Blogging is a Powerful Marketing tool for SMEs.

But this is unknown or hardly exploited by Kenyan, and indeed, African small and medium enterprises.

What comes to the mind of a Kenyan, in particular, when they hear the word 'blogging' is someone who incessantly writes about political and celeb mehemehe on a website or social media (mostly Twitter)—Itumbi, Alai, Nyakundi, Obare, et al.

 We also think of blogging (and now increasingly vlogging) as entertainment news, comedy, and reality shows (personal and family dramas).

 To the rest of the world, however, blogging is about sharing stories, experiences, solutions, and expertise. Yes, everywhere else blogging includes political and celeb moshenee, but the more significant number of blogs out there tackle more serious topics like health, business, technology, and others.

 The one way I have seen blogs being used for marketing in Kenya is ad placement and brand mentions. But even this only major brands can afford as a simple mention by a popular blogger, YouTuber, or social media influencer can cost as much as what an SME generates as revenue in a year— check Azziad Nasenya’s leaked rate card.

 Also, even when you can afford it, there is the question of whether that is money well spent. The fact that a blogger, YouTuber, or social media influencer mentions your brand does mean that you will automatically make sales. They may have a large crowd, but no one in it fits your buyer's persona.

 The power of a blog that a brand owns as a marketing tool comes from the fact that the content published there is searchable online. You can create content relevant to your business, and those who have never heard about you can come across it by simply searching for information.

 The secret to succeeding in this form of marketing is to create and publish content that offers solutions to problems your potential customers face and are trying to find solutions for. You are helping them even before they buy from you.

 Let say you have a business dealing in animal feeds. Your potential customers are asking all kinds of questions online. These are a few I found through Google suggestions:

 "How much grain to feed a cow per day."

 "How much does a dairy cow eat per day?"

 "Nutritional requirements for pregnant cows."

 You can take each of these queries and turn it into a topic for your business blog or YouTube channel. Some of those typing these questions will find their way to your blog. You can then use your blog as the initial point of contact with potential customers or clients.

 Once someone arrives on the blog for an answer to one question, your business has an opportunity to put them on a buyer's journey. That means serving them more similar resources and, in the process, converting them into a buyer of your products or services.

 As an entrepreneur, you can spend one or two hours every evening to create the content on your blog. However, in the end, and if you learn how to position it well along the buyer's journey, you stand to attract people pretty much ready to buy from you.

 Indeed, you stand a better long term success with a company blog than paying a celeb 200k to mention you in a few tweets or YouTube videos, where it is most likely his tribe will see it as an intrusion.

 If you are a small enterprise, take advantage of the fact that large brands prefer to spend big money on ads, mainstream media, and influencers instead of engaging potential customers with valuable content. Create the content and answer the questions your potential customers are asking Google, and slowly you could convert them to buyers.