Social media can be a distraction, because you run the risk of dawdling.
However, the same channel can be a source of business, if SME’s are on at the right time, follow Twitterers who are relevant to their business and track the right keywords.
Table of Contents
Let me demonstrate what I mean
There I was, minding my own business preparing for a coming #GovCommsSocial masterclass for the Northern Cape Provincial Communications team, happening next week.
By sheer stroke of luck, this being the operative phrase, I bumped into a brief Twitter exchange between Tshepo The Jean Maker and Bonang Matheba earlier today.
If you don’t know who Bonang is, I invite you to read this article, about one of her many recent achievements.
Here is how the conversation went:
I miss TopShop. 💔 I need a new pair of jeans.... 😭😭😭
— Bonang B* Matheba (@bonang_m) August 29, 2019
Hey Bonang how are about I make you a pair of jeans?
— T S H E P O (@TshepoJeans) August 29, 2019
I’d love that. Thank you. 🙏🏽🥰
— Bonang B* Matheba (@bonang_m) August 29, 2019
Awesome. How can I get your contact details ?
— T S H E P O (@TshepoJeans) August 29, 2019
Contact my management @CSAglobal_ ❤️. Thank you.
— Bonang B* Matheba (@bonang_m) August 29, 2019
- The total conversation, made up of only 5 tweets, took almost 2 hours. So, this cannot have been a pre-determined chat between friends.
- The tone of the convo, and the number of characters in each each tweet, does not suggest that the two know each other that well.
- I suspect Bonang does not follow Tshepo.
If she did, logic tells me she would have just said “I shall DM you” in her second response, which happens to be the last tweet in this short but long convo.
Some quick stats for context
Here is Tshepo The Jean Maker’s Twitter profile:
By South African Twitter standards, 25K followers is decent.
So Tshepo is not doing bad at all.
Now, here is a list of top 10 biggest South African Twitterers by number of followers.
Check where Bonang ranks, as at the 29th of August 2019:
She is at number 6! No wonder she won a Social Media Global award earlier this year.
For perspective
A pitch by Tshepo, done publicly on social media, based on a chance event, to one of the top 10 Twitterers in the country, and gets accepted, also publicly, is a big deal for any SME.
The exposure that Tshepo can get from what started as a short exchange can do wonders for his business, especially if he follows up on his pitch to make a pair of jeans for Bonang that she likes!
Who knows, she might feel generous and give him props for free on any of here many channels that include social media.
The ball is squarely in Tshepo’s court.
Now that he started it, may he finish it on a high for the sake of all other SME’s who are always scrounging for business opportunities on social media 😎.
So, all of them can shout YES, WE CAN!!!
Here are the 5 reasons why social media is an important tool for SME's
- Your potential next customer is most definitely on social media.
The trick is to be online when he/she is. - If you are lucky, such customer may be a mega influencer who is willing to give you a chance if your pitch appeals to them.
- This channel is “freely” accessible.
All you have to do is make time. - It is easy to track keywords that are most relevant to your business.
Using Twitter as an example, you are better off tracking the keywords in addition to following the accounts, both of which must be relevant to your business. - You do not have to be a social media boffin, you just need to know enough.
Make Google your friend, my friend.
