Digital Marketing

Come up with your Digital strategy like a Pro

Plan your strategy

This really means thinking about why you’re doing something before you do it.

So, starting your digital marketing strategy is as simple as starting with why you want to do it, deciding what you want to do, how you’re going to do it, what you expect to happen, and when and how you’ll measure your success.

5 steps for setting your strategy

1. SET A MEASURABLE GOAL

“I want to make sure 100% of my current customers know I offer product video services. I will run email and social media promotions to share this message for 2 months. After 2 months from the start of the promotion, I want to have at least 1 video job from 15% of my current customers.”

2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Get to know your audience. If you don’t understand enough about who you’re trying to reach, you’ll struggle to deliver a message that’s relevant enough that resonates with them.

Make your own buyer personas — fictionalized, general descriptions of your key customer groups.

• Think about who your customers are & group them into 3 or 4 buckets.
• Take each of those and create a character from each.
• Give him or her a name, a photo, a personality, and a few favourite hobbies.

3. KNOW YOUR BRAND

Your brand is how & why your customers choose you over your competitors. You can think of it as your company’s personality. So it’s something that’s worth defining clearly —what do you stand for?

What are your strongest character traits? And how does that translate into your presence—from the images you use on your website to the language you use in your emails?

4. WATCH YOUR COMPETITION

Your competitors aren’t just those who offer a like-for-like product or service. You can think of your competition in 3 ways:

Direct competitors – those brands that offer the same products or services as you.

Indirect competitors – brands that may offer different products but compete for the same space or budget as you.

Comparators – these might have a similar look and feel like your brand or be other brands that your target customers use frequently too.

Get inspired by your competitors’ wins, and use your differences to highlight what’s unique about what you’re offering.

5. GET READY TO MEASURE

Having brilliant ideas for how you’ll drive traffic, build brand awareness, and grow your customer base is just the beginning, it’s crucial you know how you’ll track progress

GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE!

If you posted a new blog post that included some video content on the page, look at how many:

• Views you get
• Views of the video
• Engagement with the video (likes, comments, shares)
• Clicks to your blog CTA
• Leads from the post
• Increase in leads from the post vs. posts without videos

Five ideas to help you sell more effectively in the digital world

 

1. Add an online chatbot

A chatbot is a computer program designed to have a conservation with a human being on Facebook or your website. It can take information, set up appointments, cancel appointments, direct customers to specific parts of your website and landing pages and it can handle FAQ’s (policies, payment schedules, branches, contact numbers etc.)

You can also decide to have a chatbot that connects a customer service representative directly so that a customer and the customer service person can chat in real-time.

2. E-commerce

Build an e-commerce functionality on your website so that your customers can order directly without having to visit your physical shop. Make sure that the products are easily accessed on the website. Also, don’t forget to add all modes of payments your customers might prefer to use.

This COVID-19 pandemic period when people are staying at home and minimizing movement is the right time to add an e-commerce functionality on your website for people to order.

3. Delivery

Now that you have added an e-commerce functionality on your website, how are your customers going to receive their products?

Make sure you add quick and in-expensive delivery means to your customers. If possible, you can even offer free delivery to make more people order.

4. Offer webinars

If you have a new product or you want to show a presentation of how to use a product or service offered to hold a webinar instead of face to face. This can attract more people more than you could have achieved with face to face demo.

5. Comprehensive FAQ

Which are the most frequently asked questions about your product or service?

Make a comprehensive FAQ to answer all those questions and provide your prospects with valuable information on all that they need to know. Make sure you also share this on your social media channels this helps you build your brand, strengthen relationships, create trust and grow demand for your services.

Marketing during this pandemic

COVID-19 has taken us all by surprise revealing the cracks in many small business marketing plans.

What should you do to connect with clients, prospects and customers during this pandemic period?

If your business heavily relies on foot traffic then this could be devastating during this period.

So what can you do to connect with your community and stay top of their mind?

1. Update Social media profiles

This is the time to start investing in social media as a marketing tool. First things first have a strategy, this is the first most important step you need to take. Post updates about how your products and services can be accessed during this period and grow your audience. Also, connect with prospects and referral sources on Facebook and LinkedIn.

2. Blog

When is the last time you posted a blog to your website? Or most importantly do you have a blog on your website? If not, you most certainly need to add a blog in your website!

Why is a blog necessary?

A well written, engaging blog post can drive customers to your website and can help establish your brand as an industry leader.

Offer content that your ideal customers will want to read about and move them to action.

3. Email Marketing

If you already have a contact list of potential clients you can utilize email automation platforms like Mailchimp, Aweber or Hubspot to market to them.

People receive so many emails in a day, but what makes them want to open your email? Send them content that resonates with them. Always remember to add a call to action in your email.

These are trying times for every business, you just have to figure out how you can take your business online so that you can remain afloat. Don’t close your business just change how you used to do business in the new ‘normal’.

Need help in taking this critical step for your business? We are here for you!

How to handle negative reviews

Customer reviews affect real business outcomes and the decisions potential customers make before proceeding to make a buying decision.

Reviews help people get a better idea of the effectiveness and quality of a product, business and service. It also gives a better than average customer experience which is what most people look for.

Most customers will always look at reviews before they make a purchasing decision.

This is why all businesses must always respond to customer reviews-good or bad.

Positive reviews aren’t hard to respond to, it’s the negative ones that are usually the most difficult to handle.

Sometimes dealing with angry customers who can at times become stubborn and overwhelming can be a hard task.

So how do you respond to those negative feedbacks?

1. Respond quickly

If someone leaves a negative review it means they are upset and they are expecting a swift response back.

That’s why you need to respond immediately, it helps limit the damage done and prevent the situation from escalating as more customers read the review.

2. Be Polite and Professional

Always remember you are dealing with a frustrated and angry customer, therefore always respond in a polite, professional manner without blaming other people or creating excuses. If goods can be replaced inform the customer and make the customer feel that the issue is going to be sorted out. When you handle the situation well, you can even ask the customer to take the review down and they definitely will.

3. Don’t hide

Sometimes removing or ignoring a negative review can be tempting but don’t do it.

People take their time to write the review, good or bad therefore removing the review can make matters worse. Removing the review might also be interpreted as an admission of guilt.

It’s also good practice to respond with an acknowledgement of feedback and state that the information currently is under review.

4. Respond Publicly

Always make sure you respond to any kind of review within 48 hours. The quick response always shows that your team cares.

Give a brief response and explain that the issue will be addressed promptly and welcome the opportunity to take the conversation offline.

5. Follow up privately

Once the issues have been addressed, follow up within a couple of days to ensure that any outstanding concerns have been resolved.

How you respond to negative reviews is critical, be proactive rather than reactive.

54% of Employers Have Eliminated a Candidate Based on Social Media

Employers are now looking at your social media accounts

Can your social media get you a job or get you disqualified?

Who are you, really?

That’s a question most employers want to know beyond your cover letter and CV. They want to know if you are respectful, responsible, trustworthy and if you will follow through on promises.

During interviews, people are on their best behaviours making it hard for employers to tell if a candidate is right for the position. Which leads them to google to get your information.

In particular, they browse through your social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media profiles you have publicly available.

70 per cent of employers use social media to screen candidates before hiring according to a survey done by CareerBuilder.

54 per cent of employers surveyed said they chose not to hire a candidate because of the content found on their social media profile(s).

Some of the reasons given as to why the hiring, managers or employers chose not to hire a candidate because of their social media were:

1. Posted provocative or inappropriate photos, videos or information (39%)
2. Bad-mouthed previous company or fellow employee (30%)
3. Posted information about drinking or using drugs (38%)
4. Made discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion (32%)
5. Shared confidential information from previous employers: (23%)
6. Lied about qualifications (27%)
7. Had poor communication skills: (27%)
8. Been linked to criminal behaviour: (26%)
9. Had an unprofessional screen name: (22%)
10. Lied about an absence: (17%)

Good news is what you post on social media can actually get you employed.

44 per cent of hiring managers and employers have discovered content on a candidate’s social media profile that caused them to hire that person.

The main reasons for this:

1. Candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications (38%)
2. Candidate showed a professional image (36%)
3. Candidate demonstrated great communication skills (37%)
4. Candidate showed creativity (35%)

 Don’t go deleting your social media yet!

57 per cent of employers said they were far less likely to hire someone in if that person was an online “ghost” or rather is not online

So don’t delete your Social media account, Clean it!

What Should you Do?

1. Google yourself

Type your name in google and search, you need to know what is out there and where?

2. Consider making certain social media profiles private

Sometimes it’s valid to have an outlet where you can share some information which sometimes is social media. In the case of this, choose a social media platform that you can make your account private like Instagram. So that only the people you follow will see your posts.

If you choose this, don’t accept friend requests from your old bosses.

You can also update your Facebook privacy settings so that not everything is fully public.

3. Review your profiles as if you were an employer

Go through your social media through the eyes of someone looking to hire you. Make your bios up to date as well as having a description that reflects who you are now. How is your profile picture? Is it professional?

Go through your posts paying key attention to your latest posts, don’t ignore your old posts as well.

Got any questionable memes? Take them down. How about inappropriate pictures of yourself, or ones in which you’re tagged? This can be one of the most important (and challenging) parts of the process. Un-tag yourself liberally if necessary.

4. Post some meaningful content

Remember 44 per cent employers have found content on a candidate’s social media that caused them to hire that person–so your social media accounts aren’t just a liability have background information that supports your professional qualifications.

With the intense job hunting in Kenya, hiring firms in Kenya are now turning to social media to check candidates profiles to ensure they hire the right candidates among the many candidates who show up for the interview.

Therefore don’t think that employers don’t check a candidate’s social media in Kenya, because they do.

How to pay for Facebook Ads in Kenya

There are several means of paying for facebook ads in Kenya. Making facebook payments is usually the last step after you create your ad.

There are several facebook payments methods allowed in Kenya. This are;

1. Credit cards or debit cards which includes;

• Visa
• American Express
• Master card

2. PayPal

You acquire a Visa/Mastercard, load it with money according to how much you’d like to spend, then hook it up with Facebook. Facebook tests the card when you hook it up, mostly with 1 Dollar then reverse it, then it will charge when you spend around $5, $10 or $15. The more you run the adverts the more facebook increases your spending limit, allowing you to run ads at a certain period before asking for payment

You will follow the procedure that they will provide you which is filling your account information. Same as for PayPal you need to follow the steps for filling in your information.

Below are images that will guide you

Pay for facebook ads using Mpesa in Kenya?

Facebook has not yet launched an Ad payment method using Mpesa in Kenya. We will update you in case Mpesa is added to facebook payment methods. Mpesa recently merged with Paypal where you can send or receive money through both platforms, which will make it easier to pay for Facebook adverts in Kenya

How to pay for facebook ads in Kenya is a very commonly asked question and we always advise our clients to follow the steps provided and fill in the correct information.

Facebook Ads in Kenya

How Facebook ads work

With Facebook ads you can promote your page, posts on your page, your contact us button or even your website. Facebook ads can be simple or sophisticated depending on how you want them to be. There are over 7.90 million Facebook users in Kenya, thus your advert can reach as many people as you want.

With Facebook ads, you can also run adverts on Instagram and on messenger. Anyone can run facebook ads in Kenya though we will later see the kind of business categories that are not allowed to run facebook ads.

How to target Facebook ads

With Facebook ads, you need to think keenly on who you want to target in your campaign or you will fail. Facebook allows you to target your ads according to the following;

• Location
• Age
• Gender
• Interests
• Behaviour

These are the most important fields you should concentrate on while carrying out facebook ads in Kenya or any part of the globe.

Location

It allows you to target your audience according to the country, counties or region, cities, postal codes or addresses.

Gender

You are given three options; Male, Female or ALL. If your products are specifically for men you target men and vice versa for women. If they are for both genders you use All.

Age

You need to know the age of the target customers who consume your products or services. With Facebook, the targeting age starts from 13 years to 65+ years.  You can start by targeting according to the age of your existing customers and then expand with time or target the general audience of your product.

Behaviour

Facebook gives you an option of choosing your audience according to their behaviours that are related to your advert. This could be their past purchase of items, pages they follow, devices they use, travel and pages they search for among others. This allows you to get the target audience that has an interest in your products or services.

Interest

This is the most powerful area that you need to consider keenly before making your advert live. Facebook gives you two options broad category or precise interests.

Broad category

When creating an ad, you are given various options like business and industry, entertainment, relationships, shopping and fashion, food and drinks among other categories. You choose the categories that fit your advert.

Precise interest

For example, you have chosen your category as shopping and fashion, you can go ahead and specify the exact people you want to reach in that category. You can specify if it is beauty, clothing, fashion accessories among others. From there you can specify if it is females, men or children’s clothes. You can go ahead and select if it is handbags, dresses, jewellery or sunglasses that you are advertising. With this, you are able to narrow down your target audience to the ones you want your advert to reach.

You are also given an exclude option, with this you can exclude people that you do not want your advert to reach.

There are several contents that are prohibited from advertising on Facebook, this includes, drug and drug substance, tobacco products, dating, gambling, discriminatory practices, unsafe supplements among others. We will discuss more on the prohibited content in detail in the next article.

Facebook Marketing in Kenya

Facebook marketing in Kenya is the most common form of digital marketing following the high number of users Facebook has. Facebook is the leading social media platform in Kenya with 80% users, this is according to the January 2019 digital reports from Hootsuite and We Are Social. The report showed that Facebook adverts in Kenya reach 7.90 million people. This shows that carrying out Facebook marketing in Kenya can help you reach so many people at the same time.

How to grow your business on Facebook

Growing your business on Facebook can be challenging if you do not have the necessary knowledge. We will guide you on how to get your small Facebook business page noticed.

Below are some tips that will help you grow your business on Facebook.

Build a custom welcome page

The first step of accomplishing digital marketing on Facebook is to create a Facebook business page.

You need to customize your page so that it effectively represents your brand or company. You can do this by putting an attractive profile picture, a call to action button, about section, contact, engaging timeline and links to your website or blogs.

Use photos and videos

Upload photos and videos of your products.  People always want to see visuals of what they are buying, you cannot sell to people without them seeing how the product looks like. Videos can help people understand how to use certain products or to display a product.

Relevant content and consistent posting

If your Facebook page is dealing with fashion let it be just fashion. Ensure that you post consistently on your page. Digital marketing always requires you to keep your page engaged. You can do this by ensuring interactions through replying to people’s enquiries and asking them relevant questions. Facebook advertising in Kenya requires you to show people that you are available and active.

Advertise on Facebook

Facebook allows you to advertise using Facebook ads and sponsored stories. This will help you target the people that are likely to buy your product this could be according to gender, age or location. Doing this will get your page out there.

Monitor your page

Facebook just like Instagram allows you to see engagements on your post, your post reach, your page review among others through insights. As you monitor you are able to analyze if your page is doing well or not. It will also help you know what kind of posts are attracting more people and which ones are not. This is going to help you achieve your Facebook advertising goals

Join Facebook groups

Join Facebook pages that are relevant to your industry and participate in them. If you are in the fashion industry, join fashion groups and be active on them, the more you participate the more people recognize you and they will start looking for your page to see what you do or sell. You can also promote your content there.

Start your own Facebook group

Start your own Facebook group if you find that there is none that suits your kind of business. Add members from your Facebook friends and ask them to recommend their friends. In the group create discussions, post articles and make the page lively. People will recognize you as the leader of that group and you can be advertising your business there from time to time so that people do not feel like it is an advertising group.

Reward your followers

People always want to feel appreciated therefore; you can be giving offers to your customers, discounts on items or gifts.

Facebook advertising in Kenya is important for your business if you want to reach more people. Facebook has the highest number of users in Kenya so utilize it to advertise your products or services.

Digital Marketing Training in Kenya

Digital marketing training in Kenya is important for a person who wants to become a pro in the social media marketing industry. 43.33 million Kenyans are using the internet, therefore, every business is going online to advertise themselves. This is an opportunity to place yourself in the job industry as an expert in digital marketing. There are many digital marketing jobs in Kenya following the massive internet usage in Kenya.

Why digital media training?

There is plenty of knowledge on the internet on how to carry out social media marketing. But without someone guiding you, you will not know where to start. You always need to learn and practice before you become an expert. Social media is always changing with updates. You might decide to study online and read an article from two years ago which contains information that already changed. With digital training institutes in Kenya, you can be able to learn what is changing in the digital world. With training, you can learn how to checking for updates and much more. It is easier to learn from someone than to learn by yourself something that is new to you.

What digital marketing training entails

Digital marketing institutes, colleges and universities in Kenya offering the training will include the following digital marketing units in their courses.

• Social media marketing training
• Content marketing & blogging
• Google analytics & data training
• Digital marketing strategy
• Display & video advertising
• Email marketing training
• Search engine optimization (SEO)

This training will help you be eligible for digital marketing jobs in Kenya, which is your key objective.

Institutes offering digital marketing training in Kenya

Ora Digital Marketing Training

Digital for Africa

Simon page

This are some of the institutes that offer digital training in Kenya, you can look up for more online and choose the one that you find fit for you.

In digital marketing, you are not limited by grades; you just need to sign up for classes from any institution that offers digital marketing training in Kenya. Marketing experts, business professionals’ or communication professionals’ can take this course.  

Metrics that a successful website needs to track

To truly know how successful your website is you need to dive into data and analytics, which are the basic metrics foundation.

So what metrics should you be checking on your website?

Number of visitors and their source

When marketing your ultimate goal is to bring traffic to your website since it is your home base. Therefore, you need to monitor your website regularly to check which campaigns are working and which ones are not. This is indicated with an increase or a decrease in traffic. When you see an increase of visitors on your website, you will want to know their source. It could be from social media platforms, referrals, direct visitors or google search. This will help you know where to focus your marketing on and where not to market.

New visitors’ vs returning visitors

This metric will help you know how valuable your website content is. If the number of returning visitors is high, it means that they found your content useful, therefore, you can continue to create such content.

If you are looking to drive traffic that is more organic to your website, new visitors are of importance to you.

Bounce rates

This is the percentage of your website visitors, who only view one page before leaving your site.  This could be caused by:

• the site took too long to load
• there was an error page
• they did not immediately find the content they were looking for
• they were not compelled to go further from the page they landed on

Therefore, when conducting a marketing campaign always leave a link that will lead them relevant to the page you want them on.

Average sessions duration

Sessions refer to the number of visitors to your website. The average session duration shows how long visitors spend on your website. This will help you know if they found your content valuable and worth viewing at length.

Page views

This shows the total number of pages viewed. This metrics will help you know the most visited pages. You will be able to know if the whole website is useful or specific pages, therefore, you can know how to bring more viewership to the other pages on your website.

Exit rate

When you are running a marketing campaign and your main goal is to drive people to your website through the ‘learn more’, the exit rate shows you where exactly the visitor left after landing on your website.

Conversion rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete your desired campaign objective. This could be sales, subscribing or downloading your app. This indicates how successful your campaign is depending on the numbers.