Lensoft
Are you interested in kickstarting your business’s online promotion? Uncertain about how to approach online marketing in Kenya? If that’s the situation, don’t worry!
This comprehensive guide will provide you with all the fundamental aspects of digital marketing necessary to create successful online opportunities for your Kenyan business.
Online marketing is the key to placing your business directly in front of potential customers. Embracing online marketing in Kenya is not only effortless but also advantageous because:
- It is cost-effective,
- It strengthens your brand identity,
- It facilitates meaningful connections with your target audience,
- You can run campaigns across various platforms,
- And, naturally, your competitors are already reaping its benefits.
So, if you’re contemplating taking your business online but are unsure where to begin, here are a few steps to help you get started.
Step 1: Build an Attractive brand
Branding, in its simplest form, refers to the process by which a business establishes a unique name, logo, and corporate identity that distinguishes it from competitors. Surprisingly, every individual and business possesses a brand, whether they realize it or not. It is through branding that both customers and your team form perceptions about your business.
Undoubtedly, the brand you select represents your reputation and holds immense influence over your business relationships with other companies and prospective clients.
A strong brand acts like a magnet, drawing customers to your business and enticing them to invest in your products and services. Additionally, a well-crafted brand increases your likelihood of attracting loyal customers, giving you a competitive edge over your rivals.
With that in mind, there’s no denying the necessity of enlisting the expertise of a professional graphic designer to create a lasting brand for your business.
Step 2: Invest in a Website that is Customer-friendly & Secure
In the contemporary business landscape, having a website for your company is just as crucial as having a telephone number, physical shop, or office. A substantial number of clients anticipate finding online content that provides information about businesses and the products and services they offer.
If your company still lacks a website, there’s a strong possibility that numerous potential customers have been searching for you in vain.
Moreover, a website ensures a 24/7 online presence, enabling customers to find you even beyond regular business hours. It offers convenience to your customers, allowing them to access valuable information about your products and services from the comfort of their homes.
To have a well-functioning website, it’s essential to engage a professional web developer with extensive experience in this field. Though this might involve an initial cost, the long-term benefits far outweigh the investment. In fact, having a website can significantly reduce advertising expenses.
Additionally, your website can serve as a platform to directly sell your goods and services to consumers. This e-commerce aspect adds another dimension of value to your online presence.
Step 3: Sign up with Google My Business
Google My Business is a no-cost tool that empowers you to control how your business is showcased on Google Search Results and Google Maps. Your listing should encompass essential details such as:
- Your business name
- Location and business hours
- Pictures showcasing your business
- Customer reviews
By optimizing these elements on Google My Business, you can enhance your online presence and make it easier for potential customers to find and learn about your business.
In today’s digital era, Google has become a trusted and go-to source for answers to various pressing issues. Whether it’s health-related inquiries, cooking methods, parenting tips, or anything else, people rely on Google for information.
To ensure that your business gains the attention it deserves online, having a Google My Business account is essential. This account helps boost your visibility when potential customers search for your products or services on the internet.
Over the years, the popularity of Google My Business has soared, solidifying Google’s position as the world’s leading search engine. By not utilizing this powerful tool, you may be missing out on numerous sales opportunities for your business. Embracing Google My Business can significantly enhance your online presence and attract more customers to your goods and services.
Step 4: Start a Blog for your Business
Starting a blog is imperative to showcase your expertise and connect with your readers effectively. Utilize this platform to share high-quality, pertinent information, such as product updates, thought-provoking articles, exclusive insights into new launches, and even testimonials from delighted customers. A well-maintained blog can be a powerful tool in establishing credibility and fostering engagement with your audience.
In essence, customers seek to invest their money in goods and services that bring value to their lives. They are wary of spending on businesses that lack a clear understanding of their offerings. Demonstrating your expertise through informative blogging can instill confidence in potential customers and showcase your competence.
Blogging also serves as a way to attract online users in search of information. By providing valuable content that addresses their concerns, you can pique their interest in your business’s products and services. A well-optimized blog can act as a marketing tool, driving traffic to your website and converting visitors into potential clients.
Leveraging social media platforms like Facebook allows you to promote your blogs effectively. As people frequently turn to the internet for information, this approach can help widen your reach. The best part is that you don’t have to create the content yourself; you can hire professionals at affordable rates to handle the task for you. This way, you can maintain a strong online presence and connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
Step 5: Try other Forms of Content Marketing
In addition to creating blog posts, there are various other techniques you can employ to provide essential information to your audience. Consider exploring avenues like emails, presentations, eBooks, and videos to engage with your audience effectively.
Keep in mind that the more valuable information you can offer to individuals seeking answers, the greater your potential to attract traffic to your business. Diversifying your content across different mediums allows you to reach a broader audience and build a stronger connection with potential customers.
In the world of online marketing, content creation and its seamless integration go hand in hand. Therefore, it’s crucial to consistently produce valuable information that you believe will benefit your potential clients.
The ultimate goal is to make your business the first choice that comes to your clients’ minds whenever they need products or services like the ones you offer. To achieve this, ensure that the information you provide remains relevant to the current times.
Regularly updating your content is of utmost importance in order to stay relevant and capture your audience’s attention. As an entrepreneur, content creation may pose challenges, but you can always seek assistance from professionals such as graphic designers and content marketers. Enlisting their expertise will help you craft the right content that resonates with your audience and keeps your business at the forefront of their minds.
Step 6: SEO Your Business Website
Individuals turn to Google to find solutions to their particular problems, a phenomenon known as search traffic. Business owners can capitalize on this opportunity to tap into potential customers and boost their revenues. By ensuring that their businesses appear prominently in relevant search results, they can attract interested individuals who are actively seeking products or services to address their needs.
By utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you can elevate your website’s ranking to the first page of Google for relevant and desirable keywords, thus attracting valuable search traffic.
If the terminology seems daunting, don’t fret. You don’t need to be a coding genius to grasp the basics of small business SEO. With the right guidance and resources, you can learn and implement SEO strategies to optimize your website’s visibility and draw in potential customers. Companies like Lensoft can help you optimize your business. Click here to get the services.
At its core, SEO comes down to producing valuable content that resonates with your audience and encourages them to read and share it. This involves researching what your target audience is actively searching for, crafting content that provides answers to their queries, optimizing the content with technical aspects that align with Google’s preferences, and ultimately driving significant traffic to your website. By focusing on these key elements, you can enhance your website’s visibility and appeal, making it more attractive to both search engines and your potential visitors.
Step 7: Post Regularly on Social Media
Social media, when utilized effectively, can serve as an excellent platform to connect with potential customers. It offers the opportunity to engage with new audiences, initiate conversations about your products and services, and ultimately persuade them to become consumers of what you offer. By leveraging social media in the right manner, you can tap into a vast pool of potential customers and effectively promote your business to a wider audience.
Once again, social media plays a pivotal role in enhancing your customer relations by enabling you to receive valuable feedback from clients. When customers recognize your responsiveness to their concerns, they become more inclined to purchase your goods and services, fostering trust in you and your business.
To effectively engage your customers on social media, it’s essential to be an active participant on the relevant platforms. By consistently marketing your products on social media, you can easily generate brand awareness for your company.
Moreover, social media offers an excellent opportunity to boost the visibility of your website. With millions of people regularly interacting on popular social platforms, utilizing these platforms effectively allows you to showcase your business to the world from the comfort of your home or office. Embracing social media as part of your marketing strategy can significantly expand your reach and strengthen your online presence.
Step 8: Collect Emails & Send Newsletters
By sending newsletters via email, you can keep your subscribers informed and up-to-date about the latest products and promotions your business has to offer.
In addition to keeping your subscribers updated on the latest products and promotions, newsletters provide valuable and detailed information to help customers make well-informed decisions.
After customers subscribe to your business email, it’s vital to maintain consistent engagement through regular emails and newsletters. This continued communication keeps your business in their awareness, reducing the likelihood of them turning to competitors. Establishing a sense of trust is crucial, and regular communication contributes to building confidence in both you and your products.
Furthermore, it’s essential to regularly check and promptly respond to any concerns expressed by your customers via email. Demonstrating attentiveness to their feedback shows that their opinions are valued, leading to a stronger relationship between your business and its customers.
Step 9: Spend some Money on Paid Advertising
Numerous successful entrepreneurs emphasize the strategy of using money to generate more money. While free advertising platforms on the internet exist, investing in paid advertising is equally essential for optimal results.
Organic online marketing methods like sending newsletters via email, business blogging, SEO, and social media posting may take some time to show significant results.
To expedite outcomes, it’s wise to complement these techniques with paid advertising methods, such as Google sponsored ads and Pay per Click.
By combining valuable content with effective advertising strategies, you can position your business competitively in the online sphere. The beauty of online marketing is its timeless nature; it improves and gains momentum over time. The investment you make in establishing a strong online presence is always worthwhile and continues to yield benefits.
Step 10: Start a Referral program
Achieving success in business is far from easy; it requires continuous effort and dedication.
To reach that level of success, every day should be dedicated to strategizing and implementing new and improved mechanisms to reach and engage with clients effectively.
In the vast landscape of online opportunities to reach clients, it’s crucial to excel in utilizing the various platforms at your disposal.
Referral programs offer a convenient way to expand your business’s customer base. By encouraging satisfied customers to refer others to your business, you can tap into a powerful network of word-of-mouth marketing.
By effectively tracking these referrals, you can identify the sources where your business receives the most referrals and determine which goods and services attract the highest number of recommendations. This valuable information allows you to fine-tune your strategies and focus on areas that drive the most growth for your business.
Step 11: Monitor Your Online Marketing Progress
By tracking and evaluating your efforts, you can make necessary adjustments and avoid wasting time and money on strategies that don’t deliver the desired results. It’s essential to maintain a positive outlook when assessing your progress and remember that not all techniques will be equally successful.
Set realistic benchmarks for evaluating your success to avoid feeling disheartened if some strategies don’t immediately yield the expected outcomes. Some approaches may require time to show their effectiveness, so patience is key.
In the world of online marketing, every day presents an opportunity to learn and grow. Persistence and flexibility in implementing necessary changes will undoubtedly lead to success. Embrace the learning process, stay determined, and adapt as needed to achieve your goals.
In conclusion, it is evident that the future of business lies in the online realm. With a large number of Kenyans having internet access through smartphones and computers, they are actively seeking valuable information to address their daily challenges. As a business owner, embracing online marketing in Kenya is essential to thrive in this digital landscape.
If you have any inquiries or uncertainties about marketing your business online, feel free to reach out to me. I’d be delighted to provide prompt answers and assistance. Embrace the online opportunities, and may your business flourish in the digital era!
