Mzansi's growing "klout"

It seems that digital marketing is the buzzword of the moment. Every tech-savvy analyst and advertising exec is repeating the message, to the point of it being an industry mantra, which a marketing strategy with its sights set on success, needs to put the digital platform at the forefront of its tactical mix. But without any further explication, business owners and marketing managers are often left in the dark. They are encouraged to "go digital" without being given a clue as to where to start, or how to align the knowledge they gain in a relevant - and profitable - manner with their particular business objectives, or the behavioural trends of their markets.

Since the world of digital is all about numbers, bringing up a few is a good place to start. Specifically, memeburn.com has recently released an Infographic that visually illustrates the recent statistics regarding social media and smartphones in South Africa. Here are just a few of the highlights [source: Strategy Worx]:

As of Q3 2012:

- 75% of South African internet users have a Facebook account. That's 5, 3 million registered South African users. LinkedIn and Twitter come in second and third on the socially savvy South African's platform priority list.

- 4, 5 million South Africans access their Facebook accounts daily via mobile.
- 20% of South Africans own a smartphone, and 21% of smartphone owners are aged between 18 and 29.

- Web surfing accounts for 79% of all smartphone user activities.

According to the latest Socialbakers.com statistics for South Africa (as reported on www.dmma.co.za):

- South Africa has `14, 461, 165 Unique Browsers

- South Africans generate 430, 158, 053 Unique Page Views
- There are 4, 116, 908 Unique South African Mobile Browsers
- South African generate 80, 422, 064 Mobile Page Views
- The majority of South African internet uses are:

• Between the ages of 25 and 30
  
• Earn between R30,000.00 and R39,000.00 per month
  
• Have a university education
  
• Are connected via ADSL

• Use the internet to read their emails and do their online banking

According to www.robynhonson.com, there are more mobile phones in South Africa than all of its televisions, radios and taxis combined. The majority of South Africans - and most other Africans - access the web primarily via their mobile phone devices. This is an especially typical trait of lower-LSM demographic groups. A recent study conducted by Digital Statistics South Africa claim that 50% of South African internet users go online primarily for the purposes of engaging in social media - that makes South Africa the second most social country in the world, the first being Indonesia.

The advantages of digital advertising are quite well-known: it is far more affordable, compared to the costs of traditional media platforms like print, television or billboards; digital adverts are available in a wide and increasingly diverse range of targeting parameters - from age, gender and location to earnings, interests and industry; results are measurable - digital advertising gives you digital results with regards to impressions, click-through rates and conversions. These pertinent specs, among others are what define digital advertising as being able to deliver on 0% wastage and proportionally higher rates of ROI. The only question is, if you haven't adopted a robustly digital approach to your 2013 marketing strategy, why not?

Contact Wetpaint Advertising to compose your digitally directed marketing strategy for 2013 - call us today!