platforms you can support and additional tools you can utilize (e.g. digital ads, management & reporting software etc)

·      Synergy – your platforms MUST work together. Map out a customer flow for your campaign, identify their touch points with your content and how you ideally would want them to move through the interaction/experience to help you achieve your goal. Mapping is an extra step however it helps identify gaps or instances where your need to employ additional resources to assure the customer experience with your brand online.

If you’ve made it to this line, congrats you would have set your cornerstone and started on your journey to creating a solid foundation for your campaign.

Remember, the digital space & its tools are multipliers.  Start off with GOOD and even BETTER will follow.

The post 5 Simple Tips for A Solid Digital Campaign first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

The post Data Protection in an Analogue Unsafe World first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

I wish I could say the moment the words slipped out I had an Oprah ‘Aha’ moment and I realized my own brilliance, BUT that wouldn’t be true. Instead, it was a one-liner from that WhatApp group that pulled the trigger… ‘Why don’t you make the suggestion?’

So here we are. Me, officially an ESSENTIAL service provider. You, reading and hopefully putting into action my suggestions.

1. Evaluate Your Foot Traffic

Hopefully, as management, you are planning not only how to physically secure the health of those in your facilities but also how you can reduce traffic into your locations while not denying people service. Take a quick survey of exactly what people come into your locations to do. Are the majority of your walk-ins making queries? Can the services they need to access be done remotely? What is the purpose of the physical touchpoint in your business? Can it be bypassed even temporarily?

List them in order of the popularity of usage by the customer. It may also be useful to prioritize those that help you earn revenue. For example, walk-ins to make queries about your service may be the most popular, but walk-in’s to drop off paperwork to begin accessing your service may be of a higher priority to your business as this is an action that will lead directly to revenue.

2.Vet Your Communication Mediums

Once you ascertain the services that can be rendered without coming into a location the next step is to figure out how to leverage existing or new digital services to address them.

The average business will have phone lines, a WhatsApp line, dedicated email, 1 or 2 social media platforms and a website that can be accessed at will by a customer. The fact is though, not all mediums or queries are created equal and so if there are no attempts to streamline how each medium is used, you can definitely expect greater customer frustrations as they pepper the most popular mediums with every single query.

Who is in charge of each medium? How quickly can the information be provided? Do staff members need to be in one location to provide feedback? Which mediums are customers most familiar with? Answering these questions will get you on track to ranking the efficiency of each medium.

For example, manning landlines based in locations will need staff onhand with queries being handled chronologically as they come in.WhatsApp, social media and mobile-based calls, however, can easily be done remotely and allow multiple clients to be handled at once with the option of even using Bots or automated responders, ergo it may be more efficient to push your basic queries to these mediums and preserve the phone lines for urgent one on ones.

A quick side note: Do your customers actually KNOW about the other ways they can contact you? Will the service they receive be just as solid? Let them know!

3. STREAMLINE! Match queries to appropriate mediums, and share them with your customers so they know what to do.

Here’s an example. John wants to know if you are still open for business, Jane wants to check on something she ordered last week, Gillian just wants to submit her paperwork to update her account with you and Fred wants to purchase that last item you promoted. All 4 of these customers used to walk in but because of advisories are now afraid to.

If all 4 of these customers try to call in at the same time 3 of the 4 customers will encounter either a busy tone or a long wait to have their query addressed, potentially costing you a sale or reflecting very poorly on your customer service.

If however the customers were made aware of your alternative communication mediums and the robustness & accuracy of the information they can access there they would be more willing to utilize mediums that are just as helpful but require less manpower from your organization and even more importantly can be provided remotely.

Sensitize and manage the expectations of your customers by making it clear what you want to do and why. Prepare them for the experience!

4. Support alternative communication mediums with qualified and knowledgeable human resources.

Tech many times is only as good as the human supporting it so ensure the team member(s) tasked with managing these platforms are abreast of the expectations, have all the resources and information they need, are kept in the loop and of course have access to their own support networks.

This may be a simplification of the complexities that come with switching over to digital systems as your primary support for your business communications but as a strong believer in the African proverb that says, when you pray move your feet, I pray that these steps will begin you on the path to making the most of a bad situation.

PS – this only tackles the business to customer communication.. I found a great article that highlights technologies your business can use to get your staff working remotely as well. Read it here: Remote working and data protection considerations in the face of the COVID-19 threat. – Chukwuemeka Cameron

Stay safe yall.

Liked this article? Share it! Have your own tips or experiences you would like to share? Drop a comment below. Follow me on Instagram @raecallaghan or on Twitter at raecallaghan17

The post Communication in the midst of Covid? Go DIGITAL. first appeared on Start Social Ltd.

Social media is not your savior.

There. I said it. But before you burn me at the stake listen.

Too often businesses, large and small fling themselves full force into social media without considering much else besides “it looks nice”, “well my competitors are doing it” or I swear to sweet baby Jesus, “my kids are on it and said our business should be on it too”….Yes….I have heard this said more times than I wish to remember.

Let me give it to you straight up, no chaser. I am not here to judge what gave you the inspiration to take your business online (big up Junior) but listen, there are things to consider BEFORE you “fling up” a page and foray in the jungle that is social media for business.

1. Are your systems in place in manage it?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you business is struggling with basic issues with customer management like poor customer service, inconsistent service offerings or general shakiness please put social media on the back seat! Take the time to rectify any issues you may have internally because what happens in the dark in the confines of your store “-round wah part” can literally GO LIVE with the push of a button. Granted this can happen whether or not you have an account. But there is truly nothing to an irate customer than seeing pretty pictures and posts online and receiving terrible service in person. We WILL tag you, and tell all 10K of our “friends” and proceed to comment on EVERY SINGLE POST YOU MAKE #trust. Miss Louise seh, Learn to dance a yaad, before yuh dance abroad.

PS- Abroad is the internet….

2. Are you in a position to maintain it consistently?

This means content and service. Content simply means what you put out for the benefit of your audience (yes, the BENEFIT of YOUR CUSTOMERS – this is a whole other post that i may write…angrily). Do you have a staff member competent, creative and with enough time to be consistent with posts? No? Do you have cash to pay for consultation? Because social media is an INVESTMENT. For the average business, attention to social media probably takes up less than 1% of the daily attention of key personnel and probably about the same about of the monthly advertising budget BUT (depending on your business) it has the potential to attract thousands of new LEADS and turn them into potential customers. Notice I said leads and not CUSTOMERS? Social media will never be the last stop in the sales funnel so stop treating it like it is. You will need qualified and dedicated sales staff to turn a “Tell me more” into “Here is my money”. Too often, because of this 1% attention to social (outside of, where is my pretty post for the day!) qualified leads are left to linger and die in inboxes not checked often enough. There are very few things worse than a social media user scorned (or left on “read” for a week when they really want a service and you are posting otherwise daily).

By the way, can we also stop having websites that just sit there? No up to date info. Incorrect contact information. Wrong/out of stock products. Doing this just makes your social media page the digital equivalent of that filthy car windshield screaming for someone to scrawl “Wash Me.” Stop. It….Please…

3. Can you support it?

Yes. Support it. No man is an island, no social media content stands alone. Big up to all the companies who make the point of making social media an active part of their business strategies and not another place to just “put up something”. Campaigns and promotions should be tailored for social media or at the very least take into consideration that a digital presence exists. Outside of promotions you should be making the point of touching base with the person or entity managing your social media at least once a month to discuss the basics; what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what the future holds. This way, your social media will always be a reflection of what your customers expect from your business, on and offline!

4. Finally, why do I want to be there?

Knowing your why is key before you push that button. I get it, everyone else is there but as mothers all around the world have asked their exasperated teenagers, “so what, if they are going to jump off a cliff, are you going to jump too?”. Take a second to think about what you are hoping to achieve in the space and why. Need help working this through? Hire a consultant (*Cue Lionel Richie’s HELLO*). There is no shame in sharing that you aren’t sure what to do and how to do it. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your banging social media presence.

If you DO decide to start… start smart, start small, start with an open AND informed mind.

Love,

A Miracle Worker.

The post Are You Ready for Social Media? first appeared on Start Social Ltd.