How TikTok Is Shaping the Future of Music Discovery and Streaming

TikTok has changed the way we discover, engage with, and consume music. What used to take weeks of radio play or curated playlists now happens in seconds on a 15-second video. But beyond the viral dance challenges and catchy hooks, TikTok is evolving, with its “Add to Music App” feature that creates a direct pipeline from viral clip to full-stream playback.

This blog breaks down:

• How TikTok influences music discovery and streaming

• Whether it’s a good platform to promote music

• Its overall impact on the music industry

What is the Add to Music App Feature on TikTok?

In December 2023, TikTok introduced a game-changing feature called the Add to Music feature. The goal? To leap at hearing a 15-second clip on your For You Page to stream the full track on your favorite music app as effortlessly as a tap.

This new feature is available in the U.S. and U.K. (with more countries expected soon), and it’s already transforming how users save and engage with music, while offering artists a powerful new way to convert TikTok virality into real-world streams.

How Does TikTok Influence Music Discovery and Streaming?

TikTok has become a cultural accelerator for music. Its algorithm-driven content serves up sound-backed videos that often lead users to fall in love with a song before they even know the title or artist. Research shows that TikTok users are significantly more likely to both discover and share new music content in the app, while 75% of its users also find new artists via TikTok clips.

Here’s how TikTok drives music discovery and streaming:

• Algorithmic exposure: TikTok surfaces content based on what you engage with, and music plays a big part in that. Trending sounds quickly gain traction and visibility.

• Viral loops: Users create thousands of videos using a trending sound, compounding its reach.

• In-app audio identification: You can tap the song name in a TikTok video and see other content using it, leading to deeper listening.

• Now: “Add to Music App”
  This feature allows users to add a song to Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music directly from TikTok. It eliminates the need to manually search for a song you liked in a video—just tap and it’s in your library.

In short, TikTok isn’t just a music discovery tool anymore—it’s a music streaming funnel.

Is TikTok a Good Place to Promote Music?

Yes, arguably one of the best right now.
Whether you’re an independent artist or a major label, TikTok offers:

• Unmatched reach: A single piece of content can go viral and reach millions without paid promotion.

• Authentic fan engagement: Fans don’t just listen; they create. TikTok encourages interaction through duets, challenges, remixes, and trends.

• Short-form storytelling: Artists can tell the story behind their music, share behind-the-scenes moments, or even test unreleased tracks.

And with the new Add to Music App integration, TikTok now gives musicians a direct path to monetization. If your song gains traction, users can easily save and stream it, turning likes and shares into actual plays.

What Is the Impact of TikTok on the Music Industry?

TikTok has had a seismic impact on how music is made, promoted, and consumed:

???? For Artists:

• Launchpad for careers: Many artists, like Lil Nas X, Ice Spice, and PinkPantheress, gained mainstream success after going viral on TikTok.

• Data insights: Artists and labels can use real-time engagement data to decide which songs to release, promote, or even remix.

• More control for independents: You don’t need a record deal to blow up. Creativity and consistency can take you far on TikTok.

???? For the Industry:

• Influencing charts: A viral TikTok song often climbs Billboard and Spotify charts days or weeks later.

• Shaping sound: Artists now create songs with TikTok in mind—short intros, catchy hooks, and strong beats are designed to “hit” within 5–10 seconds.

• New marketing models: Traditional music marketing has shifted toward influencer partnerships, TikTok challenges, and trend-hopping.

???? For Listeners:

• Interactive discovery: Fans feel like they “find” a song before it hits mainstream radio.

• Faster access to music: Features like “Add to Music App” make saving and streaming immediate.

Final Thoughts

TikTok has evolved from a fun video-sharing app to a powerful music ecosystem. It blends discovery, social interaction, and streaming into one seamless experience.

Whether you’re a music lover, an artist, or a marketer, understanding how TikTok influences music—and now powers it—could be the key to unlocking new opportunities in the digital music era.

With tools like “Add to Music App” becoming more visible in the For You Feed, TikTok is no longer just about trends—it’s about what’s next in music.

10 Proven Strategies to Boost Your Business on X in 2025

X  formerly Twitter remains a powerhouse for real-time engagement, thought leadership, and customer connection in 2025. For marketers, brands, social media managers, businesses, solopreneurs, and creators, mastering X can drive visibility and conversions. In this article we share 10 actionable strategies to elevate your presence on X platform.

1. Optimize Your Profile for Maximum Impact

The first thing you need to do on X is to optimize your profile. Craft a profile that stands out. Use a clear logo or headshot, a professional header. Also have a bio that nails your brand’s value proposition. As you craft your bio, include niche-specific keywords and a link to your website to boost discoverability and conversions.
You can also add location and link to your other platforms or website.

2. Post Consistently with Diverse Content

Having an account on X without posting won’t bear you fruit. You need to post content consistently.Aim for 1-2 daily posts to stay visible without spamming followers. Mix text updates, images, short videos, and polls to keep your feed engaging. Data shows visuals and emojis can lift engagement by 30%. Keep posts concise (under 280 characters) for X’s fast-moving feed.

If you need to post content beyond 280 characters, you need to subscribe to X Premium. Understand the different features offered and go for the one that you can afford. X Premium also promises to boost your visibility on X.

 

3. Prioritize Real-Time Engagement

On X users expect quick responses 59% use the platform for news and updates. Therefore, you need to reply to comments, mentions, and DMs promptly to build trust. Moreover, you also need to join trending conversations in your industry to establish authority and use relevant hashtags to expand reach. This enhances visibility on the platform and helps you grow your brand and build an engaging community.

4. Embrace Video and Audio Features

X is doubling down on video and audio in 2025. Over time, they have made enhancements on video features such as introducing the ability to upload longer and 4K high quality videos. With that in mind, you need to create short-form videos (e.g., product demos or behind-the-scenes clips) to capture attention. Besides posting videos, you can also host Spaces for live audio discussions on industry topics to connect authentically with your audience. You can have thematic areas and recurring days when you are hosting Spaces. 

Our Corporate Banking clients are at the heart of our success. With a customer-first approach and a comprehensive suite of solutions, I&M Bank is your partner for sustainable business growth.#IMBank #OnYourSide pic.twitter.com/Jo5MxJVgD6

— I&M Bank Kenya (@imbankke) May 26, 2025

 

5. Tell Stories That Resonate

Trends come and go, but storytelling drives conversions. There are different approaches to story telling. You can share customer success stories, company updates, or relatable insights. Repurpose high-performing content from Instagram or TikTok, but tweak it for X’s conversational vibe.

While on a routine wildlife health assessment in Meru National Park, the Meru Mobile Veterinary Unit encountered a solitary plains zebra stallion that had distanced itself from its herd. The zebra showed signs of severe pain, lack of appetite, and difficulty walking—prompting an… pic.twitter.com/aM3rGhhH5x

— Kenya Wildlife Service (@KWSKenya) April 24, 2025

 

6. Leverage Analytics for Smarter Posting

Use X analytics or tools like Hootsuite to identify peak engagement times and track performance. Nowadays, X analytics can show you when  most of your audience are most active. Make use of this to know when best you can post content for maximum visibility and engagement. To add on, you need to conduct monthly audits to monitor follower growth and engagement rates, benchmarking against industry standards to refine your strategy.

7. Build an Email List for Control

X’s algorithm and ownership shifts can affect visibility. Besides that, an outage can appear and your audience will be in the dark. You need to build and email list and drive followers to your email list with compelling CTAs, like exclusive offers or newsletters, to maintain direct audience access.

 

8. Invest in Paid Promotion

Over time, the organic reach on social media platforms has declined, hence you need to boost your reach with paid ads. X leaning pay-to-play, consider ads or boosted posts to ensure reach. Target by interests or demographics for precision, and amplify high-performing organic content for better ROI. To start running your ads go to X ads manager. Alternatively, you can contact us at Samodigital to help you set up converting ads on X.

 

9. Collaborate for Growth

Another strategy that works like magic on X is partnering with influencers. Be strategic and Partner with micro-influencers or complementary brands to expand reach. Tag non-competing creators in posts to encourage reshares. Engage in X communities or niche discussions to build credibility and attract followers.

 

10. Stay Agile with Platform Changes

Just like any other social media platform, X keeps evolving with new features, tweaks in algorithms.  X’s ad landscape and X continues to evolve its AI tools, with its Grok AI chatbot now able to generate images, including ad variations, based on text prompts. You also need to test new formats like X Money for monetization potential  and see how they help you grow. and use tools like SocialBee to streamline scheduling and monitoring.

 Adapt quickly to stay ahead.

Why X Matters in 2025

X’s real-time nature makes it ideal for customer service, PR, and thought leadership. Its audience (56.8% male, 43.2% female, mostly 25-34) is highly engaged, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Combine X with 2-3 platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram to maximize impact. For ad pricing or subscription details, visit X Premium.

Focusing on authenticity, engagement, and strategic testing, you can turn X into a growth engine for your brand in 2025.

If Social Media Went Dark Tomorrow Would Your Brand Still Reach People?

Picture this: It’s the launch day for your latest campaign. You’ve been engaging with customers on X, answering queries in real-time and building buzz. Suddenly, at 10 AM, the social media platform you intend to launch campaign goes dark. Your team can’t log in, customers can’t reach you, and your carefully planned campaign stalls. Complaints pile up, and you’re left scrambling with no immediate way to respond.

This isn’t just a hypothetical. It’s what many brands faced during the X outage on May 22, 2025. A data center issue, possibly linked to a fire in Hillsboro, Oregon, knocked out login, signup, notifications, and Premium features for over 24 hours, leaving users and businesses worldwide in the lurch.

 

We’re still experiencing issues from yesterday’s data center outage. Login and signup services are unavailable for some users, and there may be delays in notifications and Premium features.

Our team is working 24/7 to resolve this. Thanks for your patience—updates soon.

— Engineering (@XEng) May 24, 2025

As marketers, creators, and businesses, this raises a crucial question:

What’s your plan when your primary platform goes offline?

If your brand relies on one social platform for:

• Customer service
• Community engagement
• Lead generation
• Product or content updates

…an unexpected outage could mean lost visibility, frustrated customers, and missed opportunities.

For Users:

X is a hub for news, networking, and communication. Outages disrupt these activities, causing frustration and potentially eroding trust, especially with X’s history of technical hiccups.

For Brands:

• Customer Service Disruptions: Brands relying on X for support couldn’t respond to inquiries, risking customer dissatisfaction. For instance, I tried reaching out to my internet service provider via X direct messages who has been reliable with X support but I couldn’t. I had to make a phone call!
• Reputational Risks: Unanswered queries can damage your brand’s image, pushing customers to competitors.
• Lost Engagement: Reduced visibility during outages can hurt marketing campaigns and sales.

What Smart Brands Should Do

1. Diversify Your Channels Don’t rely solely on one platform. Maintain a presence on others like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
2. Invest in Owned Media Build direct lines to your audience through your website, blog, email newsletter, and even SMS or WhatsApp.
3. Use Independent Support Tools Adopt help desks, chatbots, or ticketing systems that aren’t tied to social media.
4. Back Up Customer Data Regularly export important interactions and audience insights from platforms you use.
5. Have a Contingency Plan Monitor platforms, and be ready with messaging alternatives when your go-to platform goes down.
6. Be Transparent: Inform customers promptly about disruptions to maintain trust.

Why avoid relying on one platform?

Depending solely on X can leave you vulnerable to:

• Single Point of Failure: An outage can halt your entire customer service operation.
• Infrastructure Risks: Issues like data center fires or cyberattacks are beyond your control.
• Policy Shifts: Platform changes can disrupt your strategy.
• Customer Frustration: Unreachable support can drive customers away.

Don’t wait for the next outage to rethink your strategy. Diversify your channels and prepare for the unexpected.

Final Thoughts

Social media has transformed how we connect, market, and support our audiences. But as recent outages have shown, platforms can and will go silent without warning. For brands, businesses, and creators, the key lesson is this:

You don’t own your audience on social media—platforms do.

Relying solely on one channel is like building your business on rented land. When the landlord has issues, your access, visibility, and communication can vanish in seconds.

Now is the time to future-proof your digital presence. It is important to diversify your platforms. Strengthen your owned media and have contingency plans. The brands that thrive long-term aren’t just social they’re strategic, resilient, and always ready.

How do you handle platform outages? Share your tips below!

X Premium Review: Is Paying To Be Verified On X Worth It?

X Premium Review: Is Paying To Be Verified Worth It?

15th October 2023, marked exactly a month since I subscribed to X Premium and I thought of giving a review based on my personal experience. Is it worth giving Elon Musk your $8 monthly? What are the features that come with X Premium formerly Twitter Blue?

What’s X Premium formerly Twitter Blue?

For starters, X Premium is a paid subscription introduced by X  after Elon Musk #TwitterTakeOver that goes for $8 on the web and $11 on Android and iOS in a bid to counter bots on the platforms.  X Premium comes with premium features that a normal user can’t access

Why Did I subscribe to X Premium 

First, I subscribed to X premium because I wanted to explore the features offered by X. Secondly, my posts were receiving less impressions despite getting some engagement such as likes and retweets.

Thirdly, in line with that, I got Influencer gigs early September to live tweet events. This meant my posts needed to get more impressions for my posts for me to deliver.

What are X Premium Features?

Here are some of the features or benefits you get when you subscribe to  X premium:

Edit Post: X doesn’t allow you to edit posts after sending out posts. However, with X premium, you can edit posts  up to 1 hour after sending it out.

Undo Post: You can also undo posts before getting visible to your viewers. After undoing it, you can edit. I have used this option more than the edit feature

Highlight posts: On X premium you can highlight some of your best posts on your profile. See, the way you can pin a post, yes but now  number of the to a dedicated highlight tab. I have used this alot since it makes it easier for a user to go through my profile and understand what I do and stand for on the platform

Post Longer posts:  On the premium version, you can tweet beyond the usual 280 characters. X premium supports 25000 characters with 4 in line images. I find this feature useful, especially when I want to share weekly recap of social media updates. Not bad after all!

Get boosted in rankings in conversations and search: If you are on regular X version, you will notice you have view impressions despite getting interaction on posts. X premium boosts your ranking on X feed and also on search. Also, on replies sections your replies are prioritized. 

Interestingly when starting in September I had  about 9600 followers and a month later I hit 10.1k followers with more increase. Also, if I compare my X posts impressions between August 14th  to September 14th, I had 262.3K impressions compared to  31 days of having a badge, I got 853.6K impressions 

Use Text Formatting: On the web, you can bold and italicize text posts. This comes in handy when I want to emphasize a point or word.  

Organize Bookmarks: Bookmarking posts on X is not just enough, you can also organize your bookmarks into folders. I prefer to organize folders to different topics for easier retrieval because it lacks the search feature.  

Create Communities. On X premium you can create up to 10 communities and spotlight your communities on your profile. I have a growing community on X on Digital Trends and Insights. Join here

Monetize, Make money: When you subscribe you can earn as a creator through X Ads share revenue program once you achieve 5 Million Impressions in the last 3 months.Payouts are made out after every two weeks.. Another way you can make money X is through subscriptions, where you can lock your content behind a certain preferred fee. 

Psst! Despite the growth in impressions and followers, I haven’t managed to monetize my account.

Get Access to X Pro: Remember the Free tweetdeck? Yes it’s now a premium feature behind 8 dollars renamed as X Pro. Still to explore more with its new interface. Thread Reader: When reading threads, you can use a new reading experience as one continuous post the way long posts look like. I love it!

Post longer high quality videos of up to 3 hours long.

Account analytics: You will get quick access to your account analytics in the last 7 days. 

Account Protection: X Premium allows you to add an extra layer of your account protection with two-factor authentication via SMS.

These are some of the X Premium features. You can explore more benefits here

How Do You Get Verified On X?

The verification process on X is very easy. You can choose to get verified on the Web to save up those 3 dollars. 

Here is how to get verified on X for Individual accounts

Step 1. Go to your Profile Menu and Click on “ X” on the Menu.

Step 2.  A new window will pop up showing Individual and Verified Organizations

Step 3. Next, click on Individual followed and hit “Subscribe” button

Step 4. From there decide if you will go for monthly or annual subscription

Step 5. Next, Pay by providing your card details and subscribe.

Immediately X will grant you access to premium but you will have to wait for them to review your application before the badge appears on your username. Mine took about 4 days to reflect on my X account

Is it worth paying for the blue tick on X?

The answer lies if you find the features locked behind the $8 dollars valuable.  For instance, if you want to grow your account, get prioritized and or are struggling with visibility on the platform, you may consider getting the badge.

NB:X is testing a new program known as Not  A Bot that will require non- verified users to pay an annual fee of 1 US dollar to be able to post, retweet, reply, like repost or bookmark posts. Read more here Oct 23-2023: 10 Things That Happened in The Digital Space Last Week

Best SEO For Law Firms Tips: 9 Ways to Improve SEO for Law Firms Website

How can I improve my SEO law firm website?

When people search for something on Google, they are more likely to click on the results that appear at the top of the page. Therefore, it is important to for any business to rank high including your law firm in Kenya.

How will you achieve this? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in ensuring that your law firm’s website ranks well in search engine results and attracts potential clients. With countless law firms in Kenya vying for online visibility, it’s crucial to employ effective SEO strategies to stand out from the competition. 

In this article, we will explore some key steps to improve the SEO of your law firm website and be more discoverable

What is SEO for law firms?

SEO for law firms is the process of optimizing your law firm’s website and online content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This helps potential clients find your website when they search for legal services related to your practice areas.

Why is local SEO important for law firms?

Local SEO is important for law firms because it helps them attract potential clients who are looking for legal services in their area. When people search for a lawyer online, they are often looking for someone who they can meet with in person. Local SEO helps law firms rank higher in search results for local keywords, such as “lawyer near me” or “divorce lawyer in Kenya” or “commercial lawyer in Nairobi”

Here are some of the specific benefits of local SEO for law firms:

• Increased visibility: Local SEO helps law firms show up in the local search results, which is where many potential clients start their search for legal services.
• Targeted traffic: Local SEO helps law firms attract visitors who are more likely to become clients, because they are looking for legal services in the firm’s area.
• Improved credibility: Local SEO can help law firms build credibility and trust with potential clients, because it shows that the firm is active and engaged in the community.
• Higher conversion rates: Law firms with a strong local SEO presence tend to have higher conversion rates, meaning that more visitors to their website turn into clients.

How to Improve Your SEO for a Law Firm Website

1. Have a User Friend Website

To start with you need to have a website for your law firm and not just a website but a user friendly website. A user-friendly website not only improves SEO but also encourages potential clients to easily engage with your firm services. Ensure your website is easy to navigate, has clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and links are clickable. The easier it is for users to find information, the longer they are likely to stay on your website. If you don’t have a website, you can either hire best web designer in Kenya or use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Wix to create your own website

2. Do Keyword Research

Start your SEO journey with thorough keyword research. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential clients might use when searching for legal services. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, Ahrefs or Keyword Tool that can help you discover high-value keywords. Incorporate these keywords naturally into your website’s content, including blog posts, practice area descriptions, and meta tags.

3. Create High-Quality Content

Content is king in the world of SEO! You cannot rank high on search engines without content.  Therefore, you need to create informative and engaging content that addresses the legal needs and questions of your target audience. You need to use  keywords that are related to legal issues to generate content for your blog. For instance, if you are divorce lawyer, some of the topics that are most searched in Kenya are

• Divorce lawyers near me
• How much does a divorce lawyer cost in Kenya?
• How much does it cost to file a divorce case in Kenya?
• family lawyers near me

By publishing blog posts, articles and guides will showcase your expertise and authority in various legal areas. You can also outsource high-quality content to Samodigital Agency. We will help you create optimized content that not only attracts visitors but also encourages them to stay on your site longer, improving your search rankings.

4. Mobile Optimization

How does your website behave when viewed on a mobile device? Google puts great emphasis on mobile-friendliness when ranking websites. Ensure that your law firm website is responsive and optimized for mobile devices. A mobile-friendly website not only provides a better user experience but also boosts your SEO rankings. You can run a mobile friendly test for your website and improve it 

5. Page Speed Optimization

Page speed is another crucial factor in SEO. Slow-loading websites frustrate users and can lead to a high bounce rate. Incfact, statistics show that 83% of people expect a website to load in 3 seconds or less. Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify and rectify issues that may be slowing down your site. You also need to optimize pages that you upload. Compress images, leverage browser caching, and minimize unnecessary scripts to improve load times. You can install relevant plugins to make your work easier.

6. Local SEO

Law firms often serve specific geographic areas for instance, Nairobi, Kisumu or Mombasa or Kenya. The goal then is to attract local clients, optimize your website for local search. One way to do so is to claim and complete your Google My Business profile. 

Statistics show that 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. Therefore, ensure that your firm’s business name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online directories. Encourage clients to leave reviews, which can significantly impact your local search rankings. In your descriptions, also use local keywords and remember to add social media profiles to Google My Business.

7. Link Building

 Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your website. It is one of the most important factors in search engine optimization, as it helps to improve your website’s authority and ranking in search results.

You need to create good quality content to build high-quality backlinks from authoritative legal websites, directories, and local blogs. Guest posting, partnerships, and participating in legal spaces and events can help you earn valuable backlinks that boost your website’s authority.

8. On-Page SEO for Law Firm

Another way to improve SEO for your law firm is doing on-page optimization. Optimize your website’s on-page elements, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags. These elements should contain your targeted keywords and provide clear and concise information about your services. Having well-structured content with proper headings not only helps with SEO but also enhances readability for people seeking services at your law firm

9. Regular Analytics and Monitoring

Once all the essential SEO for a Law firm is implemented, you need to regularly monitor your website’s performance. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Analyze user behavior, track keyword rankings, and identify areas for improvement. Use this data to refine your SEO strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Conclusion

Improving your law firm website’s SEO is an ongoing process that requires dedication and continuous effort. Implementing on page and off page  optimization will enhance your online visibility, attract more potential clients, and ultimately grow your legal practice. Also, SEO is a dynamic field, so staying informed about the latest trends and algorithm updates is key to long-term success in the digital landscape.

If you need help with writing monthly blogs and optimizing your law firm website in Kenya, contact us at Samodigital agency at info@samodigitalagency.com

7 Essential Qualities of a Successful Digital Marketing Consultant

What does digital marketing consultant do?

In todays’ ever changing world, you may need to work with a digital marketing consultant to elevate the growth of your business. What does a digital marketing consultant do? A digital marketing consultant is a professional who helps businesses and organizations develop and execute effective digital marketing strategies. They provide expert advice and guidance on various aspects of digital marketing. This will help you achieve their marketing goals and increase their online presence.

Here are some key responsibilities of a digital marketing consultant

1. Digital Strategy Development

A consultant collaborates with clients to understand their business objectives and target audience and ideal social media platforms. They develop comprehensive digital marketing strategies tailored to the client’s needs. This involves identifying the most suitable digital channels and tactics to reach the target audience effectively.

2. Run Paid Advertising Campaigns

Hiring a digital marketing consultant will assist you in planning, creating, and managing online advertising campaigns across platforms such as Google Ads, social media platforms, and YouTube advertising. They will help you optimize campaigns to achieve maximum reach, engagement, and conversions within the allocated budget.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

As you know, SEO is crucial for improving a website’s visibility in search engine results. You will not be able to execute this alone if you don’t know how to do it. That’s why you will need an experienced digital marketing consultant. A digital marketing consultant will help you analyze websites, conduct keyword research, optimize content, and provide recommendations to enhance search engine rankings and drive organic traffic Click To Tweet. Some will even be able to write engaging and informative content for your website.

4. Content Marketing

Content is King! It’s what drives engagement, leads and conversion for any business. A consultant will also help you develop winning content marketing strategies that engage and attract the right  target audience. You can read this article to understand types of content and why it’s important to brands. Consultants often assess the performance of content and make suggestions for improvement.

5. Social Media Marketing

Moreover, consultants assist in developing social media strategies to enhance brand visibility, engage with the audience, and drive website traffic. Right now, we have top social media platforms and emerging platforms. Platforms  like Threads, Lemon8, Bluesky and much more to come. Therefore a consultant will recommend platforms suitable for your business, create content calendars, and provide insights.

Also, they will optimize social media posts and advertising to ensure you gain the most from your marketing efforts and return investment.

6. Analytics and Reporting

With digital marketing you can easily track and measure your marketing efforts. To add on, working with a consultant will help you use various tools to track and analyze the performance of digital marketing campaigns. These could be web analytics tools like Google Analytics, In-app social media analytics or third party analytics tools like Semrush, Sprout Social among others.

Moreover, They will provide you with reports while highlighting key metrics, trends, and areas for improvement. Consultants use these insights to refine strategies and make data-driven decisions.

7. Digital Marketing Training

Finally, some consultants may offer training sessions to educate clients on digital marketing principles, tools, and best practices.If you are in Kenya and you would like to have in-house training for your team, you can hire a certified digital marketer like Egline Samoei Click To Tweet. She will help you gain a better understanding of digital marketing and empowers them to execute strategies independently if desired. Yo can reach out via email at egline@samodigitalagency.com

In Conclusion

To conclude a digital marketing consultant helps businesses leverage digital channels effectively to achieve their marketing objectives, improve brand awareness, drive website traffic, and generate leads or sales. Lastly, they stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in the digital marketing landscape to provide valuable insights and guidance to their clients.

 

How to use Social Media for Business

According to the Data Reportal Digital 2023 report, there are over 4.76 billion social media users out of 8 Billion people globally, and 10.55 million Kenyans are using social media. These people use social media to connect with friends, find information and discover products and services. If you are not using social media for business, you are missing out on a lot. Your business could benefit from this too.

So, how should you use social media as a business? This article shows you how you can use social media for Business.

7 Ways you can use Social Media for Business

Here are different ways you can use social media to grow your brand as a business.

1. Use social media for marketing

Social media can help you reach your target audience across the globe. You can use social media marketing to reach customers at every point of the marketing funnel. You can reach your target audience with the right social media content strategy, create compelling content, and carefully select social media platforms.

With social media marketing, you need to understand your target audience, know the right platforms and be consistent. You also need to ensure that you engage your followers and be responsive.

2. Use social media for Brand Building

Social media offers a great opportunity to create awareness of your brand. You can establish your business on certain platforms and grow your brand. How many brands have you known through social media? A number of them, right?

This means you can also use social media to create awareness about your brand and build credibility, loyalty, and trust through the content that you post. Fill out your social media business profiles to provide clear descriptions and be consistent with our brand.

Also, ensure you humanize your brand on social media and build a community. Make sure your content is up-to-date, catchy, entertaining, informative, or humorous so that you can stay on top of their minds.

3. Use Social Media for Customer Service

You can also use social media as a communication channel to address customers’ problems and queries. Most brands that have established social media presence are already using social media for customer service, crisis communication and brand reputation management. Brands such as Kenya Power and Lighting Company, Safaricom, and banks such as Cooperative Bank, and Absa, among others.

You will even notice that brands on a platform like Twitter have a dedicated customer service account separate from their main account just to handle customer queries. Examples are Kenya Airways and Safaricom, just to mention a few.

Dear Customer,
DO NOT BE CONNED! Always confirm you are interacting with the official Kenya Airways channels. @KenyaAirways and Kenya Airways Support (@KQSupport) for Customer Care services. #CheckBeforeYouTrust pic.twitter.com/qZvqSn0Jz4

— Kenya Airways Support (@KQSupport) August 31, 2022

4. Use social media for sales

You can also use social media to increase sales as a business through advertising. With social media, you can do targeted advertising and reach the target audience cheaply compared to traditional methods. You can target customers per digital activities, demographics, interests and behaviours and boost sales 

Furthermore, you can also retarget customers using Facebook Pixel and LinkedIn Insight tag. You can also work with influencers and content creators who will help create awareness and influence their audiences to buy your products and services.

5. Use Social Media for Social Listening

On social media, users share thoughts, media, and conversations. When you listen to and monitor these conversations over time, you will get a huge amount of data and insights. You will then use these insights garnered to improve your brand, products, services, and know brand sentiments. 

You can use social media listening tools like Brand Moran to gather all such insights. Other than you will learn about industry trends and brand advocates and bench your competitors

6. Use Social Media To Prove ROI

If you are having challenges tracking and proving return on investment, then with social media, you can easily do it. Social media analytic tools have made it easier for marketers to prove ROI.

You can use in-app analytic tools on social media platforms, Google Analytics, or invest on 3rd party social media analytic tools like Sprout Social, Keyhole, and Hootsuite.

7. Use Social Media for Recruiting and Hiring

Last but least, social media can help you as a business find and hire the right candidate. It’s no longer a secret that companies and recruiters use social media platforms like LinkedIn to head-hunt and recruit potential candidates. 

On the other hand, since companies can share their companies cultures on social media, it becomes easier for candidates to learn about the company before the interview. 

Final Remarks

Social media is no longer just a platform where users connect. It has become a powerful tool for business. Businesses can use them to grow their brands, create awareness, and marketing, improve sales, and gain real-time customer feedback. You can also use social media for your business. 

If you need help setting up social media, growing your business or in house-social media training in Kenya and consultancy, don’t hesitate to contact me at egline@samodigitalagency.com. Also, follow us on social media for more discussions.

8 Effective Ways To Use Twitter to Grow Your Business

How To Use Twitter to Grow Your Business

Twitter is one of the most powerful social media platforms that you can use to raise awareness about your business, engage with customers, and generate leads. Twitter boasts 229 million daily active users as of April 2022. So, if you are still wondering if you should use Twitter to grow your business, the answer is “Yes.”

All you need to know is how to set up your account and connect engagingly with people. Remember, people, go to Twitter to discover what is trending and not to be marketed to by brands. Therefore, when your business is on Twitter, you need to have conversations that matter to your community that will help your business grow and thrive.

This article looks at ways to use Twitter to grow your business. But first, let us look at what account you need.

Types of Accounts Available on Twitter

In the past, Twitter used to have one general type of account. However, in the recent past, Twitter introduced the following:

• Twitter for Professionals is meant to provide businesses, creators, publishers, and developers of all industries and sizes to showcase and highlight their content, products, and services directly on Twitter for free.
• Twitter Blue which is a monthly subscription that gives the most engaged people on Twitter exclusive access to premium features

Tip: Set your regular Twitter account and switch to Twitter Professional.  This will help you  specify the category and account type as a business. It will be easier to grow your business on Twitter.

Ways to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business

Create an Outstanding Profile

Begin by setting up your business account. Choose a display name that is easy to read. Also, use and handle that is consistent with your brand. You may not get the handle that matches your brand name because it’s been taken, but try to use something that still aligns with your brand name. For instance, @SamodigitalAgency was taken, we used @SamodigitaA

Next, you need a cover photo that compliments your brand colours and acts as an ever-changing billboard showcasing what’s new with your business. If you have offers or promotions or are celebrating a season, you can change it accordingly. Also, have a profile photo which preferably should be your company logo. The ideal dimension of a Twitter profile photo is 400x400px, whereas the cover photo dimension is 1500×500.

After that, you need to create a memorable bio that provides Information like your business mission statement, value proposition, location, branded hashtag, or operating hours.

Pin a Tweet

Once you have set up your profile, it’s time to send out Tweets. You will have to create different tweets daily or weekly. If you had created a tweet showcasing your brand, it would get overshadowed by the latest tweets. Therefore, it’s advisable to pin the tweet. A pinned tweet will appear on top of your Twitter profile, and you can change it anytime you have something new you want to inform your audience.

Here is an example of pinned Tweet

Why should you monitor social networks as a brand/ business?
Social media monitoring is the process of tracking hashtags, keywords, and brand mentions in order to stay informed about your audience and industry trends & topics
We can help you do social media monitoring in Kenya pic.twitter.com/20CHEc88XK

— Brandmoran- Social Listening Tool (@BrandmoranKE) December 17, 2021

 

Create Engaging Content

You need to create engaging content to capture the attention of your followers and target audience. Try and  express this through different supported formats like texts, videos, images, infographics, GIFs, and memes.

You can also combine all the formats, as Twitter now lets you post images, videos, and GIFs in a single tweet.  Be creative in how you create your content. Ensure they are informative and educational and add value to your clients.

Also, add some humour to your content. Humour humanizes your brand. It’s also memorable and easily shareable. A brand like Mwango Capital uses memes to recap and share news about the business in Kenya.

????? ???? ????’? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ?? @CAK_Kenya:

1. KRA is set to come down hard on Kenyans as the President has set them a target of doubling double tax collections by the end of his first term.#MwangoMemes pic.twitter.com/7gtRjY04pr

— Mwango Capital (@MwangoCapital) October 29, 2022

Work with Influencers

Influencer marketing has proven to be one of the most effective marketing strategies. Influencers help create brand awareness, reach a new target audience, raise brand advocacy, and increase sales. Moreover, people trust consumer recommendations. You must work with the right influencers within your industry and niche, even when they have a small following. According to a blog post by Twitter, brands are now shifting to working with micro-influencers over mega-influencers since they offer trusted reviews and have built a strong following that can be valuable to brands.

Here is an example of how ShowmaxKenya worked with one of the top social media influencers, Janet Machuka to promote their shows

On my Twitter Spaces tonight sponsored by @ShowmaxKenya!

A chat on a documentary called “Love Crimes of Kabul.”

Joining link: https://t.co/KEVR2sj9qb #Showmaxing pic.twitter.com/BTjFOSZYEy

— Janet Machuka (@janetmachuka_) October 31, 2022

Be Consistent

Another way to grow your business effectively on Twitter is by being consistent on the platform. Tweet at a specific frequency, depending on what works for your brand. For some brands, tweeting three times a week works for them, while tweeting daily works for others. Choose what works for you and stick to that.

Connect with People

As a business, you are also free to follow other accounts. Follow the people within your industry, thought leaders, partners, stakeholders, brand advocates, customers, and fans. These groups of people will likely follow back and engage with your content and eventually help to create brand awareness.

Leverage Twitter Spaces

During the Covid-19 pandemic, social audio content emerged that helped people connect while keeping their distance. We saw the emergence of platforms like Clubhouse, Facebook audio rooms, and Spotify Greenroom among others. To keep up with this trend, Twitter introduced Spaces. Spaces are live audio conversations on Twitter.

As a business, you can host spaces to discuss industry topics, get feedback about your product or answer questions about your product. Twitter Spaces helps you get real-time engagements, build a community, connect with cultural moments and get instant feedback. Try to host spaces consistently or one of your team could participate in other spaces within your niche.

Below is an  example of how Synnefa a Kenyan Agribusiness Startup is using Twitter Spaces

The future is calling, and it is here to stay. With the development of new innovative technologies, farmers are leading the way.

Join us tonight at 8PM as @taitangetich shares his journey with @FarmersStories!

Twitter Spaces Link: https://t.co/5ru8oPOqw7#Agri4Value pic.twitter.com/h35GU5ghli

— Synnefa (@synnefa_KE) March 16, 2022

Promoted Tweets

You can also promote your tweets through Twitter ads to reach a wider audience. Twitter ads campaigns allow you to achieve your marketing goal, like brand awareness, increasing followers, driving consideration, or delivering conversions. Twitter lets you quickly promote your posts, grow your followers, and increase your reach if you build brand awareness.

Conclusion

Twitter offers you immense ways to grow your business. Whether you are a solopreneur, a small business, or a large business, you can connect with fans, communities, audiences, and partners and grow your brand. Just understand the platform and use the above ideas to grow your business, get leads and make conversions.

If you need help with creating social media content or blogs, contact us at info@samodigitalagency.com.

Practices to Detect and Eliminate Cyber Attacks Threats

Are you able to identify a cyber attacks? Cybercrime is more prevalent in today’s digital world than ever before. And if you do business online or have private information stored in the cloud, then this comes with a risk that your confidential information could be accessed by a cyber-criminal. So, if you want to avoid this risk at all costs, Samodigital Agency shares the following article on how to identify and prevent cybercrime from happening to you.

Cybercrime and why it is so prevalent these days

Cybercrime has existed for some time. However, it has escalated dramatically with the rise of remote work and our increasing reliance on automated systems. According to statistics, common cyber attack threats like ransomware escalated by 250% in 2021 with financial losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The different types of cyber attacks

It’s important to know about the types of cyber attacks and how to counteract them. The most common cyber threats you’re likely to encounter include:

Malware

Malware is a type of harmful software that becomes embedded in your computer system. This usually happens as a result of clicking on a link that seems harmless enough at first. However, once installed, it gets to work obtaining confidential information by derailing normal sequences of events in your computer’s system, leaving it more vulnerable than before.

Phishing 

Like malware, phishing typically happens as a result of clicking on a link that would seem like your everyday, usual email attachment. However, the goal of phishing is to obtain confidential log-in information such as private PINs or bank login details in an attempt to scam you of your money online.

Man-in-the-middle attacks

Man-in-the-middle attacks are cyber attacks as subtle as they come. As the name suggests, man-in-the-middle attacks occur when information is intercepted while on route to the intended party. This confidential information is then forwarded to the wrong recipient, who then has access to your private information to do as they wish.

These sorts of data breaches are particularly detrimental to businesses that manage large volumes of sensitive data.  Public leaks of data could result in astronomical damages for the client as well as for the business itself. Examples of how a breach in security could negatively affect a business could include loss of revenue, major disruptions in productivity, and potential lawsuits even. This is all the more reason why it is essential to protect confidential data at all costs.

Ways in which you can prevent cyberattacks

Although cyberattacks are rife nowadays, there are things you can do to protect your private information online such as installing antiviruses, maintaining the integrity of your wireless networks, being careful of the information you share on social media, protecting your passwords as well as making sure that you dispose of sensitive business data by clearing backed up data on all external devices. As your company grows, it will behoove you to work with dedicated IT professionals who can manage your cybersecurity, and quickly mitigate the effects of an attack or breach.

Staying on top of suspicious activity 

Prevention is better than cure when it comes to cybercrime. Furthermore, equipping yourself with the knowledge, tools, and information you need to put a halt to fraudulent activities right from the very beginning is vital. It helps to ensure you don’t incur potentially huge financial losses that may be difficult to recover from.

Quote Tweet vs. Retweet? 5 Reasons Why You Need Retweet Posts

The engagement metrics on Twitter are retweets, quote retweets, likes, link clicks and impressions. However, retweeting is viewed as an important metric on Twitter, not just for a marketing campaign but even for Tweep(user). In this article we look at the difference between a retweet, a quote tweet and then look at the importance of retweeting a post.

Let us get started!

What is a retweet?

Twitter defines a retweet as a re-post of a Tweet. The Retweet feature helps you and others quickly share that Tweet with all of your followers. You can Retweet your own Tweets or Tweets from someone else.

Some users disagree with Retweeting your own Tweets and even made hilarious Tweets About Retweeting Your Own Tweets, but you have heard from the horse’s mouth; You can retweet your own tweet!

What is a Quote tweet?

On Twitter, you can retweet or quote a tweet. When you quote a tweet, you are retweeting a tweet and adding your comments. It could be a recent Tweet post that you want to add your perspective or an old post that is relevant again.

Twitter introduced Quote Tweets in 2020 as temporary tweet format ahead of the November 3rd US presidential election, to help prevent abuse and the spread of misinformation.

Tweets about a Tweet add more to the conversation, so we’ve made them even easier to find.

Retweets with comments are now called Quote Tweets and they’ve joined the Tweet detail view. Tap into a Tweet, then tap “Quote Tweets” to see them all in one place. pic.twitter.com/kMqea6AC80

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) August 31, 2020

 

In both cases you just retweeting but quote retweet you can add your comment.

Why Do You Retweet on Twitter?

So why do we retweet? Now that we have distinguished between the two types of retweets available on Twitter, you need to know the importance of retweeting.

1.      To quickly share information

Many will agree that they retweet as a quick way to share information while attributing it to the source. Assuming trusted source posts a piece of breaking news, you will likely retweet the post instead of creating a new one of the same content.

The news could be about a winner of an event, say the Tokyo Olympics, the death of a popular figure, natural calamities, court ruling or any other news. Below is a poll I conducted on the reasons why people retweet.

Hey Tweeps, why do you retweet a Tweet?

— Egline Samoei (@EguarEglin) July 9, 2021

 

2.      To amplify information

People also retweet tweets so that they can amplify the information to their followers. Also, it is a means of sharing information, but this time, it reaches a new audience or your audience.

Assuming there is a post by Samodigital Agency on tips on content creation, I would retweet the post so that it can reach many people interested in the marketing tips.

3.      To add your perspective

You may come across a post that you may want to add your sentiments different from the sources. In this case, you will quote a tweet with your sentiments. If an old tweet has become relevant again, you can retweet it and quote with the current context.

You can also quote a tweet poll to give the results or a finding of a poll. Here is a good scenario by social media marketing strategist and Founder of Africa Tweet Chat Janet Machuka

Wow! According to this poll, most people can comfortably quit Instagram.

Once crazy response was, “I don’t have clothes for Instagram.” Well, please wear that one dress all the time. https://t.co/cpHqagVVdV pic.twitter.com/NfKiTsonSu

— Janet Machuka (@janetmachuka_) September 7, 2021

 

4.      To make one’s presence as a listener visible

You can also show support to a person on Twitter by retweeting their post and making them visible.  Mark Trammell, a design researcher at Twitter, says, “People also retweet to introduce their followers to someone new or to shine a spotlight on someone deserving…The retweeter becomes the person who brings the new cool kid in town to the party.”

5.      Build relationships

When you retweet a person’s tweet, you are not only sharing information or amplifying their tweet but also building relationships. Yes, that is how online relationships are built and nurtured.

You may have come across a situation where a person retweets your tweet, and you go ahead and check their profile and even follow them. With time you get to build meaningful connections.

Wrapping Up

Engagements on Twitter vary but retweeting a tweet is seen to be more powerful. It is an easier way to share and amplify information. It also gives you a chance to gain followers and attract relevant personalities. Keep tweeting, keep retweeting. Eventually, build and grow your network!

Follow Egline Samoei Twitter and LinkedIn as well as Samodigital Agency on LinkedIn and Twitter for more engagements.