 This is the way to do it. This is the way to do it. This is the way to do it. Young people have dedicated their time and energy towards growth and development in different fields. In today's program, we have Stella Oiro, a clinical officer and a digital marketing strategist. Let's hear how she did it. Stella, welcome to the program. So a clinical officer, how did you venture into the digital platform? I know. Thank you for welcoming me. So I'm a clinical officer and I'm also a digital marketing strategist. So it all started when I was doing a side hustle, running a small side bar. And then I got interested in the internet and a lot of stuff that the internet can bring. Then I started realising that I can learn a lot of stuff. And then that's how I got into the digital marketing world. So basically I learnt about digital marketing. Yeah, I'm here today. You talked about a side hustle. Were you doing this while you were working as a clinical officer or was it in school or something? Yes, while working as a clinical officer. Okay, that's nice. And the digital space has been long termed as a masculine platform. How come you've ventured into it? Okay, personally, I've never looked at it like that because I grew up in a space where I was allowed to explore and bring my voice and always do the things I want to do. As a young child, I learned reading while reading my dad's newspapers in the morning. And that gave me a platform where we would discuss what was in the news almost every morning as a very young girl. And that I think gave me the power and the confidence to always explore. So I've never looked at a lot of stuff as being masculine and the rest. However though, I would say that the only way to break that stereotype is by getting more women into the digital world and just teaching them and bringing them into platforms where they can learn. Yes, the technology and stuff. And someone might not understand who a digital marketing strategy is. So who is that? Yes, so a digital marketing strategy is, strategist is basically a professional who has specialized in creating marketing strategies, digital marketing strategies for businesses so that they can be able to market their brand, get market their products and services. So the way the digital marketing strategies do this is by creating various strategies out of all the digital platforms that we have to help these brands achieve this. Again, the digital marketing strategies they analyze whatever is working so that the businesses know where to improve what to drop out and so on. Another thing a digital marketing strategy does is they know the best tools to deliver a specific goal, a specific marketing goal for a specific business. And so if I were a brand, maybe a company that needed to put you on my team, what things do I need to do so that it can put you on board as a digital marketing strategist? Okay, so basically it will depend on what the brand wants. The brand has to set goals. Then depending on the goals that the brand has set, then the strategist will create strategies. I'm sorry I'm using so hard to describe the word, but yeah. So in digital marketing you realize that there are so many components that can help you build your brand around the digital platform. And we have social media marketing, we have search engine optimization, we have pay-per-click, we have email marketing, we have content creation which is very common in Kenya right now. You see so many influencers. So based on the goals of this particular business, then we are going to choose the form of digital marketing that they want to really explore. So take us through the journey of how you became a digital marketing strategist. Is it something you studied for or how did it come about? Yes, so like I told you before, I used to run a cyber as a side hustle, but I had to close it because of competing tasks and again I was moving out of that particular town. So after closing it, I didn't stop there with my internet stuff. So I started learning. I realized that I needed to learn more if I was to grow in whatever I had started. So I started learning and one other thing that really pushed me into this is at some point I realized I was spending a lot of time on social media, especially Twitter and Facebook. Yes, so I realized that I have an addiction to social media and I told myself that if I'm spending, I'm putting in my time into social media then it has to bring me some money. Yes, yes, yes. Even if it's not money, then it can also bring me knowledge and even a network. Yes, so one day as I was crawling Twitter, I see an up poster from Ajira Digital. Ajira Digital is a government body that trains people on digital literacy programs. So they were advertising for people to join and that's how I joined. It was sometime late in 2020. So I went to their website and scrolled through their courses and the first one that caught my eye was transcription. Yes, so I did a training for transcription, went through mentorship and even worked for some time transcribing. Yes, on various platforms that we had been mentored on, we had been shown how to do. Then at some point I realized that I was having trouble with my ears so I couldn't really listen. So I realized transcription was not really working for me. Then I enrolled again for digital marketing. Yes, then now when I enrolled for digital marketing it was like I had been put in the right place. Yes, and I think another thing that really helped me is I got the best mentors on that platform and I would just love to mention one of them is called Elizabeth Mugua, another one is called Ben. They were really good with mentorship. So we do this training, we get the mentorship, we are linked to various jobs, like you are told you can do this, you can do this. And the first platform that we were introduced to is a platform called Wauzi. Wauzi is like a platform where they use influencers to push brands for businesses. Yes, so they use influencer marketing to market for brands. So I joined the platform and then I could get work, it's just an app you download on your phone. Oh really, yes. So once you download and do all the requirements, you link all your social media platforms, then you can start getting jobs. Yeah, so like you see the same way you get a notification that you have a message on your phone. Yeah, it's the same way the app works. You get a notification that there's a job, you have this amount of time to accept it. Once you accept, you take the instructions and do the job you post, whatever they sent you on your platform, then you are paid after some time. And so I would love to ask, through this training, was there any money involved for you to get the training? The training from Ajira? Yes. Because it's free. Because most young people think that anything to do with the government is totally free. No, it's totally free. All you need is internet bundles and your gadgets. So digital marketing, how is it different from advertising? You talked about what the brand wants. So how is it different from advertising? Okay, I wouldn't say that it's really different because even digital marketing has advertising in it. Yes, but the real thing is that we've been so used to the traditional advertising where we use televisions, we use newspapers, word of mouth or posters on trees or buildings. And I think that has always been so expensive for people, unlike digital marketing platform. It provides you with cost effective marketing. It also gives you a targeted reach. Like you just decide that I want my adverts to reach this particular age group. Yeah, so you are able to do that, unlike the traditional advertising method. Okay, yes. And so now let's talk about One Vibe Media. What is it? Okay, One Vibe Media is a consultancy firm. It's like a digital marketing agency. Yes, so basically what One Vibe Media does is that it has various sectors that deal with all the components of digital marketing. Yes, so it offers all that. And on top of that it also does event production, videography, filming and capacity building. So what role do you play at One Vibe Media? I'm a digital marketing strategist for One Vibe Media. And you've talked about the kind of things you would do for a client, you see. And what kinds of projects are you personally involved at One Vibe Media? Okay, so One Vibe Media, we have clients. And some of our clients are One Vibe Africa. We also have a podcast called African Father in America podcast. We have Madaraka Festival among so many other clients. So most of the projects we deal with include event production. Like Madaraka Festival is an annual event that we produce. Then for One Vibe Africa, we have so many activities. We have Kijiji Nights, also an event that we produce. We have E-Map. E-Map is education, music and arts program. So under E-Map is where we do videography, filming and also do capacity building. Like right now we have a music workshop that is going on every month at the end of the month, every month. So if you check our platforms, you'll just find that you can register if you're interested in the music workshop so that you come and get knowledge. Number two, we also have a digital literacy program that we are rolling out right now. Our target is the youth so that we can bring on board so many youth who can train for digital skills. And so what impact does One Vibe Media have to the society through this project? I can say that the impact is quite huge because we've capacity built so many youth. So we offer capacity building. There's so many youth with so many talent in all these digital skills that we are talking about. Some know, some don't know. And the ones who know, they don't know where they can get help. So we do that. We also offer networking because once you have the skills then what? You need someone to help you get the right network. So another thing we also help people learn more and connect them to opportunities. I would love to ask how saturated is this field that you're involved in as One Vibe Media? How saturated is it? Is it well known by people or it's just a few people who know about it? I wouldn't say that it's saturated and I'm a believer that nothing is really ever saturated. Yeah, there's enough for everyone. As long as you keep pushing, there's always enough for everyone. Because everyone is unique and then you see these great things that happen, there's always a team behind it. So I really don't want to say that it's saturated because I don't believe it is. And in the current generation, how important is it for the youth to indulge into these digital platforms? Yeah, just like I've said, I think it's very important because you can network. That's number one, that's for sure. Because like me, I started just alone exploring the internet but right now I've really networked with so many people. So many people have even met you. See, you see how far this is moving. Yeah, so you network, you'll build your career. Yes, even if you're in the medical field like me, you can use your platform to talk about, you can give people a health education, something like that. You can use your platform to empower people. And then another thing you can also learn, you keep learning in the digital world. There are a lot of free resources for people to learn from. There's something you've reminded me of in the digital world. Nowadays we see advertisements of how to make easy money through social media or through the online platform. Something like affiliate marketing, digital marketing. What can you mention about that? Is it as simple as it sounds? Yeah, it sounds so simple and so easy. And I can say that if you're starting out and you're let's say hungry, you're tired, you're broke, you know. And then someone tells you do this and you get money immediately. You think that it's so easy. But I want to confidently say that it is not a quick get rich quick scheme. You're not going to get rich instantly. You're not going to get rich instantly. So you should not lie to yourself that you will make it in a day or in a second. So it's not as simple. You have to put in the work. So as long as you know your goals, you know what you want, you know what you're passionate about, then it's worth taking the risk. But you have to know that you have to put in the work. And now seeing that you're in this space and there's a young woman out there who feels like I'm not cut out for this job. Yes, it feels enticing. It's wonderful, you know, the glummer and all, but it's technical. What can I do? What can you tell such a person? Personally, it's a nice experience since I joined this platform. And if there's a young woman out there who is hesitant about joining and has thought of joining, then I think take the risk. Because you don't want to ask yourself, what if I did this? Wow, so what if I did this? Yeah, so I'd rather you just do it and then see what happens. And as well, it's always assumed that when most people hear digital, they think social media. What more can you add? Is it just social media or just the internet? Yeah, so digital marketing is a world full of so many opportunities and social media is just but one of them. So social media has all the popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and right now we have TikTok. But there are so many platforms for social media. And apart from social media, we also have something called search engine optimization. Yes, so search engine optimization basically deals with driving traffic to a website. So it's also part of digital marketing. There is pay-per-click or we can also say search engine marketing, where someone advertises on the internet. I don't know if you've ever googled something. Then the first thing that comes up on top has an advertisement, an ad next to it. So that is what we call search engine marketing. Then there's also email marketing, which is my favourite. Yes, because I think email marketing, it's like having a one-on-one conversation on the internet with someone on the other side. So email marketing is also good and then there's also content creation. Content creation, I would give an example of, you see our content creators in Kenya. My favourite ones are Crazy Kenner and Awinja. So that is like a content creation process. That's an example of content creation. Another one is YouTube. There's a lot of content creation going on there. Sure, podcast is not so popular in Kenya, but it's picking up and it's really a good one also. You talked about content creation and when I view my platform up on TikTok, I see different content topics, different things. For one to succeed in the social media world, let's talk about social media in terms of content creation. What should I understand? What should I do? What should I not do so that I can, you know? Yeah, so content creation, you shouldn't just start content creating. You need to have a goal. Everything you do, you always need to have a goal. So for the content you create, you have to make sure that it's authentic. It's engaging and it's creative enough. So that it just gives you that organic traffic. You know, naturally, you don't have to like force it, you know? Yeah, so you really have to ensure that it's authentic. Number one, number two, make sure that it's engaging enough. And then number three, make sure it's creative. Get the attention of your intended audience. You've talked about many different platforms that one can get involved in. What about the opportunities that are in these platforms? You said when you were trained on transcribing, you actually were able to get jobs on transcribing. What other opportunities are there in this digital space? Yes, so digital marketing, you can become a social media manager. You can manage so many social media platforms for different clients or even for your organization. And that's something that can pay you money because you're putting in time and I think that's something worth paying for. Number two, you can decide that you are an SEO specialist or you come up with SEO agency. So your work is just to make sure that people's websites are optimized and getting the lead that they need, the target, the traffic. Yes, you can also become like a PPC agency. You can create a PPC agency where you just master how to do Google advertising and you just advertise for people on Google, on the internet or whichever platform you want to use. So there are so many opportunities. You can also do e-commerce. Nowadays there's a lot of online shopping. So you can manage someone's e-commerce platform or even your own. Wow, you are so knowledgeable about the field you're in and I'd love to ask how can we access your services? Okay, so one-by-media, we have a website. Just google one-by-media.com. We have a website and we have all our services listed. We have a contact page but you can also just contact me directly, Stella at one-by-Africa.org. And what are the similar fields to yours? Can someone get opportunities as a young person? There are so many other fields in the tech world. Top on my list is data analysis, data science and data analysis. Yes, there's also software development. There's the designers like UI, UX, you know. And then there's digital marketing itself, yes. And then there are so many. And must I be in the field of computer science to understand all this? Not really. That's the beautiful thing about the internet. As long as you've identified your passion, you can just start exploring. Because Google, once you want to venture into this field, then Google is your best friend. Google is your best friend. Just ask Google anything you want to know, anything you want to learn. Like free courses on digital marketing. You just Google free courses or free resources or resources. You'll always get away, you'll always find your way. And if that is hard, you can start with a Jira. Thank you. So what advice do you have to a young person who feels, I do not have a job, but I want to do something. What advice do you have for them? Life is full of choices and always choose positivity. You'll never grow by being negative. Oh, I don't have a job. Oh, I don't have connections. Oh, you always have to choose positivity. But having said that, number one thing you can do, you can identify your interest and passions. Once you identify your interest and passions, look for the opportunities around your interests. Then once you find this opportunity, take the risk. Take the risk because if you don't take the risk, you'll keep wondering what if I did? Yes, yes. And you don't want to do that to yourself because it will drive you into negativity and we are trying to choose positivity, right? Yeah. So take the risk. After taking the risk, be persistent, be consistent and just stay disciplined and focused. Wow. Wow. Yes, yes. Thank you so much Stella. I have loved this and you have really simplified the digital platform for us all. Life can be challenging. It's about positivity and find something that you love. Take the risk so that you may not ask yourself what if I did? This has been Youth in Action. I am Nyangueso Grenis. Bye. This is the way to do it.