Social media for small business works and we’ve got proof!
Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who has signed up to Start Social! You’ve started an amazing journey that will see you reach more people so you can grow your business.
But for those of you yet to make the leap and invest in your future, here’s all you need proof you need to get you off the fence!
I seriously cannot emphasise enough how social media will revolutionise your business.
I want you to reach your potential. The better you do, the better New Zealand will be, and that’s great for everyone. Our easy but thorough courses are tailored to your industry here.
Our courses take about 2 hours to go through, and then you should allow 2 hours a week for 6 weeks to implement everything. It is an investment of time, but now we’ve got proof it is well worth every minute for you, the busy business owner.
For the ultimate test, our partner Spark Lab put two businesses head to head in a social vs. traditional media battle with only one being crowned the ultimate winner. This story is all the proof you need that social media works.
Yes, it really is that good!!!
The Story Begins
Meet identical twins George and Tess. Both were given the same budgets, the same product and the same time to promote a free event inviting people to taste a new product, Kiwinade — a blend of the last of the season’s lemons with the first of the new season kiwifruit.
The difference was, George used the tips and tricks she learned in Start Social — in just two hours — to market her business.
Watch their story below:
So who did what in this “unidentical” experiment?
George schooled up on the latest and best social media tips and tricks using Start Social and launched her George’s Kiwinade Facebook page here.
She applied the photography tips she learned in Start Social to create engaging, beautiful content:
And she created an event in Facebook to invite people, which people then shared, including influencer, Married at First Sight New Zealand’s Ben Blackwell, who shared the event to his thousands of fans (a tip she learned in Start Social).
Meanwhile, Tess used her all her budget to create and print flyers and delivered them to letter boxes around Auckland armed with a backpack, some balloons and comfy kicks.
Not always successfully…
Spoiler alert: The Results!
We don’t like to ruin a good story… but thanks to her newly acquired Start Social skills, George ran out of her Kiwinade in 3 hours while Tess… well, let’s just say there was plenty left over.
In fact, so marked was the difference between the two outcomes, that Three’s The AM Show asked me to share George’s Start Social success in a 10 minute live cross at Spark HQ in Auckland with social media presenter Aziz Al-Sa’afin, here.
I was stoked to tell the story of George’s Start Social achievement, and that “social was the winner on the day”.
The AM Show host Duncan Garner said he was “not surprised” that social media won, but expressed surprise by “how much it won by”.
Aziz added that in today’s world if you’re in business you can’t “have one without the other” when it comes to social media marketing vs. traditional marketing.
Spark’s head of business customer and marketing Richard Sanford, who designed the experiment, was not surprised at the results.
He explained that Spark Lab has partnered with Start Social because it is a trusted and authentic brand that is proven to be effective.
He told The AM Show why they back Start Social and social media as the tool to future proof every business:
“The beauty of social media is all about trialing, learning, experimenting. I think the biggest thing about social media is you can actually measure it and actually know what the results are, where with traditional media you just don’t know what stuck.
“Social is that measurable it’s actually tangible. You can can actually see what’s working. So you can change it and adapt it to what’s relevant for your business.
“We know that at the heart of it, businesses that embrace digital do better. And if businesses are doing better then New Zealand is doing better.”
Richard added that social media is a game-changer for small business because in a lot of cases you can do things without spending any money at all and can continue to try new things and evolve, and that Start Social is the launch pad every business needs.
This of course is much harder to do in traditional print and billboard-type advertising because everything costs.
He also said that social media is so effective because it gives businesses a global, audience, which is great for so many businesses, like retail, hospitality, tourism, beauty, business to business, and many more.
Drumroll Please…
And measure it you can!
George’s results were outstanding and the numbers stack up and are represented in how quickly she “sold out” of her Kiwinade — in just 3 hours.
In fact, George gave away four times as much Kiwinade as Tess. Plus she reached and marketed to 55,000 people, and 22,000 people viewed her video on Facebook.
George wholeheartedly attributes her success to Start Social.
This result is outstanding!
It proves just how effective social media can be for even the smallest business. It’s the most affordable marketing tool available and I believe no business is safe without it.
This experiment proves that with just a very small amount of money spent in the right way may mean the difference between success and failure of your business.
As I heard recently…
2018 is nearly upon us and I firmly believe that if you’re ready to catapult your business to new success next year, then embarking on the Start Social industry course tailored to your business is absolutely how you’ll achieve it.
So give your business the ultimate Christmas gift this year, give Start Social. And this summer, look forward to relaxing in the shade learning how to take your business into the future.
Have a fab week and get your social on!
Wendy, CEO & Founder, Start Social
Want to make a splash in social but stuck with how? Jump into startsocial.nz and see how we can help. Or email me today at wendy@startsocial.nz with any questions, or chat to my team now at hello@startsocial.nz.
