Social media as an effective advertising tool in Kenya

Abstract

It is without a doubt that the world is evolving from Traditional Media to New Media. The growing usage of social media indicates a potentially effective new platform for advertisers. With this new form of communication, comes a new way of looking at advertising. Traditional media is typically delivered through campaigns that have a definitive start and stop state. Social media doesn’t have an end date. It is an ongoing conversation between the advertiser and the customer. Over the years, we have seen social media usage grow rapidly in Kenya, and as expected, to keep up with the times and remain relevant in their various industries, Kenyan companies have adopted social media as a major component in their marketing mix. This study explored how Kenyans can use this platform effectively for marketing and communications to achieve maximum results. Kenyan companies know about social media and understand its importance but not many know the most effective way of using this medium as an advertising tool. This has therefore lead to a lot of wastage in terms of revenue and time. This study sought to provide an analysis of current commercial social media usage by critically evaluating the most effective ways to utilize these social media platforms as advertising tools here in Kenya. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach focused on obtaining numerical findings through a survey method. We performed an online survey of the general public to understand how they receive advertisements on social media The interview on the other hand, made up the qualitative approach of the study. This focused on personal accounts, observations, description and individual insights of the respondents. The research attained this by conducting interviews at different digital creative agencies and full-service agencies. This study employed the combined approach so as to overcome the limitations of both approaches. The outcome of this study will revolutionize how companies communicate with the general public by revealing how their target market behaves on social media. The study revealed the critically needed knowledge on how to engage with their target market, when to engage with them and the tone to use with them in order to attain maximum advertising results