Mobile-First Africa: The drive to upskill in Digital Marketing
- Niels vandenBurg
- Apr 18, 2023
- 7 min read
A mobile phone in the hands of everyone, a business in every hand, a story waiting to be told.
Africa does everything uniquely, even Africans are unique to other Africans. The nature of harmony in diversity. We do things differently, always have been, and always will be. In Jonathan Donner’s book After Access: Inclusion, Development, and a more Mobile Internet he describes how African nations are skipping the 3rd industrial revolution and have accelerated a unique entry to the fourth industrial revolution. What this means for the everyday person who is not politically and economically connected in Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria and many other nations is their entrance to practices leading to generational wealth building such as owning their own business is to build an enterprise that uses web and mobile technologies to take advantage of the lemons and make 4th industrial lemonade. The legacy of colonialism is that majority of black people on the continent were excluded from the few monopolistic industries set up on the continent to exploit African labour without including them in the ownership or profits. Therefore in the few areas that were industrialised in the era of the third industrial revolution were and continue to be extractive without intention to develop out of these practices or develop the communities that were sustained around them.
Enter the mobile internet revolution. As highlighted by Calestous Juma and Mark Graham in Digital Economies at Global Margins the mobile phone has become the symbol of African advancement in connectivity. However, this is more complex than just the optimistic tale of hundreds of entrepreneurs building successful ventures based on the mobile phone. The 4th Industrial revolution has largely been only in the telecommunications industries across Africa. Where are the advances in robotics manufacturing? Internet of things manufacturing? Where are the cloud computing centres? Where are the data warehouses? The tragedy of Africa’s leapfrogging to new technologies is we are entering the 4th industrial revolution as consumers rather than from the manufacturing and ownership assets. And this is not a critique, I am just observing how the lemonade is being made. What other choice is there? I am here to offer guidance and shed light of the knowledge I have to help others grow. The African superpower is culture, always has been and always will be. This fact is the reason all modern popular western music is based on genres created by Africans on the continent or in diaspora. What mobile technology has allowed us to do is create connections and networks for storytelling of fellow success and knowledge sharing. This is exemplified through platforms such as mkulimayoung and MbeguChoice from Kenya. Storytelling is marketing and marketing is the vehicle for entrepreneurship.
For these reasons, African entrepreneurs need to continue adopting these storytelling platforms. Facebook and Google are the two global platforms that have spearheaded the adoption of their Advertising services in Africa. With Google search engines available in various African languages (Zulu, Swahili and Yoruba. Nowhere near enough but a good start) and Facebook as the most widely used social media platform with twitter as a close second these are the best platforms for African digital natives to learn new skills for promoting their businesses and stories to the world.
Through Facebook Advertising, Google Ads, Twitter Ads and Google AdSense digital natives are able to promote their business across their country and the continent and connect with customers who have similar interests. In addition, for those offering digital services such as web development, software development, and marketing services, these platforms offer an additional income stream for those who effectively and specifically upskill themselves. By becoming an expert in a certain platform such as Facebook paid advertising and social media management, anyone with a smartphone can start a businesses to generate income for themselves to promote the businesses in the community around them. Google has created two platforms for learning the necessary skills to start out in digital marketing or any other digital based service that can help grow businesses online.
First is the digital garage. Discover courses in topics designed to help expand your career, business and horizons and to upgrade your skills for a new digital world. Accelerate your career or business with an online digital skills course in everything from marketing to coding and beyond.
And more specific to Africa here google has compiled the knowledge you need to be competitive in multiple digital industries:
Here is your chance to build wealth in your community and help African owned businesses branch out into non-extractive manufacturing industries and bring about African driven re-industrialisation of the continent.
How digital marketing can help African businesses develop:
Digital marketing can help businesses develop in several ways. Here are some of the key benefits of digital marketing for African businesses:
Increased visibility: Digital marketing allows African businesses to reach a wider audience through various channels such as search engines, social media, email marketing, and online advertising. By increasing visibility, businesses can attract more potential customers and generate more leads where they are already.
Targeted marketing: Digital marketing provides African businesses with the ability to target their marketing efforts to specific audiences. This means businesses can tailor their marketing messages to specific groups of people based on factors such as demographics, interests, and behaviour. This leads to more effective marketing and better ROI. And a better understanding of the target group.
Cost-effective: Digital marketing is often more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods such as print or TV ads. Businesses can reach a large audience with a smaller budget using digital marketing channels such as social media, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising. Again, a phone in every hand, not a laptop, not a TV.
Improved customer engagement: Digital marketing allows businesses to engage with customers in real-time, providing personalised and relevant experiences. By interacting with customers through social media, email, and chatbots, businesses can build better relationships with their customers and improve customer satisfaction. Furthermore these platforms can ensure customers are kept updated with developments in your businesses.
Access to data and analytics: Digital marketing provides African businesses with access to data and analytics that can help them track their marketing efforts and measure their ROI. This information can be used to make informed decisions and optimize marketing campaigns for better results.
Building new ventures: New connections are built through online media. We see the content that we are already interested in. This means entrepreneurs can connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs to collaborate and expand into bigger industries.
Render a Service: Digital marketing specialists who find their unique skillset can promote themselves as a service business on its own. Therefore creating new opportunities forked from other surrounding business.
Overall, digital marketing can help African businesses develop by improving visibility, targeting marketing efforts, reducing costs, improving customer engagement, and providing access to valuable data and analytics. By implementing effective digital marketing strategies, African businesses can stay competitive and grow their customer base.
The top mobile advertising platforms in Africa
There are several mobile advertising platforms operating in Africa, but here are some of the top ones:
AdColony: AdColony is a mobile advertising platform that provides high-quality video and interactive ads to mobile app developers and advertisers in Africa. They offer a range of ad formats, including rewarded video ads, display ads, and native ads.
Google Ads: Google Ads is a popular mobile advertising platform in Africa that allows advertisers to run ads on Google's search engine and across its network of mobile apps and websites. Google Ads offers a range of ad formats, including text ads, display ads, and video ads.
Facebook Ads: Facebook Ads is another popular mobile advertising platform in Africa that allows advertisers to run ads on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook Ads offers a range of ad formats, including image ads, video ads, and carousel ads.
Twitter Ads: A popular advertising platform that allows advertisers in some markets (countries) to promote sponsored content on Twitter Feeds.
InMobi: InMobi is a mobile advertising platform that provides a range of ad formats, including display ads, native ads, and video ads. They also offer targeting options to help advertisers reach the right audience.
Unity Ads: Unity Ads is a mobile advertising platform that provides high-quality video ads to mobile app developers and advertisers in Africa. They offer a range of ad formats, including rewarded video ads and interstitial video ads.
These are just a few of the top mobile advertising platforms in Africa, and there are many others to choose from depending on your advertising needs and budget.
7Ps of Mobile Marketing for Africa
For those who are beginning with digital marketing skills and building strategy here is the best starting point for building your plan. Every framework in marketing must start from these 7 points to cover all bases. The 7 Ps of mobile marketing are a framework for developing a comprehensive mobile marketing strategy. Here is how the 7 Ps can be applied in an African business context:
Product: The first P is product. In the context of mobile marketing in Africa, this means developing a product or service that is specifically tailored to mobile users. This could be a mobile app, a mobile-friendly website, or a service that can be accessed via SMS.
Price: The second P is price. In Africa, price is often a major factor that can influence consumer behaviour. When developing a mobile marketing strategy, it's important to consider the pricing of your products and services, as well as any discounts or promotions that you may offer.
Promotion: The third P is promotion. This includes all of the tactics that you use to promote your products or services to your target audience. In an African business context, this might include social media marketing, SMS marketing, mobile advertising, and influencer marketing.
Place: The fourth P is place. In mobile marketing, this refers to the channels through which you deliver your products or services. In Africa, this might include mobile networks, social media platforms, and mobile app stores.
People: The fifth P is people. This refers to the people who are involved in your mobile marketing strategy, including your target audience, your employees, and your partners. It's important to understand the needs and behaviors of your target audience in order to develop an effective mobile marketing strategy.
Process: The sixth P is process. This includes all of the processes that are involved in delivering your products or services to your customers. In the context of mobile marketing in Africa, this might include payment processing, order fulfilment, and customer support.
Physical evidence: The seventh P is physical evidence. In mobile marketing, this refers to the visual and physical cues that help to communicate the value of your products or services to your customers. In an African business context, this might include the design of your mobile app or website, as well as any branding or packaging materials that you use.
Thank you for reading this far. If interested in learning more about how digital marketing can really advance your business and help achieve the growth you need, please contact us and we at Nzeni can grow your businesses today! We are one click away.
Comments