Internet penetration is nice and high in South Africa, with over 70 percent of the population using the Internet. This has made the online shopping, service, and entertainment industries even more accessible and popular. Still, as seen in just about every other market in the world, while the internet can increase the reach of a business, it will inevitably also increase the competition.
Now, we’re always being told that free or cost-effective platforms like social media or your own website will do wonders for expanding your customer base, but it’s not always that simple. To truly make the best use of these tools, the website needs to run smoothly, and you need to engage potential customers on your own platform and through social media. Here are a few ways that you can do this.
Run competitions that use your products
Everyone loves a competition, and having it based around the products or services that you sell is a great way to drum up sales, interest, and even showcase the best possible or most successful ways that they can be used without putting in any of the effort yourself. By pitting customers against each other, in a nice way, they’ll feel more compelled to engage with your business.
You can see the strategy of a tournament or competition put to good use for snack foods and hobbyists. Snacks brand Walkers, a couple of times now, have released a bunch of new flavors but would only keep one in circulation based on sales figures. On top of this, customers could also enter a draw for prize money. For hobbyists, Games Workshop constantly runs painting contests, getting customers to buy their products to compete and have a chance of getting their work showcased.
Randomized giveaways are very accessible
A bit of a broader version of competition, the humble giveaway can reach far more people because the level of entry is so much lower. Giveaways notoriously generate buzz, especially when there’s something good up for grabs, like vouchers or limited edition products. For these, you can utilize social media, particularly platforms with easy share functions like Twitter, with entries being as simple as following, liking, and re-tweeting. However, the outcomes have to be randomized.
Customers love the luck element and angle of chance, especially when there are worthy prizes on the line. Businesses can use technology to randomly award their prizes, similar to the stuff that powers online casino real money games platforms. All of their games are governed by random number generators, whether it’s T-Rex, video poker, baccarat, or Cleopatra’s Gold. At casinos the generator randomly triggers outcomes of, say, progressive jackpots and anyone spinning at any time could hit the top prize.
Countless major brands and small businesses have used the giveaway tool to increase their followings and get customers engaged with their offerings. Boohoo Man, for example, has run campaigns offering vouchers in a giveaway to select entrants for interacting with their tweets on Twitter. Cricket gear brand Gray-Nicolls even did a giveaway of a full Powerbow Inferno Kit in 2020 to get more emails and connected customers.
Get more informed customers while advertising products
A hot new way to increase engagement and subtly sell products and services is to host webinars or post tutorial videos. You can do this on a site like YouTube or on your own website and it can give you a tremendous edge. Customers wondering how to use certain products or what certain services achieve will come to your brand and then see your offering in action. Trello and FrogTape have used such videos to great effect in the past.
See if competitions and tournaments, giveaways, webinars, and tutorial videos can help you to engage with more customers online and, ultimately, sell to more people.
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