7 Reasons Why Social Media Really Matters for NZ Businesses in 2019

Now that social media is the place where most Kiwis spend a large amount of time online, there is a very real need for New Zealand small and medium-sized businesses — and, in fact, NZ businesses of any size — to learn how to make more effective use of Social Media Marketing to reach existing and prospective customers.

Here are a few of the reasons why NZ businesses need to know more about Social Media Marketing:

1. These days, Social Media is where the people gather

Globally, a third of the world’s population has gone social.

And yes, New Zealand is right up there in terms of Social Media usage, according to Nielsen Online (December 2018), with 3.8 million regular monthly users, 88% of the population (2+).

Colmar Brunton reports that 90% of Kiwis between 18 and 39 now use social media.

And they’re not just occasional visitors, either. The biannual World Internet Project NZ data reveals that two-thirds of us (in this instance, “us” means Kiwi Internet users) visit Social Media networks at least daily.

And yeah, we’ve been known to spend quite a little bit of time pottering on Facebook et al.

2. Social Media is where you can go to join the conversation

In the introduction to his 1999 book “Permission Marketing”, Seth Godin told us:

Whether it is the TV commercial that breaks into our favourite programme or the telemarketing phone call that disrupts a family meal, traditional advertising is based on the hope of snaring our attention away from whatever we are doing.

Seth Godin calls this Interruption Marketing, and, as companies are discovering, it no longer works.

Interruption Marketing has no place in Social Media, either. It’s called “Social” for a reason — it’s all about conversations. Bring your sales pitch to a friendly chat and you’ll quickly get ignored.

Instead, be ready to listen, engage and build relationships with consumers and you’ll finally start to get somewhere.

3. Social Media is where you can hear what people think, for better or for worse

The impact of social media is stronger than ever. Users have a “voice” and can sit back and watch the comments without ever having to reveal their identity, though this has had some negative consequences, as well. A while back, Twitter had to deal with accusations about not being strict enough with their anti-bullying rules and guidelines. Meanwhile, TripAdvisor has been blamed for allowing restaurants to be rated with false reviews, as anyone has the power to “suggest” and give feedback via word of mouse.

Yet, users of digital devices have the power to influence the popularity of products and services, and access information about whatever they want, whenever they want, from other consumers.

Consumers no longer look to brands as the primary source of information – they read forums, blogs or watch tutorials in order to find a product with the perfect fit.

If you provide a lousy product or service, you’ll hear all about it on Social Media. Here, people have a voice — and they’re not afraid to let their friends (and you) know what they think.

On the other hand, if you build a wonderful product, people will happily talk about that as well.

4. Social Media is where you can actually make sales

You can actually sell stuff directly to your followers — but ONLY if you have a real relationship with them and have earned to right to (very occasionally, no more than about 10% of the time) offer them special deals.

5. It’s where consumers find out about new products

According to data quoted by Ad Week:

6. Social Media is where a great many online advertising dollars are going (internationally far more so than in NZ, for now)

Currently, around one-fifth of US digital dollars are ending up in Facebook’s coffers:

And we’re not just talking pocket change, either. In the last three months of 2018, Facebook earned US$16.9 Billion in revenues, up 33 percent from the same three months in 2017, and US$6.9 Billion of that was profit, up 61 percent from the previous year. Not a bad result, given the annus horribilis that Facebook suffered in 2018.

In New Zealand, Digital Advertising has become our most important medium, with more than a billion dollars spent there in 2018.

7. It’s become an essential component in marketing strategies

Social Media now plays a significant role in most marketing strategies, according to the 2019 Buffer State of Social report.

To help meet the needs of Kiwi businesses, especially small- and medium-sized organisations, we offer a number of social media marketing courses.

These are some of our most popular courses (click through for more information):

The Principles & Practice of Social Media Marketing

This is a thirteen-part online training course providing a comprehensive introduction to Social Media Marketing, from the Basics to detailed instructions on how to build and run a Social Media Marketing programme.

For more details of the Social Media Marketing online course, please click here

The Complete Facebook Marketing Course

Mastering Facebook Advertising

Instagram Marketing course