Canberra is a unique capital city - and as such, your tactics for social media marketing in Canberra need to have a tailored approach.
Having a robust social media presence is essential if you want to make the most of your marketing budget and thrive as a Canberra business. A recent study shows that 86% of people use social media at least once a day – The Manifest.
But where do you start?
In this article, we'll explore three crucial social media strategies to ensure your marketing for your Canberra business stands out and captures the attention of your target demographic.
Let’s dive in.
1/ Understand Social Media Marketing Industry Trends for Canberra Businesses
Start with the big picture.
You need to take stock of current social media best practices across the major platforms, and what your competitors are doing online for social media marketing.
Social media marketing best practices:
Take a look at what type of content performs the best? HOT TIP: Short-form video content is going to give you the biggest reach.
Understand which platforms are most frequently used by your target customers?
Instagram
67% of people ages 18–29 use Instagram
47% of people ages 30–49 use Instagram
23% of people ages 50–64 use Instagram
Facebook
86% of people ages 18–29 use Facebook
77% of people ages 30–49 use Facebook
51% of people ages 50–65 use Facebook
34% of people that are 65+ years old use Facebook
LinkedIn
21% of people ages 18–24 use LinkedIn
60% of people ages 25–34 use LinkedIn
17% of people ages 35–54 use LinkedIn
3% of people that are 55+ years old use LinkedIn
Ensure you’re actually engaging with your customers online. Don’t just ‘post and ghost’, i.e., post a photo or video and log out of the app. Reply to any comments left on your posts or in your inbox. If nobody is commenting on your posts, go out and talk to them on posts and content similar to yours. It lets people know that your brand exists and provides value.
Once you’ve chosen the right platform for your business by identifying where your target customer is likely spending time online, it’s time to look at what your competitors are doing in terms of social media marketing on that platform.
Platform Presence and Engagement:
Analyse the frequency and consistency of your competitor’s social media posts, as well as the types of content they share with their audience, and the level of engagement (likes, comments, shares) their posts generate. You can easily identify their most successful content by seeing which is generating the greatest number of views, likes or comments.
Audience Analysis:
Look at how your competitor’s audience is engaging with their social media posts. What are they saying? What are they most interested in? What questions are they asking? This will greatly help you understand the landscape and strategy for your social media marketing in Canberra.
Content Marketing Strategy:
Analyse the variety and format of social media marketing content your competitor shares – are they mostly sharing images or videos? What about short-life content like Instagram Stories? You can also look for patterns used and the themes or topics they focus on.
Advertising and Promotion:
Investigate whether your competitor is using paid advertising on social media platforms. Identify the types of ads they run, the targeting options they employ, and the frequency of their promotions.
2/ Create Social Media Marketing Content Specifically for Canberra
Once you have a better idea of the type of content that performs well on social media, create a social media marketing strategy that combines that intel with messaging tailored to those in Canberra.
To have the best social media marketing in Canberra, it's crucial to tailor your content to resonate with the values and interests of the local community.
Consider incorporating social media content that speaks to local events, festivals, and cultural references. This could be everything from the food and beer-focused Forged Festival, to the Handmade Markets or Floriade.
Here are a few ideas on content creation for such events:
Build hype around an event in a way that aligns with your brand
Attend these events as a visitor and post content about them that resonates with local residents to show you’re an active member of the community.
If you have the budget, attend these events to showcase your product or service, and be sure to post content in the build-up to the event and while you’re there.
You can even provide an event-themed offer that aligns. However, ensure the offer is not too salesy or off-brand.
Showcasing a genuine appreciation for Canberra's identity in your social media content will not only make your brand more relatable but also foster a sense of community engagement.
3/ Network & Collaborate to Boost Your Social Media Marketing in Canberra
Canberra is often referred to as a large country town. While it’s the capital of Australia, it’s also compact with a general sense of 2-degrees of separation.
As such, this makes networking a very powerful business tool for you.
Either utilise existing relationships with partner companies and contractors, or forge new connections.
Look for industry events, workshops, meet-ups and forums that you can attend. If there are none in your sector, start your own! Be the driver for bringing professionals in your industry together in one room, and you’ll be seen as a leader in your field.
Once you have established some in-person connections, start conversations around collaborations with brand-aligned businesses to further amplify your reach.
Example 1 of an effective social media marketing collaboration: You’re a luxury home builder in Canberra with a go-to list of reliable sub-contractors. Say there’s a plumber or a painter that you consistently use and would happily recommend. Talk to them about featuring their works on your social media profiles, including tagging and shoutouts. Ask them to reciprocate.
Example 2 of an effective social media marketing collaboration: You’re a restaurant in Canberra with good quality suppliers that you have worked with for some time. Partner with one of them to spotlight how good their produce it, how it’s sourced, and what makes it so delicious. Any post that features this supplier will have tags and mentions. Ask the supplier to reciprocate.
Social media collaborations provide authentic exposure, making your brand more relatable and trustworthy, and helps you get the most out of your social media marketing budget.
About the Author
I'm Alison, Founder of Birdsong Marketing in Canberra, Australia. I'm a data-driven marketing strategist with 15 years of experience. I scale from hyper-local clients to SME, with the foundation of my experience being within luxury + adventure tourism, heli tourism, ski resorts, architecture and building.
I also have a degree in Psychology, which I utilise to understand online personas, consumer behaviour and emotive purchasing.
Birdsong Marketing creates personalised marketing strategies, social media marketing, copywriting and content creation for businesses in Canberra and beyond that align with the goals and objectives of your business.
We facilitate the tactical parts of putting your plan into action, ultimately increasing the awareness of your brand.
Follow @birdsongmarketing on Instagram for free marketing tips, or ask me a question below.
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