TIQ Digital

Category: Case Study

  • From Zero to Viral: Growing a Local Business’s Social Media Following by 500% in Half a Year

    From Zero to Viral: Growing a Local Business’s Social Media Following by 500% in Half a Year

    Introduction 

    Any local business looking to expand their reach in their community today has to have an extremely strong social media presence. For Technocratiq Digital, this was a no-brainer: How do we help a local business not just build a social media presence from the ground up, but get it growing exponentially? The following is a case study of how we contributed to increasing a local business’s social media following from zero to 500 percent in six months.

    The Challenge: A Local Business with Minimum Online Presence. A small local business approached us at Technocratiq Digital. This firm’s presence on social media was extremely poor, the firm was followed by far fewer accounts, and in turn had hardly enough time, money, or the needed expertise to make those rounds and engage in efficient manners. The business just couldn’t reach people through a virtual platform to fill up the gap in its overall marketing endeavors.

    Opening Statistics:

    Followers: Less than 200 on all the social media platforms

    • Engagement Rate: Less than 1%
    • Less than five postings per month: Random posting
    • Target Market Local community, by age, interest, and location.

    The company was very strong offline because it had customers who kept on coming back and also a community connection. The strength did not translate in the online space. Knowing this, Technocratiq Digital aimed to create an elaborate growth social media strategy for increasing followers for local businesses that not only build followers but also encourage engagement and conversion.

    Step 1: Understanding the Audience

    Understanding the target audience of the local business was critical before tactics. Who are they trying to reach? What types of social media are most relevant and resonate with their market? This research phase set the ground for the social media strategy for local businesses. We conducted questionnaires and analyzed their current customer base to profile the ideal follower.  Primarily young adults aged 25–45 years and interested in lifestyle products. I used Facebook and Instagram the most often of all the social media sites.

    • Content Preference: Fans liked the photo and video posts more than the wordy ones.

    That valuable information helped them come up with a strategy good enough to be felt by target audiences and eventually grow through social media.

    Step 2: Setting SMART Goals

    At Technocratiq Digital, we believe in using SMART goals to track one’s progress and ensure one achieves the set goals. For this campaign, the following objectives were set.

    • Increase followers for local businesses by 500% in six months.
    • Engage at least 5% of your audience by the end of Month 4.
    • Posting is frequent, with at least 4 good posts per week.
    • Deliver at least 100 new website visitors per week from social media by Month 6.

    Along with objectives, we were able to come up with a well-focused path that led us to success.

    Step 3: Crafting the Content Strategy

    Any growing social media following campaign depends on content. Here, for this local firm, Technocratiq Digital developed a very interesting content calendar. There were three types of content used here in this campaign:

    • We placed local events, influencers, and customer stories under the spotlight to build the brand on the back of a community.
    • Product Showcases: Hauls A high-quality picture and video of what the company sells was posted regularly. Each of these posts is optimized with meaningful hashes and geotags to get discovered easily.
    • Interactive Content: Surveys, Q&A sessions, and giveaways were added to the strategy to create interaction and maximize engagement rates.
    • Hashtags and geotags
      We optimized the posts using location-based hashtags and geotags to further expand the social media following. This attracted local followers who were most likely to visit the physical store. We used trending hashtags relevant to the local market for increased visibility of the posts.
    • User-Generated Content
      Users creating content is what would mostly make this platform successful for trust and authenticity building. We encourage the customer to post his experience under the branded hashtag, including the tag of the business. All those posts will be shared to the business’s social media page.

    Step 4: Paid Social Media Advertising

    • Organic growth is needed. But paid advertising can expedite the process much faster. Technocratiq Digital harnessed Facebook and Instagram ads, advertising events, and promotions in the neighborhood, using the following advert strategies:
    • Lookalike Audiences: We created lookalike audiences using existing customer data targeting people with similar demographics and interests, ensuring our ads were relevant to potential followers.
    • Engagement Ads Engagements were ads aimed at promoting like, comment, and share actions, thus increasing the visibility of the business’s social media pages.
    • Lead Generation Ads: The lead generation ads led more traffic to the website while helping capture leads for follow-through in the future.

    Step 5: Consistent Engagement and Community Building

    • Building a loyal community is just as important as increasing the follower count. Technocratiq Digital ensured that the local business interacted consistently with its audience by:
    • Responding to every comment and message.
    • Engaging with local influencers and collaborating on social media takeovers.
    • Sharing behind-the-scenes content that gave followers a glimpse into the business’s day-to-day operations.

    By actively participating in conversations, we humanized the brand, making it more approachable and relatable. This fostered a community of loyal followers who not only engaged with content but also became brand advocates.

    Step 6: Tracking and Optimization

    No social media strategy for local businesses can be said to be full without tracking results and optimizing based on performance. It used tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Instagram Analytics for performance monitoring in real-time. It tracked metrics like:

    • Follower Growth: Followers increase month on month.
    • Engagement Rate: Likes, comments, shares, and interactions per post.
    • Website Traffic: Number of visitors driven to the business’s website from social media.
    • Conversion Rate: Percentage of social media followers who became paying customers.

    Through ongoing analysis, we refined our strategy, focusing more on what worked (e.g., interactive content, and product showcases) and minimizing what didn’t perform as well.

    The Results: Exceeding Expectations

    After six months of executing our growing social media following strategy for local businesses, the results were impressive:

    • Follower Growth: We increased the business’s social media following by 500%, from under 200 to over 1,200 highly engaged followers.
    • Engagement Rate: The engagement rate skyrocketed to 7%, exceeding our initial 5% goal.
    • Website Traffic: Social media alone drove the biggest traffic averages of 150 new weekly visitors.
    • Conversion Rate: Footfall in the store was up by 25% and additionally through online sales; now that is what one would call engagement and converting.

    Key Takeaways

    • Understanding your audience is crucial for creating relevant content and targeting the right people. The more you know about your followers, the better you can tailor your social media strategy for local businesses.
    • Consistency and quality content go hand in hand. Posting regularly and ensuring that each post is engaging and adds value is essential for organic growth.
    • Paid ads can accelerate growth, especially when paired with well-defined audience targeting. Even a modest advertising budget can yield significant results.
    • Community building is key. Engaging with followers, responding to comments, and encouraging user-generated content foster a loyal community that supports your brand long-term.

    Conclusion: Going from Zero to Viral

    For example, through a more research-intensive and strategic plan for six months, Technocratiq Digital grew the small local business’s followers to 500%. With relevant combined content, paid adverts, and community engagement, for me, we changed the languid presence on social media into a virtual society that is active.

     

    If you’re looking for ways to increase the size of your social media following and reach new customers, then a customized approach designed for your business is paramount. Technocratiq Digital has the experience and resources to help increase followers for local businesses to thrive online. Contact us today to see how we can take your social media to the next level!

    Get in Touch with Us! – link it to the free quote page

    Phone: +91 7982534881 

    Mobile: +91 99711 50579

    Email: info@technocratiq.com

    Whatsapp Us Now! – 7982534881

    Book Your Free Consultation Slot Today – https://calendly.com/technocratiq/60min

     

  • Nearly 80% of consumers would end a brand relationship over unauthorized data usage

    Nearly 80% of consumers would end a brand relationship over unauthorized data usage

    As we approach implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and brace for its repercussions in the US, privacy is on the minds of many brands and marketers. A new survey from SAP Hybris finds that a majority of US consumers (71 percent) will share their personal information but are also concerned about privacy and data protection.

    The study reflects that US consumers are fairly discriminating and want specific things in return for their data. And 29 percent of the study respondents were unwilling to share their data for any reason.

    There is a hierarchy of personal information that consumers will share, according to the survey. They are most willing to share email address (52 percent), followed by shopping history (37) and mobile phone number (25 percent). Interestingly, only 19 percent were willing to share their “real-time location,” though that data is currently being tracked anonymously on a mass scale.

    Percentages willing to provide personal information 

    At the bottom of the “willing to share list” were personal financial information (3 percent), Social Security numbers (3 percent) and access to social media accounts (9 percent). Separate survey data argue consumers will share location in exchange for clear benefits, like discounts or better shopping experiences.

    If they do share information, consumers expect brands to protect their interests (72 percent), be transparent in how the data are being used with partners (66 percent) and protect their privacy in the event of any criminal investigations (60 percent). It’s doubtful that most publishers, platforms and brands are complying with these expectations. Most brands and publishers are also not transparent about how they use data.

    Consumers also want personalization, a common refrain in surveys like this. The connection between providing their information and personalization wasn’t explicit in the survey, but it’s implied.

    What personalized service means to US consumers

    The survey also explored what alienates consumers and might cause them to end relationships with brands. Among the reasons: using personal data without their knowledge (79 percent), unresponsive customer service (78 percent), multiple mistakes (50 percent) and inconsistent online and in-store promotions (29 percent).

    Less serious but annoying to consumers were: excessive telemarketing/sales calls (61 percent), too many marketing-related emails (61 percent), irrelevant content (46 percent) and prolonged customer service interactions (40 percent).

    It’s safe to say that consumer data (including location) is increasingly used to personalize content, ads and experiences. But most of that is done without much transparency — in other words, without explicit consent.

    In May, practices like these will no longer be viable in Europe or with European citizens. We’ll see how much of that trickles over to the US market.

    Source
  • New report: The Internet of Things and blockchain tech are made for each other

    New report: The Internet of Things and blockchain tech are made for each other

    A new report from research firm Kaleido Insights proposes that two of hottest new technologies — The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain — would make a really hot couple.

    In IoT, wirelessly connected sensors are embedded in almost everything — refrigerators, auto parts, dog collars, perhaps even cereal boxes.

    On the one hand, this means everything can be tracked, inventory-managed and made selectively accessible through a continual stream of signals. This flow of constantly talking objects and devices will help propel businesses away from a product-orientation (sell this car) to a service-orientation (sell the car, but maintain a connection with the car and the car owner).

    On the other hand, it means that there is a continual stream of signals for as many as 10 billion connected devices and objects in the next four years, according to some estimates. Needless to say, that’s a huge amount of tracking to identify those Things, verify who owns them, authenticate their interaction with other Things and so on.

    “The Internet of Trusted Things” report (free, registration required) proposes that blockchains — or other kinds of decentralized ledger technologies — could form the mechanism to monitor those oceans of signals.

    Among other features, blockchains can permanently record transactions and make them immediately available to every participant in the blockchain network.

    They can also enable “smart contracts,” which are software programs with a trigger and a payoff that can represent an agreement between buyer and seller, such as an automatic, agreed-upon payment when an ad is run on a site.

    And they can provide a coordinated, secure and transparent tracking of transactions and activities without the need for a centralized governing authority. Here’s a report illustration (originally created by IBM) visualizing the management of roles, behaviors, permissions, transactions and events through the use of a universal digital ledger:

    For report authors Jessica Groopman and Jeremiah Owyang, these and other characteristics make blockchain or similar distributed ledger technologies ideal for tracking the zillions of activities, identities and authentications that IoT devices and objects will require.

    This kind of decentralized tracking, they contend, can be essential for supply chain management, scheduling, repair histories, end-user authentication, asset sharing networks and other use cases in a world where every part, every product and many unsuspecting objects are constantly communicating.

    The report points to an IBM/Walmart pilot project that tracked food safety by monitoring the supply chain, using IoT sensors and blockchain. A startup called Everledger is employing public and private blockchains, along with sensors and computer vision, to maintain permanent records for fine wines, diamonds and fine art so that forgery is much more difficult. A group of companies is developing CarPass to track cars’ digital records as they go from manufacturer to a succession of buyers.

    Blockchains, however, currently have some issues that can derail this vision. First of all, they are relatively slow in processing, so the current generation probably wouldn’t scale to handle all those signals.

    Groopman acknowledged that blockchain’s processing speed is a “serious issue,” but she pointed to various other developing distributed ledger technologies — such as Tangle and Hashgraph — that could dramatically change that factor.

    Then there’s the matter of decentralized governance. Many blockchains process transactions through the use of electricity-demanding computer processing run by human “miners.” It’s decentralized because many people are involved, but that also won’t scale.

    Ledgers that are completely run by software could solve the scaling problem, but blockchain’s purported trust factor has been driven in part by the fact that every participant is checking everyone else.

    At any rate, this report has pointed out the huge, hidden drawback in the emerging world of constantly signaling Things. Some fabric of awareness has to be listening to all the time, and it can’t be humans.

    Source