Last updated on June 16th, 2023 at 11:56 am
Starting or running an online business in Kenya is not easy.
You have customers to worry about, deliveries, and handling stock.
Truth is, it is not as rosy as we are have been conditioned to believe. And it doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that 90% of businesses fail in under 5 years of existence.
Why?
- Failure to market online. In an age where “Google” is a verb, if you’re not marketing online, you’re not selling as much as you could be. …
- No listening to their customers.
- Failing to adapt (and grow) when the market changes.
- Not tracking and measuring your marketing efforts.
Among other reasons.
In today’s article, I will walk you through some resources that can make your online marketing efforts smooth.
#1. YouTube
Forget about going to YouTube to catch the latest Nairobi gossip for a second.
Instead of wasting your bundles on watching comedies, why not venture into learning tips and proven strategies to marketing a business?
If you are not aware, YouTube is the second largest search engine, after its parent company, Google.
How?
YouTube boasts over 2 billion monthly users, which puts it second after Facebook. And makes it the second-largest social media platform.
Besides all the drama and music videos you are used to, YouTube harbors some of the best business advice than any other video streaming platform.
In there, you can find anything from tutorials, DIY, to general business talks.
For example;
Find famous interviews of celebrated business leaders and watch them, and you may learn a thing or two.
Additionally, you can search for tips on social media marketing.
For example;
How to create profitable Facebook ads. Watch the first 3 results and you should be ready to launch your campaigns.
#2. Canva
Are you struggling to create epic graphics to share on your business social media accounts?
Canva.com is the tool for you.
Besides being free, it comes with a ton of templates.
The interface is easy to use and navigate.
To get started, go to canva.com and search for any template you want.
For example;
Facebook post.
Scroll through the available templates and pick the one you like. Go on editing; changing texts, adding images, and download.
With such a tool, you should never spend money on a graphic designer ever again.
#3. Mailchimp
Are you looking for free email marketing software in Kenya?
Mailchimp is one of the oldest and most popular email marketing tools out there. With this tool, you can;
- Create an email list
- Start email campaigns
- Build landing pages to collect leads
- Sell on Facebook
Best part?
Mailchimp is free for up to 1K contacts and sends up to 10K emails per month.
For example;
If you own an online shop in Kenya, you can create an email list using Mailchimp.
And then whenever you have promotions coming up, contact your list free of charge.
#4. Google Analytics
If you own a website, chances are you heard about Google’s very own analytics tool.
With it, you can understand very many things.
Sadly, most online business owners do not use this tool to its potential.
Other than showing you how many people visited your website, you can dig deeper into this.
How?
By using Affinity and In-market reports on Google Analytics, you can understand more about your visitors’ interests.
For example;
You can learn where they were coming from before they landed on your site. Also, you can see what else they like.
With such insights, you can tweak your website to capture these ideas so they can stick around more next time.
Again, consult YouTube to understand more about this.
#5. Facebook Pixel
There is no doubt everyone is on Facebook in Kenya.
For this reason, most businesses are now rushing to show adverts to these people, but 99% of them are doing it wrong.
See, selling using Facebook ads in Kenya is not as easy as uploading an image and throwing in money.
It needs a plan, monitoring, and a lot of tweaking.
To help you, Facebook introduced a tool called Pixel. This is a piece of code you install on your website.
And it will help Facebook better understand who visits your website.
Here is how to use this tool in Kenya.
First, install it on your website. Learn how here.
Once installed, set up custom audiences. Here, you are telling Facebook to collect the data of everyone who lands on your website.
Now, later on, when running ads, instead of creating an audience through targeting (guesswork most of the time), you target those who have visited your website.
For example;
You can target those who have seen a specific page on your website.
By doing so, you increase the chances of making a sale because the user is already familiar with your brand.
#6. HubSpot Academy
Here is the thing;
Learning never stops.
This is true especially if you wish to have a successful online business in Kenya.
Lucky for you, no need to spend thousands of shillings on seminars and workshops that yield no ROI.
Instead, you can leverage free online learning platforms to gain knowledge for free. And you even get certifications.
One of such platforms is Hubspot Academy.
The company runs a free certification program where it offers courses on inbound marketing, website optimization, landing pages, and lead nurturing.
With these skills, you can easily your business and cement your online presence.
#7. Hootsuite
Are you running multiple business social media accounts and tired of posting manually all the time?
Good news;
You can automate all that and take back your time.
With a tool like Hootsuite, you can schedule social media posts for the whole month.
And only come back to monitor how they are performing, maybe reply to comments and answer messages.
Other tools like it include;
- Butter.com
- Later.com mostly for Instagram
- IFTTT.com
Final thoughts on successful online business in Kenya
Running a successful online business in Kenya doesn’t happen as an accident.
It takes deliberate action and determination.
As such, use these resources to make the work easier, and grow a lot faster.
- Get online business ideas here