Month: August 2019

Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video sharing networking service that has taken the world by storm. The application boasts one billion active monthly Instagram users, which is not surprising since Facebook- another successful and popular social media platform, owns it. 

Instagram’s algorithm.

Rumor has it that only 10% of your audience is seeing your posts in their newsfeed. This is extremely frustrating for avid Instagram users who are using the platform for marketing purposes to get through to consumers. Businesses and influencers alike are feeling the effects of an average ten percent reach.

What’s new?

Instagram has launched a new algorithm in June of 2019; the new algorithm has more benefits to Instagram users, which is necessary for the platform to continue to thrive.

The new algorithm predicts how much you care about a post. Your Instagram feed is not only based on whom you follow but it is also based on what you like and who your friends are. The order of your newsfeed will depend on the likelihood of you being interested in the content, your relationship to the person who is posting the content and timeliness of the post. The new algorithm may become a challenge for businesses and influencers who are looking to reach new audiences but there are ways of overcoming these challenges; namely spend more time consistently posting to Instagram.

The new Instagram algorithm also determines your relationships with your followers. Instagram will prioritize posts with high engagements and will deprioritize posts based on the relationships you have with your followers, therefore making the content that is seen by the user more relevant. Determining your relationship with your followers is based on commenting on posts and posts that you are tagged in, this will classify you into the “friends and family” category according to Instagram. Businesses should start treating comments as conversations in order to engage with their consumers and overcome this feature, which may turn into a marketing hurdle.

Timeliness is a factor, which is now also taken into account. This factor was taken into consideration after users were complaining about seeing Christmas posts on their news feed well after the festive day had passed and they were in the process of welcoming the New Year. The trick for businesses is to identify a time that their followers are most active and post during these times.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the new algorithm should make for a more user-friendly experience and businesses will be able to take full advantage of marketing opportunities if they understand how the new algorithm works. If you are interested in obtaining a diploma or would like to learn more about marketing on Instagram, contact the RCM School of Excellence to sign up for a full-time or online course.

Pinterest is an incredibly powerful tool for marketers since it provides a unique platform for users to interact with a brand on a personal and social level. It may not have quite the reach of other social media platforms, but it has a high concentration of loyal users who use it to look for products and services online, and even allows them to make purchases without having to leave the site. Although this feature has not been launched in South Africa yet, it is a reality in the rest of the world. 

It is important to note that using Pinterest as a Marketing tool is just one aspect of the advantages of Pinterest, to realise them all, you will need to acquaint yourself with the ins-and-outs of Pinterest for businesses. Pinterest as it is used by consumers, and as it is used by businesses and marketers, are two very different things.

The major difference between Pinterest and other social media platforms, is that Pinterest is used for collecting and saving ideas for later use. It is used to collect content from all over the world-wide-web, representing them on the platform in a short scale, using images, GIFS and videos. These snippets of content are called pins, and as far as marketers are concerned, pins represent a powerful tool to get loyal customers and prospective clients to interact with a brand, service, blog or product.

How does one market on Pinterest?

There are various marketing tools available on Pinterest namely: buyable pins, promoted pins, rich pins, you can send users to your website through Pinterest and by using taller pins to get your pins noticed.

What are promoted pins? Pinterest’s Promoted Pins is their paid ad platform. It works on a bidding system like the other social media ad platforms. You pay to have your pin placed in front of your target audience. Your pins will show up in relevant category feeds and relevant searches, aided by the keywords that you choose. You must have a business Pinterest account in order to access and run your own promoted pins campaigns.

What are buyable pins? Pinterest’s buyable pins are a simple, fast, and secure way for users to make purchases without ever leaving Pinterest. Buyable pins are identifiable to users by a blue “Buy It” tag that shows up right next to the red “Pin it” button. Users can see the price of the item, and will be taken through a swift check out process, all on Pinterest. As users are browsing through Pinterest, creating their wish-lists and getting ideas, they’ll be able to see your product, the price, and purchase it all with a few quick taps or clicks on their mobile device. They don’t even repeatedly enter in their payment information, making the process go swiftly—before they get the chance to talk themselves out of it.

Conclusion

When it comes to Pinterest, sticking to the basics can help improve your results, making our job as marketers and businesses much easier. For more information regarding the use of Pinterest as a marketing tool, contact the RCM School of Excellence for a short course.

The ICITP is a professional accreditation body that is recognized by the South Africa Qualifications Authority more commonly referred to as SAQA. The organisation was established in 2003 with the objectives of promoting public interest and trust in the information technology profession, ensuring and encouraging continuous professional development, and including the advancement of the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework.

The ICITP Accreditation.

The RCM School of Excellence offers a diploma in all fields of digital, which is accredited through the ICITP. The diploma covers modules in Google advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing, web design, website development, animation design and an introduction to mobile application development. This course offers a number of career opportunities to students and thus has become our best seller.

The Benefits of Becoming an Associate Member of the ICITP.  

Each of our students are encouraged and given the opportunity to complete the assesment and become an associate member of the ICITP in addition to receiving the accreditation.

• Becoming an associate member of the ICITP gives you professional recognition. Once you have completed the assesment and demonstrated that you have the required experience and skills, you may join the institution and add the appropriate title to your curriculum vitae and business card.
• You will achieve individual verification, which means that you are individually certified by the ICITP as a competent practitioner of the industry.
• The ICITP offers free and discounted networking opportunities which is useful for making new contacts and learning more about this sector.
• Marketing opportunities for members to expose their work, products and services through various channels.
• The ICITP also offers career development programmes, masterclasses, seminars and training courses. 

The associate membership is a fantastic curriculum vitae booster and offers you creditability as an I.T. professional. Various companies in the I.T sector have joined the membership programme and thus as a part of this industry it is imperative to keep up with competitors.

Conclusion

If you are interested in obtaining a diploma or would like to become an associate member of the ICITP contact the RCM School of Excellence for more information. 

Where did it all begin? The RCM School of Excellence recognized the need for digital skills as there weren’t enough skilled individuals who had the ability to work in a digital agency. Jeff Ellis, our CEO, then decided to start a college to teach the youth about the ever growing, volatile digital environment and to show them the opportunities that are available within it. 

The Digital Skills Gap: Some Stats

• 40% of organizations are not able to find sufficient talent to handle their digital marketing workloads.
• 50% only half of digital marketers feel highly proficient in digital.
• 23% of employees have the digital capabilities required of them to achieve their business outcomes.

In June of 2016 our exciting project started. We got to work on our business plan with one mission in mind: to have a daily impact in people’s lives, both directly and indirectly, through the things that we say and the things we do!

Our Implementation Plan.

The RCM School of Excellence was built to assist learners who want to change their career path through skills programmes or for students who are interested in a full time course; with a career of digital marketing, website design and development, animation or gamification in mind.  We have also developed an online learning option for people who are interested in furthering their education in the online space. The ultimate goal of the RCM School of Excellence is to address social economic issues of unemployment. We hope to conquer unemployment by upskilling individuals who are looking to make a difference in their lives.

Once we knew what our goal was and what we wanted to achieve we started the accreditation process. Our partnership with the MICT Seta started shortly after and we were soon accredited. In later stages, we have also achieved accreditation through the ICITP and successfully collaborated with the Digital Marketing Institute to obtain international accreditation. 

We have employed managers and senior professionals from Right Click Media to facilitate our classrooms because we have realized the benefit in getting experienced individuals to impart their knowledge and experiences onto our students.

The Launch of the RCM School of Excellence:

Our first intake launched on 1 September 2016. We started with twelve students, and offered them bursaries through funding that we obtained from skills development initiatives. Our first intake was a great success.

By 18 July 2017, which is in fact Mandela Day, we had reached our goal of providing sixty-seven bursaries to the youth of South Africa.

We have now educated more than one hundred students through full time and online studies. Great portions of our graduates have been absorbed into Right Click Media and the majority have started their career in the digital space at other companies.

Conclusion

We are pleased to say that this will be our third year operational and it has been a worthwhile journey. The RCM School of Excellence hopes to grow the college nationally and across Africa. To find out more about our journey follow our social media pages and get involved with uplifting our beautiful South Africa.

Klaus Schwab, a professor who founded the World Economic Forum, gave birth to the phrase “the fourth industrial revolution”.

The fourth industrial revolution is upon us and we need to ensure that we are ready for the change that is coming.

What is the fourth industrial revolution?

The fourth industrial revolution encourages technology-driven change. The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by new technologies that are combining physical, digital and biological worlds. It focuses on augmented reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and robotics.

Companies in various industries such as retail or food for example are all moving digital; turning most businesses into tech companies.

It is important to note that the fourth industrial revolution is not a prediction of the future but rather a call-to-action for businesses, governments, industries etc to embrace the change and actively participate in innovation and technological improvements.

How do we avoid a world of joblessness, low productivity and equality? We can address the problems of the past by ensuring that the fourth industrial revolution really does improve the state of the world. How can we accomplish this? By gaining the digital skills that are needed to contribute to change and innovation.

What is the difference between the third and fourth industrial revolution?

The main difference between the two revolutions is that the fourth industrial revolution is the focus of technology emerging with human’s lives. The third industrial revolution, also known as the digital revolution, focused on electronic systems, IT systems and automation whereas when we talk about the fourth industrial revolution we are referring to cyber physical systems.

In conclusion.

Studies show that by the year 2020, ninety percent of job roles will require digital skills no matter what industry you are working in. What’s more? We already have a shortage of forty five million skilled IT workers which in itself addresses unemployment rates through upskilling and upliftment.

Learn the skills that are needed to make the fourth industrial revolution a success. Sign up for a course to learn digital skills in order to thrive within the changing technological environment that we are currently finding ourselves in. The RCM School of Excellence offers a variety of courses in the digital space with both theory and practical elements of learning involved.