Beauty and hair vlogger Sheila Ndinda. Right: Chef Raphael Ndaiga. PHOTO | COURTESY
Summary
- As e-commerce is still relatively new in the country, Ms Odando of Jumia says building trust with potential customers is important.
- Kenya’s Internet penetration rate stands at 89.4 per cent based on the Communication Authority of Kenya sector statistics report for January-March 2017.
- As the advancements in telecoms sector take root, the government and private sector players are devising ways of harnessing the benefits for job creation to boost economic growth.
Sheila Ndinda had a long-time passion
for beauty and hair. Combining this and technology, she decided to start
a ‘side-hustle’ for generating additional income last year.
This
led to the establishment of her renowned YouTube channel ‘Sheila
Ndinda’ that offers tips on the effective management of natural hair.
With
thousands of subscribers and close to a million views, she has been
able to attract advertising revenue from Google and hair product
companies that use her platform for sales promotion.
Ms
Ndinda is among the increasing number of enterprising young people who
are tapping the Internet to connect to the world and generate revenue.
Ms
Ndinda and other ‘Youtubers’ earn an income by partnering with
companies to generate sponsored content aimed at promoting certain
brands. These opportunities are often given to individuals with a huge
online following as they can easily influence their fans to purchase
specific products or services.
Owing to the current
high unemployment rate of about 40 per cent, experts are calling on
jobless Kenyans to leverage on the country’s impressive Internet
infrastructure to market their skills online and make money while at it.
The
recently launched Akamai’s State of the Internet Report (2016) revealed
that Kenya’s Internet speed of 15 megabytes per second (mbps) is the
fastest in Africa and the Middle East. Globally, Kenya was ranked at
position 23 out of the 108 countries covered by the report.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Internet penetration rate stands at
89.4 per cent based on the Communication Authority of Kenya sector
statistics report for January-March 2017.
As the
advancements in telecoms sector take root, the government and private
sector players are devising ways of harnessing the benefits for job
creation to boost economic growth.
For instance, the
ICT ministry recently started a training programme on online work
targeting the youth. But to effectively take advantage of these existing
opportunities and excel in online businesses, Clarice Odando,
e-commerce expert at Jumia Kenya, states that a strategy is required.
“Having
a phone or laptop and Iinternet connection is not enough; you need to
have a clear plan of what exactly you will do to excel in your online
job.”
Charles Murito, Google Kenya country director, urges the youth to cease worrying about quick money.
“Concentrate on giving your best to potential customers and the cash will follow.”
Since
the Internet is a gateway to the world, he advises people to focus on
the global community to widen their market reach and revenue sources.
For instance, the more viewers you have on YouTube, the more money you will make. So you need to appeal to a wider audience.
Ms
Ndinda states that while undertaking e-commerce on social media
platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, consistency is
very important.
“You need to keep generating and
posting fresh, creative and interesting content to give you more views,
followers and subscribers. If you stop, then you’ll end up losing
people.”
She notes that it is important for people to engage their fans online to make them feel valued and appreciated.
This can be achieved by liking, acknowledging or replying to queries made on online posts.
“You can also give people discounted offers, free stuff or treat them to something special once in a while.”
Raphael
Ndaiga who runs the popular YouTube channel known as ‘Chef Raphael’
says content produced should be consistent with one’s online brand.
“If
you’ve specialised in nutrition, stick to that. Don’t jump from one
topic to another you’ll confuse people and miss your target market.”
He
adds that social media platforms could also serve as great avenues for
sharing testimonials from satisfied customers to boost sales.
“The feedback you get online may be good or bad. Learn to embrace both and don’t let negative comments bring you down.
Mr
Ndaiga states that as online business grow and founders become
overwhelmed with many duties, seeking the services of an agent is
important.
“It allows you to concentrate on your skill and let the experts worry about revenue streams.”
For
platforms such as YouTube, Google pays owners (like Mr Ndaiga and Ms
Ndinda) some amount of money for every 1,000 views they get on any
content they upload online.
This is because the company generates income from posting advertisements on such popular YouTube channels.
As
e-commerce is still relatively new in the country, Ms Odando of Jumia
says building trust with potential customers is important.
“People
are used to physical shops where they can see the seller and touch
products they want to buy. This makes most customers uncomfortable with
online purchases.”
To curb this challenge, she notes
that entrepreneurs need to have a hybrid system where they operate
online but at the same time maintain some form of physical presence.
“It can be as simple as letting your customers know you are available for physical meetings should they find it important.”
She
adds that customers making orders online could also be allowed to view
the product first before making payments during delivery.
“Another
way of building trust is assuring people they can return products or
get refunds for sales that fail to meet their standards.”
For
the youth keen on getting employment rather than creating their own
jobs online, the government has set up an electronic portal (Ajira) that
links registered members to existing opportunities in the public and
private sector.
Aside from just focusing on their own
products, people can also generate money online through commissions
accrued from selling other people’s or company products on their
websites and social media platforms.
The online
presence gives people exposure, making it easy for them to be discovered
by potential clients whilst enabling them to build a huge fan base that
is crucial for attracting advertisements and other cash inflow
opportunities.
To get websites and social media
platforms going, the content uploaded online is very important. Mr
Ndaiga notes that for beginners, a smartphone that can take good videos
and photos is enough. “You can graduate to more sophisticated tools once
the business grows.”
No comments :
Post a Comment