Online marketing platforms in Kenya provide businesses with opportunities to reach new customers at a relatively low cost. Most of these platforms are marketplaces, however, you will still require to have a marketing budget to ensure you reach a wider audience on the platforms. As Kenya continues to be a tech hub in sub-Saharan Africa, where 17 percent of its population uses digital media platforms. Online marketing platforms in Kenya can support a variety of functions within the realm of marketing over the internet.
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The top 5 online marketing platforms in Kenya:
1. Social Media Marketing Platforms
Todays’ consumers are highly reliant on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Twitter. This is why it is essential that brands are active across the platforms. Consider these social media stats in Kenya:
- On average users have about 5 social media accounts.
- An average of 2 hours and 22 minutes are spent on social per person per day.
- Out of the 5.11 billion people who have a phone, 3.26 billion access social media using it.
- People spend about 1/7th of their waking time on social platforms.
Social media platforms allow you to reach your prospects in a myriad of ways. First, you can use these channels to distribute paid ads and sponsored content. Each platform has a way for you to create paid ad campaigns and segment users so these ads appear on the feeds of target audience members – based on location, job title, interests, age, etc.
2. Whatsapp Business
WhatsApp Business is another incredible online marketing platform in Kenya that allows companies to safely and securely message their customers directly within the WhatsApp messaging platform.
Whatsapp Business in Kenya brings with it a host of benefits, such as:
- The app offers businesses a convenient and direct gateway to a variety of customer communications, on a platform most users are familiar with.
- Businesses have a personal environment to chat with customers in real-time. By providing the information and support your customers are looking for, WhatsApp Business fosters loyalty and trust.
- Every business must create a “Business Profile” on WhatsApp, a unique business identity that can include contact numbers, website URLs, store locations, and promotional details. This adds a layer of authenticity, increasing trust in the brand.
- WhatsApp bakes in security features like end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication to keep both consumers and businesses safe. It also verifies your business account upon registration, ensuring customers of your identity when they opt-in to receive your texts and communications.
3. Email Marketing
Email marketing in Kenya has started to gain strong ground as more people now than ever have access to emails making this a viable online marketing platform in Kenya for businesses. Email marketing is a form of digital advertising that is made up of 2 main components: an email list that consumers sign up for and the content that the business plans to send out to this list. Email marketing campaigns allow businesses like yours to stay connected with prospects and customers, send them customized newsletters or offers based on past shopping history or brand engagements.If an individual has interacted with a few of your branded touchpoints –sending an email offer for 10 percent off the items they have been considering, or free shipping – may be what ultimately brings about a conversion.A good email marketing service should enable you to create highly engaging email newsletters with an easy user interface, easily send bulk emails that are personalized, manage your contact list, segment users, as well as track and report on the performance of your email marketing campaigns. MailChimp, Drip, and ConvertKit are some of the most popular email marketing platforms in use in Kenya.
4. E-Commerce Platforms
E-commerce is simply the sale and purchase of products or services conducted online or transmitting funds or data over an electronic network, mostly over the Internet.E-commerce can be a substitute for brick-and-mortar stores as they offer both convenience and flexibility to customers, though some businesses choose to maintain both. Seeing that e-commerce tends to carry far lower set-up and operational costs in comparison to brick-and-mortar stores, adding an online segment to your existing business is a cost-effective and competitive way to reach more customers than you would ordinarily.The most popular e-commerce platforms in Kenya right now are Jumia, Jiji, PigiaMe, Kilimall, and Skygarden.
5. Facebook Messenger
Messaging is now a preferred way to talk to a business when it comes to customer service. 64% of people across age groups say they’d rather message a business than call or email.As a business, you should focus on Facebook Messenger as an online marketing platform in Kenya as it helps with:Generating high-quality leadsThere are several reasons why people will reach out to you via Facebook Messenger. Some will come to you about a customer service issue, while others will want to learn more about your product or service. No matter the scenario, opportunities open up for your business to follow up with special offers, new products and services, and more.Building trust in your brandThe ability to directly speak to a brand can give customers more confidence before making a purchase. Messenger allows you to open a direct line of communication between your business and your customers, so there’s more transparency along with a better connection. 
In conclusion, there is a myriad of online marketing platforms in Kenya that businesses such as yours should take advantage of in order to increase the number and quality of leads they get.Talk to us at [email protected] or call 0721314242 to learn how to leverage the online marketing platforms to grow your business.
