Kenyan consumers are increasingly turning to social media and mobile phone advertising to guide their spending. This development has seen corporates battle to come up with strategies to tap into the lucrative marketing.
A survey of Kenyans’ digital habits by research firm TNS RMS East Africa found that 73 per cent of Kenyans would be happy doing all their Internet surfing on their phones.
Further, 67 per cent use social media to research brands, and around half of them would like to be able to purchase products through social networks.
“Growth in Internet access offers big opportunities for brands and marketers that can be explored with the right strategies,” said the TNS associate director of technology, Mr Bob Bugoyne.
Other medium
And according to research data released last month by mobile advertising firm, InMobi, Kenyans are using mobile phones more than any other medium.
In the InMobi survey, 89 per cent of users said they were as comfortable with mobile advertising as with television or newspaper advertising.
Entrenchment of the mobile culture was so pervasive that even while consuming other media, Kenyans still used their mobile phones to connect to the Internet and confirm information, a phenomenon known as second screening.
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TNS found that 19 per cent of Kenyans use their mobile phones to find out more about products that they had just seen advertised on television, while 21 per cent use them to find out about product availability in stores.
Despite the wide engagement with brands online, consumers were quickly turned off if they felt that corporates were intruding into their private spheres. TNS discovered that users are more likely to trust complete strangers than firms promoting their products.
“Digital marketing can actively create brand-resistant consumers. Brands cannot control messaging. Even a stranger on the other side of the world is trusted more,” said Mr Bugoyne.
This leaves companies that hope to leverage on social media and mobile phones in a predicament. They cannot explicitly market their products, yet it would be foolish to ignore the opportunity.
The solution, according to Mr Bugoyne, lies in waiting for consumers to invite companies onto their networks. When consumers post comments online about services or products, this amounts to an invitation.
TNS says that 77 per cent of users use social media as a customer service channel. Fifty-two per cent of them expect responses from companies, and when they are ignored their perception of a company and a brand is negatively warped.
“The majority of those talking about brands have wide social networks with an average of 250 contacts. They do have the ability to make or harm a brand,” said Mr Bugoyne
A survey of Kenyans’ digital habits by research firm TNS RMS East Africa found that 73 per cent of Kenyans would be happy doing all their Internet surfing on their phones.
Further, 67 per cent use social media to research brands, and around half of them would like to be able to purchase products through social networks.
“Growth in Internet access offers big opportunities for brands and marketers that can be explored with the right strategies,” said the TNS associate director of technology, Mr Bob Bugoyne.
Other medium
And according to research data released last month by mobile advertising firm, InMobi, Kenyans are using mobile phones more than any other medium.
In the InMobi survey, 89 per cent of users said they were as comfortable with mobile advertising as with television or newspaper advertising.
Entrenchment of the mobile culture was so pervasive that even while consuming other media, Kenyans still used their mobile phones to connect to the Internet and confirm information, a phenomenon known as second screening.
Share This Story
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TNS found that 19 per cent of Kenyans use their mobile phones to find out more about products that they had just seen advertised on television, while 21 per cent use them to find out about product availability in stores.
Despite the wide engagement with brands online, consumers were quickly turned off if they felt that corporates were intruding into their private spheres. TNS discovered that users are more likely to trust complete strangers than firms promoting their products.
“Digital marketing can actively create brand-resistant consumers. Brands cannot control messaging. Even a stranger on the other side of the world is trusted more,” said Mr Bugoyne.
This leaves companies that hope to leverage on social media and mobile phones in a predicament. They cannot explicitly market their products, yet it would be foolish to ignore the opportunity.
The solution, according to Mr Bugoyne, lies in waiting for consumers to invite companies onto their networks. When consumers post comments online about services or products, this amounts to an invitation.
TNS says that 77 per cent of users use social media as a customer service channel. Fifty-two per cent of them expect responses from companies, and when they are ignored their perception of a company and a brand is negatively warped.
“The majority of those talking about brands have wide social networks with an average of 250 contacts. They do have the ability to make or harm a brand,” said Mr Bugoyne
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