COVID-19: EXPERT URGES SMES TO EMBRACE DIGITAL MARKETING
Mr Efe Igbinovia, a Digital Marketing Consultant, has called on operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to embrace digital marketing to get more patronage, following effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Igbinovia gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Wednesday.
He said that the owners of SMEs should increase their social media presence given the fact that there was a surge in social media during this period of COVID-19 lockdown.
He said the benefits of digital marketing were enormous during the lockdown provided the digital marketer had a data bundle.
“Billboards that would usually have been seen by thousands now stand beside empty streets. Fewer people are venturing out to get newspapers and nobody is holding events.
“In the meantime with so many more people online and for longer periods, the chances of seeing adverts on social media or interacting with content marketing blogs are greater.
“So, now is the time for SMEs to embrace digital marketing to grow their businesses.
“There is a vast audience on social media that are hungry for interesting and informative content.
“Thus giving business owners opportunity to satisfy these needs, attract new potential customers and generate substantial exposure for brands,” Igbinovia said.
He said that owners of SMEs must determine and promote what sets their brands apart to succeed on the digital marketing platform.
“Social media is filled with different brands offering products and services similar to your own.
“Posting regular content won’t make the cut. All your social media posts should foster conversations and promote interaction between you and your followers,” he said.
Igbinovia also advised SMEs to avoid over-saturating their feeds with advertisements (Ads) but embrace the use of paid Twitter Ads, Facebook Ads or any other paid social media campaign to target users who had an interest in products and services.
“The goal is to make your brand more relatable, which in turn will attract other users and result in substantial following,” he added.
He also recommended training of micro and small business owners on the use of digital marketing, so they would have a better understanding of how the market worked and how positioning was done in the industry.
“Where they cannot afford this training, the government can also come in to help in this regard.
“We need the government to be more responsive to the growing needs of this market,’’ Igbinovia said. (NAN)
