The word Digital marketing and it practical applications that benefit humanity are known to over 85% of the populations of the World. While social media seems to be the only thing that comes to mind whenever digital marketing is being discussed, the topic is way more than that.

In a simple term, Digital marketing refers to anything you can get online, on any platform that helps you make your product(s) visible to anyone that’s online. Your massive sales are hinged on where the EYES of PEOPLE ARE ONLINE…

Digital marketing platform can be said to be any platform with which you use in telling your stories online and your story can be about your business alone or more, examples of these platforms are: Blogs, Website, Social Media, Forums, Application (Android) and Google Ads. In all, Social Media is the best method because that is where people are.

In digital marketing, consumers are the ones in power both online and offline because they dictate what holds or not. They are demanding where, when, how and what to be served. The moment you locate what works for you, you’re on a good pedestal.

For you to engage in digital marketing, it is advisable to locate your niche. This will enable you know what works for you or not. Attaching your face to your business works in favour of your business and makes it legitimate.

It is important to note that the reason social media seems to trump over all other channels of business propagation and advertisement in this days of technology is that most people especially the new generation live their lives there

 

Check out the statistics:

• Out of almost 8 billion people on earth:
• More than 3 billion are on Facebook (FB)
• More than 2.5 billion are on Instagram (IG)
• More than 2 billion are active Twitter users
• More than 2 billion use SnapChat
• More than 1.6 billion active user

 

In domesticating the figures, out of 198 million Nigerians, about 100 million Nigerians use one of or all of (IG, FB, Snap and Twitter). This is the reason’s we need to take our business and merchandise there.

Blow up your FB friends (if this is not a problem to your personal ethics): by increasing your number of friends intentionally to above 4K.

For digital marketing in Nigeria, we shall pay more attention particularly to Facebook (FB) because that’s where most Nigerians spend a good fraction of their Social Media time. FB now has marketplaces (groups) and you can join as many as you can and tell your story.

Instagram (IG) is a free social media platform that allows for sharing of photo and videos with your followers, this medium is where most of our celebrities use to win the heart of their fans. With one picture, they give a long narrative like a movie or novel; you can’t but read till the end and feel a rush of adrenaline.

Become intentionally active on all these platforms. Give out doses of wonderful captions and motivation.

Motivations always work because we all need it to be encouraged. After posting a few inspiring stuff, intentionally push out your products on your wall or business page and tag as many relevant people that you can. When you tag, use clear pictures of your product.

Post a clear, crisp picture that is already a sight to behold, that will endear people, then tag your friends using the tag option on FB and IG. It will give your post unparalleled visibility compared to when you tag no one. FB and IG are programmed to retain and keep bringing up posts that people connect and relate with.

These platforms also reward consistent people. Before you know it, your posts will begin to have impressions and garner reactions from people in ways you cannot now imagine.

Facebook Business account set up

Opening a Facebook Page is a way of using Facebook for business. On the right hand side of your home page on Facebook, click on the drop down arrow before your name and you’d see the ‘Create Page’ option. It’s normal to find it on the left hand side too.

Also, you can set up your Facebook pages on PC and do the control and other things on phone.

For you to create a Facebook page, you need to locate your niche, brand name, and enough information about the business you want to put out on Facebook. You can also use google to look for logo or anything generic as per digital representations. You can access a good design by a professional or novice graphics designer that could work.

In this business, consistency is the key. Your page is your shop on Facebook, and it must always be open. You should always talk, inform and relate with your followers, that’s why you get to advertise on Facebook. The same procedure is applicable to set up your Instagram Business account.

Remember, there has to be a linkage from Facebook to IG for you to be able to use IG for Business. For Instagram, ensure your handle on IG is the same as that of your FB page.

Content is everything on social media especially FB and IG. You may sponsor an ad with $10 dollars and get only 10 engagements. You can sponsor another one with $5 but with a better content and get 30 engagements. Note that reaching a wide audience is different from having engagements.

Engagements are everything in social media marketing; it is achieving the purpose of the ad and not just having likes or more followers. If the purpose is to have more likes or followers, then that’s fine but if it’s to sell a product or service, then likes and follows may not be enough.

When talking of content, the following needs to be considered:

1. Picture Quality (Design, size and creativity)
2. Videos if you have to use them.
3. The write-up following the picture or video
4. Action buttons…

It’s important to note that on social media; posts with pictures have more reach than those without. What to keep in mind about pictures are:

1. Size: Fb cover photo, IG post, Fb post, IG story for instance all have different sizes such that one used in place of another will make the post look awkward, so always take note of size. This is where Canva app comes to place if you can design yourself.
2.     Resolution
3.     Creativity
4.     Simplicity: Just as said above, resolution, size, creativity and simplicity should be put in place but in addition, for sponsored ads, do not allow your video to be too long because People especially Nigerians don’t like wasting their data. So make it short.
5. Write-upsarevery important because it is the first thing that may attract the interest of your audience. You can start by asking rhetorical questions.

Don’t just post and leave it there, post in such a way that your interest group will want to make a response or a commitment, try keeping details short. As for IG, it can be long with relevant information.

Ensure you add action buttons to help convince your audience to take a decision. When this is added to your post when sponsoring an ad, you can then boost your post by clicking on ‘boost’ or go through your ad manager to sponsor your ad.

WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp Business is a free app for Android and Apple that allows small and medium businesses to connect instantly with their customers.

Functions of WhatsApp Business?

This new version’s main objective is to allow companies create profiles more formally from their brands. Customers can immediately find information about the company description, address, opening hours, website, social networks and the internet.

It also has automated messages of welcome and absence, so your contacts are always aware of the situation of things. The main functions WhatsApp Business provides users are: branding, variety of content, control labeled and metrics gain.

Advantages of WhatsApp Business

The advantages and possibilities are many, and some of the main characteristics are:

Interact with Businesses, Create Welcome Messages, Create Absence Messages, Formulate Quick Answers, Have Access to Statistics, Categorize with Labels, Centralize Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Messages, Create your Business Profile, Make a Product Catalog and Enable a Payment System. This is why you should use WhatsApp Business because it a tool in digital marketing.