How to use the internet to promote your business in Nigeria
Even if you are running a small business or startup in Nigeria, you can still use the internet to boost your income.
I keep wondering why a lot of people who run small businesses like hair salons, food outlets, laundry shops or a day care centre don't try to at least see the power of the internet. There are a lot of business set ups in Nigeria and most of these tend to thrive even without help of financial support from the government and they still find a way to survive and make profit. One thing I feel that keeps making them weak or financially disadvantaged is their inability to harness the power of the internet.
Let me give an example, you have a small shop that deals in computer accessories in a place like Ogunlana drive Surulere Lagos but nobody else in the rest of Lagos knows you other than waka pass customers who by chance drive by and caught hold of your business. How do you get customers from about 10% of the over 40 million Nigerians who are already using the internet? How do you get them to at least be aware that you are open for business and to know your class of wares? You can do so by posting a classified ads for free on any of Nigeria's classified websites like Nairalist.com, dealfish.com.ng, Ngosi.com and so on. You might also pay for internet advertising on networks like Google and get your advert to show for everyone searching for maybe "Computer accessories in Lagos or Surulere".
Even if you are a small business without a website, you can still market your services and goods on the internet without a website by just posting your office address, phone number or company name on such sites for free. You can also search for free business listing websites in Nigeria and list your business for free. That is one way to drive internet traffic to your offline business. You don't have to have a powerful presence on the internet to drive customers to your offline or physical business in Lagos or Abuja like the computer village or Apo. All you need is to make s good representation of your business on the internet. You might also pay for the services of a blogger to make a business review of your website such that when people search for the services you offer on Google, your business comes on tops due to that Nigerian bloggers' review.
Real estate agents, recharge card dealers, day care centres, electronics and mobile phone dealers can try to improve their customer base to an overwhelming number by making use of the internet and you don;t have to be a guru to do that. That is why I have said and written about it over and over again - You can make money from the internet, even if your business does not exist yet on the internet. All you need to do is convert internet traffic to real life traffic to your shop or business office in Nigeria.
So in summary what am I saying?
There are many ways to convert internet traffic real live phyisical traffic to your physical business in Nigeria and some of these are included
- Making a classified listing on your business on classified websites publishing your business phone and contacts
- Setting up a website for your business which should include your active contacts
- Subscribing to a Nigerian blogger's review
- Making use of internet advertising on networks like Adwords, Infolinks or Adbrite
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