Social media marketing is growing rapidly in Uganda, but there are still questions over its value proposition to help push organic growth at scale.

On the other hand, there are all kinds of customized data reporting tools available to monitor the published content.

Brands and companies, looking to reach their audience without breaking the bank, must be strategic in their content creation and buying activities. Investments in skilled video, design, and writing talent will help craft or fashion your content and cut through the clutter to attain encouraging engagement.

Still not convinced? Here are some important statistics;

– Video content will represent over 82% of all internet traffic by 2022 (Cisco).
– Social videos are shared 1,200 more times than text and images combined (Small Business Trends).
– Facebook posts that include video clips average a 135% increase in organic reach compared to those with just an image (Socialbakers).
– Consumers are 64% to 85% more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video (SocialMediaToday).

In January 2018, Facebook announced changes in its algorithm that effectively reduced the volume of content users can see that originates from brands and other Facebook pages in order to favour the visibility of posts from friends on their timelines.

The Digital Marketing Institute, an online platform that wants to help advance the careers of marketers and sellers, recently shared insights to explain why some marketers have seen their average organic reach plummet by 450% in three years.

The solution for many had been to turn to paid social ads. But the steady decline of organic reach for brand content has driven costs up for social ads in general. This means brands need to clearly outline the objectives they intend to achieve by investing in social media ads to justify its value to marketing activities.

Mary Meeker’s 2018 Internet Trends Report states that Facebook click-through rate costs have gone up by 61% and the cost per thousand impressions grew by 112%.

Third-party ad targeting tools that allow for variable testing to ensure the best possible content for your audience is also an option to explore.

However, over the years, brands in Uganda are not spending significant budgets on paid social ads, as I have noted from feedback from my peers in the industry. Instead, budgets are being slashed and moved to content production and influencer marketing activities.

No doubt we are faced with challenges, like for instance the decrease in accessibility to the internet in Uganda and the social media tax. But with them also come opportunities which can be exploited by well informed and prepared digital marketers.

In conclusion, Brands in Uganda need to think carefully on how they intend to incorporate social media into their marketing and PR mix during 2019 bearing in mind the evolving shifts in content reach on the social media timelines today.