How Business Blogs Can Help Small Businesses in Kenya to Grow Significantly

Blogging has been overlooked as a marketing strategy in Kenya whilst most small businesses can use blogging as a marketing strategy to promote their businesses. Authority business blogs tend to attract prospective customers or clients thus an important way that blogs can slowly begin to amass a following that will eventually turn to customers. The potential of marketing business online in Kenya remains vastly untapped. It is by far the cheapest way that businesses can reach a large audience and build prospective business opportunity in the future.

Prohibitive Advertisements Costs in Traditional Media

Small businesses are challenges by serious problems among them limitation of fund stands tall as the main problem for many small and medium enterprises in Kenya. Business grow largely depends on reaching out to a large number of potential customers, converting a good percentage to leads or sales and reaping a good profit. 

The most common ways businesses in Kenya have in the past used to advertise their business is through traditional media. TV, radio and print media have taken the center stage in promoting businesses in Kenya.

 On average to reach at least 1 million viewers, readers or listeners, a budget of at least KSH 100, 000 or more would be required. In the new media, promotion of businesses in Kenya online can be by far the cheapest way to advertise your business online.

How Can a Business start a Blog?

Starting a business blog will require less than $20 dollars initially. The only cost you should incur if you want to create a good business blog is the cost for a domain and hosting.

Example:

     Small Cake Business in Nairobi

Let’s say Lucy runs a cake business somewhere in Kawangware, how does it make sense to own a website with a blog? Ideally people will think it is expensive to own or manage a blog, while it is cheap, inexpensive way to advertise your business locally.

   Options for Advertisement of her business

Lucy in this case can choose to advertise her cake business through the radio, newspaper or TV ads. It is highly unlikely that Lucy will manage to place an ad on the newspaper that costs about KSH 60,000 unless her business is doing very well. 

It is also impossible for her to continuously use this medium of advertisement unless her business is doing very well.

Advertisement ROI Comparison

Advertising on the newspaper without a specific target like on a publication about food, cakes or cooking would not give her the best ROI. 

In comparison to the blog model, Lucy can slowly publish useful content about cakes, wedding cakes, making cakes on her blog and slowly gain audience that will view her as an authority about cakes in Kenya.

 Most people coming to read her blog are target audience and the chances of them buying a cake are much higher than the ordinary newspaper reader.

Further success can be realized when Lucy decides to list her cake business on Google Local listing and free classified online advertisements website. She will reach more audience within a limited budget and grow her business significantly. 

Lucy can also start marketing her business through mobile marketing, you can learn more from this post; Using QR codes to market local businesses in Kenya.

          Costs of Running a Blog

If Lucy does not hire someone to write the content of her blog but finds time to write all the articles, the cost will be on the lower side with only the domain renewal of $12 annually and a hosting for not more than KSH 3000 a year.

This blog could become an authority in cakes and food niche in Kenya within a year or two. This means she will not need to use other medium of advertising her business in the future other than to just augment her great achievements.  

       Accelerating Blog Marketing Plan

Unlike the traditional media advertisement where your ad will run within the time agreed or what your budget allows, the blog will be your forever. Starting the blog could be the problem but with every day that it grows older, your audience increase and you become an authority. 

The following are the different ways you Lucy can accelerate the growth of her blog audience.

•          Social Media Integration -This is even accelerated when you create both twitter and Facebook presence to market your business.
•         Offline Promotion– Lucy should mention to her friends about the blog and the tips for baking good cakes published on her blog. She should also print business cards with URL to her blog.
•      Publish Useful content Regularly on the blog- The blog audience only grows when they are constantly fed with information they are searching
•     Search engine optimization: Lucy should pay close attention to what people are searching; like in the image below if you type cakes in Kenya on Google.
• 
  
  
  You will see the results as shown. Lucy should concentrate on optimizing her blog content on the keyword that people are searching for. By understanding what people are searching on Google, she can develop more useful content that answers the problems that people are having about cakes. In this way, she will undoubtedly become an authority and her blog will rank higher in the search results for common keywords like ‘Baking cakes, wedding cakes in Kenya, cakes in Kenya ….and so on. ‘

About the Author

For many years I have worked with businesses helping them to increase their online presence, build a positive online reputation, manage online reputation and market online businesses beyond the reach of traditional media. 

Ideally, I help businesses to establish online presence through website & blogs design, search engine optimization, business blogging and digital marketing. You can Get in Touch with me for more details regarding my services and consultation.