 Welcome back to Why In The Morning at Why 2 5 4 channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles at Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social In this particular session we dive into an interview that looks at online marketing strategist and in studio I'm joined with Catherine Kakai. She is a digital media strategist. Hi Catherine. Hello. You do it. I'm fine. Thank you. I've just mentioned your title, right? That's what you do. Tell us who Catherine is. My name is Catherine Kakai. I'm a digital media strategist. I specialize in social media management, content creation, branding, digital marketing, copyrighting, graphic design and photography. So basically I help brands with digital strategies for them to be able to create brand awareness on digital platforms such as social media. Alright. Fantastic. Guys back at home. See this is the conversation for you. If you're a vlogger, if you have, you know, you do YouTube things, content creation, this is the place for you to be. Remember to Why 2 5 4 channel at Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social. So Catherine. Yes. When growing up, is this something that you like, you foresee? What did you desire to be when you're just growing up, when through life? Actually, growing up I wanted to be a lawyer. But that dream died in FOM2. But now when I was going to campus, I really wanted to do journalism. So I studied communication and media. And from the moment I started doing journalism, I was in love with social media. I love spending a lot of time on social media. Just socialize with people. But with time I was able to learn that actually it can be a career. And when I decided that that's the career path I wanted to be, I ensured I grew towards that direction. Alright. So who is a digital media strategist? Digital media strategist is a person who offers digital strategies for brands, for digital platforms such as social media. Yes. And I think for a particular section, it's most definitely clear that every business should have an online presence. Yes. And this came to pass and kilom to a call and especially after COVID-19 happened and the regulations whereby now we moved digital. So what is the best strategy to sell digital? Actually you have to, for brands like now, we are in a technological world and we are growing. And according to statistics, only internet users, there are so many. So for brands, one of the strategies is having a social media presence and ensuring you do market research for your target audience. Yes. Okay. Let me take you back. Kidogo. So tell us, for anyone who is watching this conversation that we are having and they want to get into this space, now they have like a clear as a grifo just of what you do and they would love to be in this particular space. What sort of educational background does one need to have? Actually, nowadays it's so there's access of information thanks to internet and online. So you can learn a skill just from the various platforms on YouTube. There are online platforms that give online courses. So you decide what you want to do if it's digital marketing like me. Even Google has Google Learn Digital where you can go and learn digital marketing skills. So there are various platforms like YouTube, Udemy, they offer free courses for young people. Also for anyone who wants to learn and perfect their skills. Yes. So all I need is my smartphone, Wi-Fi or even Bandos. Yes. And I have the information. Yes. Fantastic. For how long have you been doing this? Professionally three years now. Okay. But like I told you, the moment we joined Kampas, I was like this and decided this is the line I'm taking. I decided to grow in that line. All right. So for a business, so this is a business startup. We are coming up, we are thinking about how to set up, right? So what are a couple of requirements for a business startup to just put in mind about the business before embarking in a digital marketing space? Doing market research for your target audience because you know like now digital platforms like social media, each one of them has a purpose. Each one of them has statistics of the kind of people who are there. I think they are your target audience. So you need to do market research to know like who are your audience, who are your target audience. Like if you are dealing with a product that targets young girls or women between 20 to 30, which platform can you get them. So doing a market research and also ensuring that the platform you are choosing it has the audience you are targeting will make you succeed. Okay. Still on target audience, when it comes to now let's shift content creation, what determines the best outlet for a particular piece of content? Creativity. And getting also market trends, what's happening, like what do people like? Do people like short videos? Do people like long videos? Because things keep changing, like with digital, actually with digital media, you cannot predict that this will be here for long, like something can come up. Like you remember back then, there was a time Snapchat was... I was the infant. Now it's TikTok and you never know another platform can come that is better than TikTok. So you need to be researching and you get to know what's trending. Like what are people, which platform are people going to so that you can also move there. Okay. And how can you identify? Because if I'm a content creator, I don't want to waste time, right? There's so many apps coming up. As you've said, there was Snapchat. There is still Snapchat, but there was a time it was like the in thing. Yes. Now we have TikTok and then there's so much going on. There was a time even Messenger was in there, but now how do I avoid not to waste time just to acquire this app and just create a following. Tell people on my social, find me on this particular app. How will I know that this app is actually going to hit and I'm going to make a name of myself in this particular platform? Actually when you do statistics, like you're able to know which platforms people are using majorly. Like if you want young people like models, you'll find them on Instagram. That is according to research. Like maybe we know because we have a background in digital media, but now for somebody who doesn't know these statistics online, the platforms are providing statistics. If you want Facebook, if you want Twitter, they'll tell you what kind of audience is there. And actually those platforms, they have campaigns and your campaigns you can target them to specific audience, even age group and things like that. So as much as Facebook has a variety of audience, you can maybe when you're creating content, you ensure you're doing campaigns that target your audience. Alright. So I'm so sure you're part of this team that says business owners, different personalities maybe in business, in career wise, different careers that should have an impactful online presence. Break it down for us. What does that entail? Having an online presence includes having a social media platform and also not just having it and it's their domain, having content on the platform, plus not just any kind of content engaging. People don't have time to waste time on things that are not creative or things that are not inspiring because when you're scrolling on social media, do you just read everything? No. No, you just go specific to things that interest you. So being creative, having a social media platform and ensuring the content is engaging and also interacting with your audience, the people who are on your platforms. If I was to comment on who is the famous aziad page and she replies, I feel so good and I'll never leave her page. Okay. So also interacting with your audience as a person if you have a social media platform and show you're interacting with your clients and also not your clients, your audience and also the content you're creating it meets their needs. Alright. So it's not just posting pictures and videos and leaving my social media? No, it's not about that because now Kenyans, if you take for example Kenyans, Kenyans are very hard to please and it can tell you when the YouTube channels, people are opening up YouTube channels so you find some people committing it's boring, go research, do more research, it's not creative and things like that. Okay. Speaking or still speaking about our target market and audience, so how should companies measure their social media marketing success? I'm using my platform to just advertise different brands, maybe it's a business, maybe I'm a personality in a different career. So how can our business just measure their social media marketing success? Most of those social media platforms, they give you page insights. Like you can be able to track how many gate meets you had, how many people are able to see the content you created on your platform and also we have other apps or softwares you can use like Google Analytics to be able to track progress of how your page is doing. Yes. Alright. So I have a couple of friends who they don't have a LinkedIn presence and I always tell them that it is important also to network and socialize. Is there a way that you can use LinkedIn for marketing? Yes. Actually LinkedIn is a very good platform because basically it's for professionals and you can market even your skills and anything you like to tell young people like platforms like LinkedIn they can really help you. You never know like a skill you're having out there could be your potential client could be on LinkedIn or your potential employer could be on LinkedIn. So having a LinkedIn presence will help you in your job searching or also when you have a skill that you want the world to know. Actually me I use such kind of platforms and through LinkedIn I've been able to get a lot of I've networked with potential clients and very important people. Alright. So we have Stacey from Nakuro. She's asking how can I take control of my brand online through social media marketing because all those are like those negative reviews and yes I want to be present online but again how can I curb the whole situation of negativity? Actually social media can be toxic at some point but the things you can ignore like if you're doing the right thing because people always have something to talk. We have had media personalities or influencers being body shamed but if you're doing the right thing you just do your thing because you cannot control even if you say you'll keep deleting the negative comments sometimes you just have to ignore though it's hard because it can get to you especially if you're body shamed but everyone gets into social media with their own purpose people are struggling with their own issues so maybe they're looking for somewhere to release their anger so sometimes ignore do what you're doing give it your best as long as you're doing your best I'm sure that the good people are giving you positive feedback if everyone is saying this is bad you can go and analyze and say is it worth it if they're saying maybe your videos are not clear you can go and improve on the quality that is a valid thing but if somebody just comes and say you're fat Body shaming which is wrong you can just ignore them Okay so what are some common social media marketing mistakes that businesses make especially during the early stages of starting out Most startups or people lack patience because when you social media and digital platforms it takes time you cannot just start today and you have 10,000 followers it takes process and then also you can have the followers but they will not automatically translate to your clients so you need to have patience but I'm sure out of the 10,000 at least you'll get 5 or even 10 slowly you progress and make progress but most startups now if they engage a digital media strategist if you don't bring it they're not getting clients they will fire you they don't see your work and you're like big brands like Safaricom they are making money they are known but they still have platforms because having a social media platforms help you connect to the already existing clients and new clients plus you need people need to know you exist you're still there in the market that you have not been out like you're not out in the market like you need to know Safaricom is still there as much as they already have clients Okay, let's speak on the aspect of creating a particular certain perception we have situations whereby content created even artists currently this is a compensation going on trending that we have artists who are buying views so is this something that is advisable and is it workable is it effective is it impactful at some point yes Are they real people? at some point no because now if you are a content creator you need to connect with your loyal fans but now if you buy those viewership these are people that they don't connect with you and when you build the base the base of you have a connection with your audience they are able to know they'll be waiting you see the premium gangs on YouTube they are waiting they've seen somebody has uploaded their content and you'll see that's how you see the platforms they have a lot of followers but now when you check the comments the engagements they are zero probably they bought they bought the viewership Oh yeah, because that's some comment section whereby they are saying in this particular allegedly there's an artist claiming that they are buying views on YouTube and when you look about on their likes but the views are over millions Yes, yes So that's how it goes but you know it's good when you build your brand with the people you can connect with and you relate to it so it's much better than just buying people who are not even interested So we have Jonte from Kusumu he's asking how long does he take before he starts seeing results from social media marketing I think that's the same question where we were talking about patience Alright So what is email marketing and is it still effective in today's age? Yes Email marketing involves like having people get to know about you through emails like if you have a website people can log into your website and they can be getting notification just like SMS on their emails like if you have offers or you have new products and things like it's very effective like personally most people nowadays like we have a lot we spend a lot of time online like if you want to know what is happening on BBC and they cannot access the channel I have subscribed to their emails so you get to see what they have posted and things like that So email it's very effective because nowadays is there anyone who doesn't check their email? No if you are in their business world you have to Yeah, definitely most people like being online and to the internet you have to check your email when you wake up in the morning you check your email maybe a client or a job you applied so it's very effective because there's so many people who check their email and you're able to connect to their clients at personal level because you can even personalize the messages you're sending they can ring you've posted this watched this things like that So that's the way that actually increases the click through rates Yes, yes, sure Personalization of content Yes, and actually through email marketing you can target your other platforms maybe you've done a podcast or you have a YouTube video maybe they have not logged into YouTube but you can notify them through the email that hey, this is up on my YouTube channel hey, check this, my podcast is out Yes What do you tell your parents that you do for a living? because I'm trying to avoid explaining that especially to our African mothers and fathers Yes, yes But now at least they understand before they were like and parents they have the mentality of 8 to 5 if you're not going to a physical office what are you even doing? So what are some of general tips for social media success? Like I said In comes to marketing Marketing Like now really by the time you're thinking it's social media you have a niche of what you're doing or what you want to do Like I said doing a market research understanding what your audience is all about so that you ensure your strategies are aimed at targeting your audience and your content is engaging and creativity plus the rules that apply on the platforms Like for instance on Facebook when you're posting Facebook gives a lot of air on newsfeed for titles and topics that spark conversation because the social media platform so if you just post your picture blankly like that and maybe it does not spark conversation it may not get a lot of viewership and something like that but now when you understand how it works like now for Instagram hashtags do work for Twitter also hashtags do work so understanding how these platforms work like what works on like Instagram we know it's pictures so you show your posting quality pictures Facebook ensure you're you're doing conversational you're posting conversational content so understanding how these platforms work and the rules and what involves the content and the platforms will be able to see you succeed in the platforms Fantastic so when it comes to content marketing what are the steps to developing a content marketing strategy First finding a niche secondly doing an audience research also doing a competitors research you get to see what your competitors doing and then now implementing the strategies that like now you have seen doing also research on what are the trending what are other people doing like now there are things like stories stories have been brought stories on Twitter on Instagram or LinkedIn so you see what the trending things that are happening and ensure you implement them you know to be constantly creating new content because these are pointed out by you get as a creative you get a blockage you're trying but nothing is coming through you're not being creative you're really trying but it's just like a blockage Consistency is key especially on social media alongside with patients consistency is key like you might be thinking people are not noticing you but the moment you take a break they'll be like why did you stop creating content and people could be not be responding by the actual following but consistency is key don't give up have patience even if you're not seeing results keep doing and also look for if you don't have the skills you can look for a digital media strategist to guide you and tell you like this is what you're doing wrong this is what we can do and things like that On there looking for a media digital media strategist in a situation whereby I was doing constant posting and probably blogging as a content creator and things happened, life happened I stopped doing it so how do I do a come back when it comes to blogging and YouTube and now my people are waiting I neglected them at a particular time so how do I do a come back you can do a video to tell them like what you've been up to why you took a break I've seen somebody like Ketak Trace because like you see most social influencers most of them have other parts of their life they're dealing with maybe they're into business they're into acting so like for Ketak Trace at some point she was busy with her life she took a break from her YouTube channel then she did a video and advertised it on her platform that hey I'm back sorry I've been this and this your audience will be able to understand ah we took a break for a reason maybe you were unwell or things were busy and things like that and now you ensure you're coming up with something better to keep them good okay so for someone who has watched this conversation till now since we started and they're still questioning why do I need a digital media strategist what would you tell them actually you see as a digital media strategist I ensure I'm always researching to ensure I'm implementing the best strategies for you for brands because that is what I do for brands plus most people are busy and then one of the things with social media platforms you need to to be creating immediate feedback like you as a person like now you have your own social media platforms here you're here on TV like if somebody has commented on your page have you been able to go and see like and reply to them things like that so I come in when you're busy with your other things you can be running other things of the business you just relax me and they are taking reply in your comments and things and the audience actually feels good when you instantly reply so managing social media so looking back in this journey what a couple of achievements that you look back will be like I don't regret taking this particularly actually I've been able to network and find the amazing people plus I've been able to encourage young people like actually what triggered what influenced me to venture into digital marketing and going public with my skills was job hunting can be daunting in Kenya at some point but social media is a good tool I decided to I was using it for other people I didn't know it will work for me so I branded myself branded my platforms and I went public with my skills actually there's a post I did on LinkedIn it had 14,000 views I got international inquiries people were like I was like so I've been helping other people market their business I could market my skills make money out of what you love actually even if you're into chapati business or mandazis market yourself online make sure you have a social media presence because people are making money your clients are there on social media waiting for you couple of challenges that you've faced along this journey one of the things is keeping up with the trends they keep changing so I'm constantly on research doing research because the same trends you were applying last year you can't apply them this year so that is one bit and then another thing when you're dealing especially with startups like we had talked about patients people want to see results immediately when they engage you and they don't see they feel like you're not doing work when they don't see like they're getting clients they don't know that it's beyond that and it takes patience so dealing with startups has been a challenge especially I don't understand the importance of social media presence and a social media manager or a digital media strategist but I try to explain to my clients this is what I do and those who see like actually you're doing something for them they appreciate it so I guess people back at home if you're not going to take anything from this conversation just take the fact that you should be patient and consistent allow what you do and stick by it and make sure you make good money out of it so how can people find you across all social media handles if they want to keep this conversation going on Facebook and LinkedIn you can find me on Kakae the digital media strategist and on Instagram and Twitter the digital media strategist at Kakae Digital alright there you have it that is Kathrin Kakae digital media strategist so make sure you follow up with her keep the conversation going across all our social media handles that is at Y2F4 channel so you can find me across all my social Kathrin, thank you very much for creating time to be with us so Rama Gukko will be coming up with another interview on the health segment so make sure you stay tuned so we have so much coming over right here on why in the morning remember if it's Tuesday it's entrepreneurship Tuesday at Y2F4 channel so you can find us across all our social media handles