How to succeed at marketing in the digital age

According to statistics by the Communication Authority of Kenya, it is estimated that 90 per cent of Kenyans have access to the Internet. These statistics has paved way for social media, and in turn digital marketing, as businesses want to have their brands onto potential client’s eyeballs.

Jenna, who grew up in Nakuru got interested in digital marketing in 2015 after finishing her tertiary education. She did not have a smart phone, so she found a way of using a USSD to start establishing her online presence.

By virtue of her persistence and hard work over the years she has become one of the most sort out digital marketers and influencers working with corporate brands and numerous SMEs. She has for long operated as a sole proprietor but desires to set up a company to establish herself in the digital marketing business.

I linked her up with Fred Kithinzi, founder and CEO of Belva Digital, a performance digital agency that has been in business for seven years and boast of corporate clients such as Google, Ecobank, Little Cab among others. Here is his entrepreneurship advice with regards to the digital business.

Brand position your team in your initial years

The initial years in business are meant to enable you brand and position your business to potential clients. The energy one should put as an entrepreneur in the formative years is to market the business and pitch to as many clients as possible in order to be top in mind the instance they require your services.

Learn while still in employment

Employment plays a pivotal role in an entrepreneur’s life cycle as it is in this phase that the entrepreneur is immersed in the corporate world and is able to understand how a business works.

Fred’s first employment was at Google and it was while here that he learned about digital marketing. The knowledge he amassed during this phase was what elevated him to setting up is business.

Your network is your net worth

A business thrives on the network of the entrepreneur. The relationship created by the entrepreneur are the doors to the businesses to which the entrepreneur will pursue.

Create a team as you grow your business

In order to keep costs down in the formative years of the business, an entrepreneur should strive to do everything in the business or only outsource specialised functions.

As the business grows in revenue, then the entrepreneur should starts creating a specialised team.