Social Media
Our social media platforms are currently shared between tourism and investment with a current focus on driving investment engagement content. We are achieving this through continuous updates on investment, specifically around ‘Buy-Local’, ‘Port Shepstone Techno Hub’, ‘Unlimited Opportunities to Invest’ and ‘Play here, Stay here’ coverage.
In the last year, we have noted exponential growth across all our social media sites with the data and analytics showing a 136% spike, and almost 1 million ‘impressions’ online. Audiences are responding positively to the content being shared as the engagements, too, have seen an astounding 859% increase at 45 997 engagements and 3 587 Post Link Clicks.
On Facebook (Meta), our ‘Page Likes’ have escalated organically from around 4 000 to close to
10 000, with the number of ‘Followers’ almost matching this number. We aim to sustainably grow this audience engagement by ‘boosting’ posts and using paid campaigns going forward. We are also considering a presence on the social media platform Tik Tok in the coming months to promote tourism through short-form videos.
Information can also be found by visiting South Coast Tourism on Facebook; South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise on YouTube; @infosouthcoast on Twitter or Instagram; South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise on LinkedIn.
Website
The signing of our MOU with MasterCard has allowed us to explore e-commerce and other digital opportunities for the SCTIE websites, encouraging further investment opportunities with our digital resources. Our local businesses will enjoy digitisation that keeps operating costs down while attracting new investment.
One example is the Tap on Phone app, which turns a smart phone into a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) device, allowing for cashless transactions for all traders and potential future business investments into the KZN South Coast. This cost-effective digital solution allows for cardless transactions of all currencies, ensuring ease of business operations from business-to-customer and business-to-business offerings. You can find out more about the MasterCard MOU benefits in our dedicated press release.
Keeping website content fresh and relevant is vital, which is why we update the site weekly. We have also restructured the destination website landing page, to include our Buy Local Campaign and Buy Local Membership, all of which are backlinked to our Invest KZN South Coast website.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
We continue to prioritise SEO on our website to drive audiences to our online offerings. This strategy is showing results, as both the investment and SCTIE website’s engagement have more than doubled since its inception from September 2022 to February 2023. The keyword ‘KZN South Coast’ has organically reached Page One Ranking. We believe the introduction of additional SEO articles through analytical recommendations, considering competitor ranking and keywords has contributed to this upward trend.
Explore the KZN South Coast app
We have connected the app with the destination website, so that it functions using one Content Management System (CMS), which allows us to cost-effectively update information across the app, as it is done on the website, daily. Elements from the Buy Local campaign are linked to the investment website and made available through this platform.
Database
We have restructured and updated our internal, POPI Act-compliant database, adding new categories, to diversify our communication efforts through SMS, newsletters, and other push notifications. In doing this, we are reaching KZN South Coast organisations, municipal representatives, and strategic partners, helping to grow tourism and investment opportunities, where possible. We have been consistently updating the investment communication contacts from various sectors so that the newsletter and other communications are reaching the right audiences. We are also growing our #buylocal database and will continue to include member details going forward.