6 marketing FAQs answered by South African experts

By Aisling McCarthy

John Mark is the social media expert at Dragonfly Marketing, Miguel Correia is the marketing manager at the Johannesburg-based Zinto Marketing Group, and Garth Dahl is the founder of The Formula. These three experts weighed in on the most frequently asked questions in the marketing world.

What is content marketing?

Mark: Content marketing is not an official marketing term, so it covers many things depending on how you use it. In general, it can cover social media, blog posts, SEO, and email marketing. The concept of content marketing is about creating engaging articles/information for an audience. It’s often used for B2B companies where long-term brand and expertise awareness is crucial.

Correia: Its purpose is to create interest and an experience about a certain topic instead of directly marketing a product or service. It’s an interactive platform for marketers who wish to package a captivating brand experience in a unique and specialised format and create conversations with consumers. Rather than telling people about the features of a product or service, individuals can connect with the brand and make intelligent and informed purchasing decisions.

How do I get my content to go viral?

Mark: You don’t. The Internet and social media are their own worlds. Instead, you should focus on creating truly interesting and engaging content that resonates with your audience. If you’re lucky, people will make it viral.

Correia: Compelling content hinges on its shareability and newsworthiness. This content capitalises on triggers and is pushed out due to an evoked response. Being ‘on trend’ and ‘following the conversation’ using social media threads for maximum exposure will also create hype and ‘talkability’ on digital networks.

Dahl: Sadly, there is no hard and fast way to ensure that your content goes viral. The bottom line is that the content that you do author is original, with the ability to entertain and evoke emotion.

Why is SEO so important?

Mark: 90% of people use internet searches as part of their purchasing decision, and more than 75% of clicks go to the top three search results. In other words, if your website doesn’t show up in the top three results, it may as well not exist.

Dahl: Most people who are searching for a product or service online will browse the options presented to them on the first page of an internet search. The closer you are to the top of this list, the higher your search ranking.

How do I keep my website aligned with internet marketing trends?

Mark: Websites need continuous refreshment. One of the most important lessons is to invest in creating a unique website that fits your company. If you make something unique and effective, you don’t really need to update it. On the other hand, if you’re being cheap and using a scrappy WordPress site, your website is likely to look like everybody else’s and fall behind quickly as trends progress. Uniqueness is key.

Correia: Businesses in nearly all industries are capitalising on the trend of authentic storytelling and visual narrative to communicate brand messaging. This is achieved by monitoring trends and industry shifts to stay ahead of the curve. For example, applications can be connected to mobile platforms to launch campaign-specific initiatives that generate awareness, engage consumers, build brand goodwill, elicit a direct response, and enable potential buyers to absorb content and information online.

Dahl: Technology is evolving at an exceptionally rapid rate, which means that there is an ongoing need for the adjustment of websites in order to meet the needs of mobile users and their updated devices. In addition, new ‘search algorithms’ are being released at closer intervals than before (Google changes its search algorithm around 500 - 600 times every year) and this requires the regular review of website content and internet marketing strategies to ensure ongoing success.

Is email marketing still effective?

Mark: Absolutely. It has the best engagement of any type of digital marketing, and because people are picky about what emails they receive, your audience is high-value. Especially for B2B companies, it’s the core of digital marketing.

Correia: Yes, it is an effective way of communicating with potential clients while building and maintaining a brand presence and developing strong relationships with existing clients. In today’s fast-paced world, the digital revolution is one of several of the most accessible and cost-effective opportunities in which to reach target audiences and enhance brand experiences. Due to time constraints, there is less time to pick up the phone but sending a short and concise email will create opportunities to communicate effectively under less pressure.

How often should I post fresh content onto my website?

Mark: Weekly. You should be constantly updating the content of your site to test its effectiveness, and adding news/blog/article posts weekly to build SEO and draw in potential customers.

Correia: This is highly dependent on what your company has to offer. E-commerce sites offer daily specials and would need to update content on a daily basis, while a corporate site would require intermittent updates. A generic guideline would be to make amendments weekly or bi-weekly so that content is fresh and returning visitors can browse news updates.

Want to stay up to date with the latest marketing news? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Interested in digital marketing in South Africa? Read more in our article, Four issues facing South African digital marketing today.