We have seen hundreds of thousands of local brands in Rwanda embracing the use of digital marketing tools to communicate and engage stakeholders and then help them succeed in the marketplace. These tools help businesses create content to promote their activities and regularly engage customers. Predictably, in 2023, given how quickly the digital communication industry is evolving, most corporates will use the booming social platforms to promote their services and products. These digital marketing tools include everything from social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram to analytics tools like Google Analytics. Allowing marketers to create, test, and measure the performance of their campaigns, digital marketing tools ensure that marketers can launch and test campaigns quickly and effectively. According to the data released by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) in September 2022, there were 8,224,654 active SIM cards subscribed to the internet between June and September 2022 and 42,075 active fixed internet subscriptions recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2022. Internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants for September 2022 increased by 2.1 percentage points to 62.7% in comparison to June 2022. It is predicted that in 2023, hundreds of thousands of brands will keep using digital platforms to engage their stakeholders while communicating what they offer on a regular basis. In addition to that, they should as well craft a digital marketing strategy so that these businesses can use the right channels and be able to retain their customers. Digital marketing is one of the best channels when it comes to growing a business because it is cost-effective, scalable, and trackable. This helps the corporate sector rely on these channels while communicating what they are doing or promoting their services and products as companies are using available tools to strengthen their stakeholder engagement. Digital marketing can be used in transforming small businesses into hugely successful businesses. It is important to consider it while running every business because digital platforms can easily be used to tell the stories of these corporates as it is a powerful means of communication and it's also a great tool to attract new customers. Video content is king In this new era, video content is everywhere from social media to websites as it captures attention and increases engagement; video can bring out feelings of confidence, curiosity, and trust to your targeted audience and can easily be used to share any kind of information so that the targeted audience can consume it directly. In 2023, it is predicted that local brands who want to boost their visibility or those struggling to promote their services and products can use videos for great global visibility. Video marketing content also creates a two-way interaction between the brand and the customer. Influencer marketing In the past few years, the influencer marketing space in Rwanda has grown monumentally. We are seeing a big number of influencers and media outlets with huge followers on social media working with various corporates to share what they are offering to their customers. This is important because it can help these brands to gain new followers and reach out to new clients. Engagement Local brands should also plan to regularly engage their customers. In recent days we have seen more brands using Twitter Spaces or Webinars to engage directly with their targeted audience. In 2023, businesses will as well use all available channels to reach out to their customers as well as getting direct feedback from various media networks, and addressing them. With so much information coming at us every day online, local business companies should craft good content which can help them elevate their brand. Businesses should remember to set clear and realistic digital marketing targets to help their digital marketing teams drive the growth they need. They should also remember to dig deeper to get the digital data on how their digital campaigns are thriving online. This will help them to keep on top of the latest trends, take timely action and be competitive, engage and convert more customers. The writer is a Strategic Communications Professional based in Kigali
