10 Effective ways to Market Small Business online in Kenya

Many start-ups and SMEs don’t enjoy the luxury of a marketing department to market their small business online here in Kenya.

in fact, majority of the time, its the founder or the owners problem to know how info will get to their potential clients out there.

Let’s not bury our heads in sand and admit online marketing is difficult and more so expensive. In fact, the advertising expenditure on digital Ads have long overtaken TV Ads and print media advertising.

We’ve had interaction with many entrepreneurs who want to market their small business online to reduce their cost. while we advocate for professional Search Engine Optimization services here in Kenya, we do understand that it’s also a challenging venture.

Anyone interested in the dominating the first pages of google search results, or search engine pages, must understand that it takes years to build the right links profiles, authority and content to rank effortlessly for their intended  Keywords.

The ultimate fact is that you’ll have to work hard by yourselves to gain the returns, if you’re seriously looking to gain traffic organically through online marketing.

So where do i start from?

so where does the average entrepreneur look out to in order to market their small business online? and how to they get there without spending their hard earned money?

In marketing if your business is looking to gain traction, you’ll need lots of time or lots of money and lets not forget you still need to pay for your marketing however little overtime, its something you won’t forever run away from.

bearing in mind that majority of SMEs entrepreneurs in Kenya have more time and less financial might to market their business, it’s only understandable that you start small and build your capacity up.

How to Market Small Business Online in Kenya

So what are the most effective ways to market small business online in Kenya? besides word of mouth, social media is our go to place.

Here are the 10 strategies use for your small business

1. Invest in Web Design

with more and more tech-savvy user growing to make our target clients, it only makes sense to invest in website.

Having a professionally done website for your business is a must have. If you’re looking to market small business online here in Kenya, your website should be the center of your Online marketing adventure.

While many people may right off a website, remember it offers a 24/7 marketing platform for your business. it doesn’t matter how much effort you put online, you need a space to call the home of your business online.

On the long run, the cost of having a website done for your business is way cheaper than not having one at all bearing the number of would be clients you lose for not a having an online presence.

If you don’t have the skills to create one, get the professionals web design services providers in Kenya to set you up with one.

2. Search Engine Optimization

Now that you have your website online providing your services, it’s just not enough. Your competitors are also online and so you should give them a run for their money the same as you do on your business offline.

any person who is serious about online selling must invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services, either by time or putting money in it. with SEO its gives you an edge over your competitors and this increases your conversion rates and also traffic to your website.

3. Social Media

The home to nearly every other person online. Social media offers a great avenue to reach your target audience and guess what majority of them are free to join and set up your home.

If on a shoestring budget, this is your go to place. Nearly every one is on social media with all the dynamic demography for your clients, be it age, gender, location, education, occupation, you get them all there ready to buy your product all you need to understand is the social media marketing strategy to use

4.  Blog

if you’re selling your product online, then you must have expert knowledge of what you offer. what other better place to share your independent thoughts than your website blogging system. If you’re in fashion, then blog about fashion trends, if you’re in organic foods, then share information about the benefits of this foods to us.

A blog offers you the avenue to educate your clients and also create an authority in your industry, while its a long-term strategy, it’s long term returns are undeniable.

5. use Medium and Quora

now that you have a blog and you’re sharing valuable content via your blog, some of the best platforms to share and market your industry knowledgeable content are Medium and Quora, with great number of users visiting their site, it only makes sense for  you to tap into their user by creating an account for your self and making your presence felt there.

6. Make use of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the leading home to professional networking. It offers great B2B platform and also an opportunity to connect with various decision makers within other organizations. LinkedIn offers groups that are nearly related to all industry niche, a good place to promote your products and also to market your blogging content.

7. Facebook Ads

Facebook has over 2 billion user per month and 1.7 billion daily user. Now thats a great number to miss out if you’re and entrepreneur.

Facebook Ads are cheap and you’ll just need to have a well functioning Facebook Marketing strategy for your small business to hack how to sell on Facebook

photo credits: ibisinfotech.com

Setting Facebook Advertising is very fast and easy, you can check out post on Setting up Facebook Advertising a Step by Step Guide.

All you need to start with your Facebook Ads, is a Facebook account and A Facebook business page for your business, though its optional

8. Google my Business

Google offers a great tool to post and market your business. The tool is geared for local business search. and you know what? google favors their platform. to start visit their link here; Google My Business Listing

9. E-mail Marketing

Every business need to consider email marketing. it has one of the highest returns but also one of the most challenging platform to use.

The best way to use email marketing is by offering a lead magnet i.e. offering free valuable item in exchange to your clients email. This can be useful information such as e-books, market trends that are of interest to the consumer

10. Directory Listing

Times have changed and the once dominant yellow pages directory book, is now availlable online as a listing directory.

There are various directories online in fact some directories are niche centered. in order to start listing to the various free directories, you can start by doing a search on directory listing sites in Kenya.

Submit your website to the listing sites, since they offer more SEO and more clients more than your site being a startup.