The sheer size and scale of the internet is almost incomprehensible. But the internet is more than a safe space for adorable videos and tutorials: it is a dream come true for brands in Kenya. Companies in Kenya have swarmed the internet in recent years to take advantage of this, a strategy known as Digital Marketing.
But what is digital marketing really? Digital
marketing is the act of promoting and selling products and services by
leveraging online marketing tactics and channels such as social media
marketing, search marketing, and email marketing. If you’re new to digital
marketing, it may feel overwhelming. We get that… But in many ways, digital
marketing is no different than traditional marketing.
In both, smart organizations seek to develop mutually
beneficial relationships with prospects, leads, and customers. Now, think about
the last important purchase you made. Perhaps you purchased a home, hired
someone to fix your roof, or changed paper suppliers at your office. Regardless
of what it was, you probably began by searching the Internet to learn more and
find your best options. Your ultimate buying decision was then based on the
reviews you read, the friends and family you consulted with, and the solutions,
features, and pricing you researched.
Why every Kenyan Business needs Digital Marketing
Each company will have different specific goals in mind, but
most are trying to achieve growth by reaching more consumers and convincing
them to purchase. To do this effectively, you have to take advantage of all the
most valuable marketing resources and technologies, and in the modern world,
the internet tops that list. This makes every business in need of digital
marketing. It’s necessary you understand the benefits of digital marketing for
businesses, which include:
- Lower
costs and higher flexibility for your marketing efforts
- Access
to consumers who rely on their mobile phones or do all their shopping
online
- The
ability to speak with authority on topics related to your product or
industry
- A
chance to engage with influencers, earn their respect and get them to
endorse your company
- Opportunities
to incorporate multiple types of media into your marketing
- The
ability to track customers’ purchase journeys
Digital Marketing Techniques in Kenya
What is a Digital
Marketing Strategy? This is perhaps best answered with a question. Can you
sum up in one sentence what you will be trying to achieve over the coming
years? If not, then you don’t have a strategy. If you can articulate that but
you don’t know how to get from where you are to your end vision, then you don’t
have a strategy. If you have a vision and a path to get there then you have a
strategy. There are various important digital marketing strategies applied by
various businesses in Kenya. They include the following:
- Search engine
optimization
- Search engine
marketing
- Content marketing
- Social
Media Marketing
- Pay-per-click
advertising (PPC)
- Affiliate
marketing
- Email
marketing
- Video
Marketing
- Influencer
Marketing
- Programmatic
Advertising
Top High performing content used in Digital Marketing in Kenya
Content marketing has become one of the most powerful
digital marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes and industries in
Kenya. However, when it comes down to developing your marketing strategy, it
can be difficult to decide what kind of content marketing you want to
use to grow your business. Here are the most common types of content.
- Blogs
- Videos
- Infographics
- Case
Studies
- GIFs
and Memes
- Surveys
- Ebooks
- Client
Testimonials and Reviews.
- Contests
- Forums
- Interviews
Best Digital Marketing Tools for businesses in Kenya.
Marketing tools vary in form and cater to specific functions
to help you carry out your marketing strategy.
With so many tools out there, marketing teams can easily get
overwhelmed by choosing what they should have in their arsenal. Before jumping
off the deep end and giving everything a try at once, consider the following:
Who’s your audience? Where’s your audience most likely to be found? What
materials will your audience find most useful/engaging? How can you deliver
your materials to them in the most efficient way?
There are various marketing tools out there that can take
some of the workloads off of your shoulders. These tools are especially
valuable for small businesses that don’t have the resources to dedicate a team
to in-house marketing, or the budget to outsource the work to a marketing
agency.
- Email
marketing automation platform – Email marketing platforms, such
as MailChimp and Mailerlite, give marketing teams a one-stop-shop for
their email marketing needs. With these email marketing tools, users can
not only build custom email campaigns, but they can also use list
segmentation to build smarter email lists, make use of our analytics and
insight feature to monitor the success of campaigns, and test it all
before sending.
- Social
scheduler platform-These tools are designed to help marketers plan,
schedule, and send content out through various social media channels. One
platform well known for this is Hootsuite.
- Image
design platform-Content is highly crucial in digital marketing and having
top-quality imagery to accompany your content is what’ll get you noticed.
Canva is one of the image design platforms that offer marketing teams many
different options for creating branded materials. Apart from stunning
images, you can create various branded materials from posters to fliers.
- Communication
and organization platform- Finally, another vital aspect to
consider is having a platform that allows you to easily organize your
business projects, while also being able to communicate with your workmates.
These platforms help you have a team calendar, a team chatroom, and
a Project organizer
What does a Digital Marketer do in Kenya?
A digital marketer — or a Digital Marketing Manager — is
responsible for crafting a marketing strategy, as well as implementing and
managing it.
Regardless of the focus of their work, any digital marketing
professional needs to be able to:
- Understand
the opportunities presented by different channels and devices
- Maintain
a competitive edge by staying up to date with ever-evolving trends, tools,
and behaviors
- Know
how to decipher “big data” strategically and capitalize on insights
- Gauge
why consumers use different channels and devices and for what purpose
- Manage
dynamic customer relationships to create meaningful interactions
What type of content is better for each stage of the buyer’s journey in Kenya
The buyer’s
journey is the active research process a buyer goes through leading up
to a purchase. In a nutshell, it’s everything that someone would need to do
before deciding whether or not to purchase from you. It follows them through
four stages: becoming aware of a need, considering different solutions to
fulfill that need, making a decision between the different solutions, and
becoming loyal to a brand.
Stages of the buyer’s journey involve- Awareness, Interest,
Consideration, Purchase, Post-purchase then Repurchase.
How B2B and B2C companies can use Digital Marketing
strategies in Kenya
Digital Marketing is applied by different companies in Kenya
in different ways, each to a different degree of success.
Therefore, different companies — B2B and B2C (Business to
Business and Business to Customer) — use Digital Marketing in very varying
ways.
So, what are some of the differences between
B2B and B2C Digital Marketing strategies?
Social media has helped bridge the gap between B2B and B2C
strategies since companies can now advertise to both companies and customers
alike with the same platform and the same strategies.
The difference between these strategies comes in how they
have used and the type of content.
The audience
Customers in the B2B businesses include business owners and
managers. In other words, people know a lot about the industry that you are
operating in.
Companies will have to make sure their content does not talk
down to these professionals and instead talks to them.
On the other hand, B2C companies deal with customers who
know a lot about the market but do not know the intricacies of the said market.
Another big difference between B2B and B2C customers is that
one is looking for a product or service that has plenty of utility, while the
other is looking for the best value.
B2C customers are often looking for products that give them
the most utility for a lower price. However, B2B customers are rarely concerned
with the price of a product and look more to its functionality, versatility,
and utility.
B2C companies will mostly choose a very friendly, inviting,
and often very casual tone to attract their target audience.
This tone is also a reflection of the brand’s personality,
which is why it is essential to every B2C business.
These companies will also use platforms like Instagram,
Facebook, Pinterest, and even Snapchat — casual and relatable social media suites
— to promote their brand.
B2B companies tend to have a more serious tone and a very
straightforward message. These companies use very specific social media
platforms like LinkedIn, which is a business platform.
Size of the market
B2C companies are effectively advertising to a massive
market with millions of possible customers.
On the other hand, you have B2B businesses that are always
catering to a very specific niche of owners and managers.
Relationship with customers
B2C companies are more concerned with creating brand loyalty
and increasing revenue.
B2B companies have a much more specific criterion that takes
higher priority over increasing revenue.
We have now come to a close, and we hope that this article will help you better implement Digital Marketing in your advertising strategy and use it to its fullest potential.