Truth is, it’s about making the most of the opportunity – and by being smart, targeted and creative. At BrandTruth, we believe we’ve created an Integrated Content Practice® – and these are five key learnings to maximise social media impact on a small budget:

1. Creative is key

Creativity and insight don’t arrive overnight. It doesn't come from doing the same thing over and over again. It comes from trying new things and learning from those experiences.

The main investment when it comes to social media marketing is the time and effort needed to generate and publish good quality content that the followers can engage with.

2. Learn from the best 

When cash is low, it pays to devote some time each day to research social media knowledge hubs and best practices from the professionals to expand on knowledge, and get ideas that one can tailor for their business.

3. Use the tools

What are the tools you need to create your great creative campaign?

In the social multimedia world that we live in, creating quality video, graphic, animation or photo content from scratch can be very expensive. So, the big question is: What’s free, but still reflects a quality depiction of the brand?

It’s increasingly common to invite your community to create with the brand. User-generated content is authentic content created by users about a brand, business or product.

It can be a very effective social media strategy because even people who like your brand may be sceptical to endorse it, in fear of being 'that friend' who spams, but most people will gladly share, comment and like other 'real' content. So, get the community involved and encourage them to create content around the brand.

4. Use of free image libraries

Quality content that portrays the quality of a brand is dependent on quality images. Photo shoots can be expensive, but so are stock libraries.

Before one takes out their mobile phone and desk lamp, look up alternatives like Pexels. High quality and completely free stock photos nicely tagged, searchable and easy to discover on the site.

5. As the right questions

Ask yourself the following – How? When? Where? What? Why The brand won’t only need free or affordable tools to craft its content to stand out, but also tools to help it schedule the content, automate the process of publishing and analyse how people are interacting with that content.

Lastly, keep some budget available for the boosting and promotion of the content.

For more information, visit www.brandtruth.co. You can also follow BrandTruth Integrated Content Practice™ on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.