Take 10 on Social Media
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| Carolyn Kinya Magiri |
1. Tell us something about your
business or professional background?
(overview of your business) At
what point did you start doing what you currently handle, manage or run?
Include your current title. What are some of the products you offer?
professional Event management firm offering
among other services conference Management, Corporate Event management,Product Launches management, Promotions Management, Concept development
for marketing Campaigns and marketing services. I started in this business in 2008
January. I have a Diploma in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship
both From USIU.
2. In what ways do you use social media
personally and for business?
I use Social media to advertise my concepts
for various events, Products and other services that I offer. I also use social
media to gauge what the market is expecting from a certain event. It gives me a platform to go one on one with
my customers and would be customers to engage them in whatever event I’m
holding. I
also popularize the events
using social media. I get to meet with like minded people who I can with in my
business too.
3. What are
some of techniques that you apply online and offline to drive traffic and grow audience on your
page, profile or twitter handle?
I post pictures and
comments that will spark a debate and comments but also very relevant to what I’m
trying to sell to them. On my profile I post funny photos that make my friends
laugh and comment on the same. I post encouraging status updates which uplift
them spiritually. I also remember to send Happy Birthday wishes to my friends.
I also comment on as many status updates as I possibly can so that when I send
Requests for liking my page they will return the favor. I engage my friends one
on one on my pages. I’m hands on to answer all their questions and explain to
them about my products.
Offline,
I talk to my friends and tell them about my pages and my websites. I also have
my Links included in my business cards. Whenever I send e-mails, I make sure it
has links to my pages relevant to the email.
4. 4. When did you get into social media (and marketing)? How frequently do you update Facebook and Twitter? What
percentage of referral traffic do you think your site gets from social media
sites? Can you quantify leads from social media that you converted to sales?
I started using Social media actively in 2008 when I re branded my
business. I update my status from my pages every single day. I'm not sure 30% of
my traffic is from referral. With all the work I do on social media, 40 % has
led to direct sales.
5. What has been your biggest
achievement in Social Media Marketing? And what’s your take on social media
give aways? Are they sustainable? Would you recommend them to someone?
I
have managed to make my business known to like 40% of my target market. I
employ other ways to reach the other 60%. They are very sustainable and I think
that’s the way we are headed in the near future. I would highly recommend
Social Media to anyone who is in business.
6. What are your strengths
and weaknesses/challenges in social media? And would you involve a social media
consultant in managing your presence online? Is it economically viable to you?
I have a really creative mind and
I’m able to capture people’s attention. I’m not able to utilize all the avenues
provided by the Social media. I would involve a Social media consultant at the
consultancy level.
7. Do you feel that you
are well connected in Social media spheres? Does your social media
account carry influence? How do you measure success on social media and what
metrics or tools do you use to measure the effectiveness of social media?
I’m not well connected in the Social media Spheres. I would say it
carries some influences because I get questions when I don’t post an updates
from my pages. I measure success by the comments and questions I get after an
update. I also look at the business that comes in soon after but I would like
to mention that sometimes business comes in months after the updates. i.e. When
someone has been following your updates and finally gets convinced that they can
trust you to bring you business.
8. How do you manage an online reputation? How do you handle
criticism of a company online? What would you recommend
to others?
I have some background on Public Relations so I’m able to manage my
reputation well as well as criticism. I would recommend that when handling
criticism, admit you mistakes, and map the way forward to address what you are
being criticized about. Make sure you follow up with what you promised.
9. Since everyone is into
social media nowadays (including your competitors) how do you differentiate
your presence? Apart from pushing what you offer what else do you share?
Everything I sell has a competitive
edge. I start with the packaging of the product and/or service. The way I put
out the information does not always have to be about the product/service but I
post it in a unique way to make sure it attracts attention. I try to avoid
doing it so strongly but always manage to get the message home.
. 10. What are some of the lessons you’ve
learnt about social media that you’d like to share with us? Your advice to
Kenyans?
I have learnt that Social Media is the cheapest way to market
yourself or your business. It also calls for a lot of caution what you post on
your page, what you comment on other peoples updates. People will judge you by
that. Social media is highly interactive and you can rescue yourself or your
brand instantly. You get to put up all you want for people to see. It a medium
I feel is here to rescue those of us are here to do business and serious
business for that matter.
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If you've got any questions or you need some help regarding your presence social media follow me Twitter @KenyanMarketer. and be a #Socialpro. I'll be happy to assist, do a review of your page, profile, twitter handle etc and design a social media content & a digital plan for you. Lets do this again tomorrow so please check out who will be featured on this blog!
Before I sign out here's a quote for you!
“Those who insert themselves into as many channels as possible look set
to capture the most value. They’ll be the richest, the most successful,
the most connected, capable and influential among us. We’re all
publishers now, and the more we publish, the more valuable connections
we’ll make.” -Pete Cashmore, Founder of Mashable
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