Contractors lay a fiber optic cable Photo courtesy

There’s been a lot of fuss about the coming of the fiber-optic and the many opportunities it is going to open up for Kenyans and the economy. There has never been a time when Kenyans were as interested in the Internet as now. Everyone is excited, and even the least informed persons rant continuously about how a speedy, affordable and easily accessible web connection is going to affect all our lives.

It will, of course. The Internet is going to be more affordable and within the reach of many people. More people will become computer-literate and head online to source for information and entertainment. Conventional media like the Television, radio and the print media will always remain strong, but the web is going to be a much stronger contender than ever before, for the eyes and ears of the media-consuming Kenyan audience. Indeed, more and more people will begin to watch television shows, listen to radio programs, and read news from the Internet.

I also guess that a lot more cyber cafes will spring up, with reduced costs for customers that will make it much more affordable for the vast majority of Kenyans. Internet service providers are going to have a boost in revenue as reduced costs would lead to increased demand. Our education systems might get a little upgraded. I am imagining that for the first time, Kenyan universities and colleges of education would have online classes and long-distance learning programmes just like our counterparts in the Western world. Kenya is going to get a lot more digitized.

But then, I have a strong gut feeling that the way companies and businesses do marketing is also going to change. In coming times, companies will not succeed without a well-managed presence on the web. Advertising on traditional billboards, newspapers, magazines, television and radio are forever going to be strong. But savvy managers who will be searching for cost-effective means of reaching out to their target markets will move to the web. The companies that would lead in the future are those that identify the huge opportunity for marketing online, and make the web work for them.

Entrepreneurs and managers, especially marketing managers, should learn how to harness the web to reach out to their target audiences. Advertising and marketing agencies should also learn how to use the web to effectively market their clients’ products and services. Companies and other corporate organizations should begin to embrace the web as the media channel that it is, ad take it very seriously.

While media planners and buyers budget for advertising, there should be a budget for online marketing. Advertising space should be bought on highly-trafficked Kenyan websites and social networking sites. Having a website is going to be crucial, and ensuring that your website comes up tops in internet search results when a prospect searches for your line of products or service is going to be important. Companies are going to have to learn how to use Search engine optimization, Pay Per click (PPC) advertising, Opt-in email marketing, Search engine marketing, Affiliate marketing and other web marketing instruments that would ensure their success in the future and to ensure that their companies, products and services are more visible on the web. If  these words seem strange, you may want to start looking them up, because the success of your company in these coming times is going to depend on these concepts.

Any business that does not embrace the web will fail. I promise.

By Mfonobong Nsehe

Website designer and Copywriter

E-mail: [email protected]