Kenyans Turn To Social Media For Product Discovery Shunning Paid Mainstream Adverts
Today, most of the consumers are discovering their products of preference through Social media. This does not owe only to the fact that internet penetration has rapidly risen but also because companies have turned to the internets to promote and sell their products.
Whether it is booking a table, ordering a cab or delivering a flight boarding pass, instant messaging functions of social platforms will be connected to buying of the products. First-time consumers familiarise themselves with products by searching online, looking up product ratings and even acquiring from social media users.
Additionally, Social media influencers are playing a major role in luring consumers to use certain products with content like reviews, experience videos as well as campaigns driving big sales. This has put global companies on the grid in locations far from their manufacturing plants and headquarters.To reinforce this convenience, companies have liaised with international courier companies and distributors located across continents. With constant connectivity and smartphones, everything is set to turn into a shop.
Snapchat’s recent partnership with Amazon enabling augmented reality buying is proof that e-commerce is increasingly natively integrated within major social platform ecosystems. Instagram has also launched a feature that allows purchase products tagged in pictures without leaving the platform.
According to Waithera Kabiru- Head of Media Futures, Digital & Agency, EABL/Diageo Kenya is not a mobile-first market. It is a mobile-only, therefore, Brands should start their media planning from mobile. She said a deep involvement with mobile social usage creates opportunities for brands, giving them a chance to use social media both as a channel for brand building and as a sales channel.
Besides eruption of social commerce, findings by Ogilvy Social lab shows further alert brands to move beyond vanity metrics such as likes and comments to actual business KPIs, even amidst increased pressure to prove ROI.
This requires putting your customer and her journey at the heart and center of your activities. What is more valuable: Having 1 million followers and only five of them purchasing your product or having only 1,000 followers with at least half of them purchasing your products?
