Digital-savvy entrepreneurs are gearing up for yuletide sales with a plethora of tools including Facebook Ads, writes ETOP EKANEM

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, no one, including businesses, thought we would be doing some of the things we are doing today. But the year 2020 has been norm shattering. If anything, it has taught us that our conventional way of life can be altered at any point by some unforeseen developments.

Our lives have been forever changed by the coronavirus pandemic, and businesses have been forced to adapt to the ‘new normal’ – a digital approach that has made businesses transition from conventional brick and mortar stores to building an online audience to boost sales, especially as the yuletide approaches.

Without doubt, this will be a yuletide like no other, with COVID-19 and all that. But people must shop, as the Christmas season offers people the opportunity to indulge in what the like doing must during the holidays – shopping, which some will use as a relief valve for the year-long stress. Realising this, smart entrepreneurs are already looking ahead to meet the yearning of their customers. They are also hopeful of making some tidy profit in the process by turbo-charging their online marketing.

Indeed, smart businesses have latched on to the growing trend of online marketing to grow sales, and there is a high possibility that we will see a lot of ads targeted at Nigerians who want to splurge this yuletide.

The question now is, have businesses taken advantage of the new marketing strategy? Yes. But do they utilize the necessary tools available on digital platforms for more visibility? Hardly, as it appears that they have barely scratched the surface. There are a plethora of tools available on digital platforms that Nigerian SMEs can utilize for brand exposure and virality.

One of the most popular platforms is Facebook which has created a raft of opportunities for SMEs to showcase their brands to their target audience through its Facebook Ads.Facebook enjoys huge patronage, and Nigeria is its largest market in Africa, meaning that it avails businesses a vast online market.

The Facebook Ad is strategically designed in a way that it allows a business owner with no prior digital skills to understand the tool. A distinct feature that gives businesses impressive results is the opportunity to develop your buyer’s persona to ensure that your precise target audience receives your content. This means that Facebook delivers your content to users whose digital footprints match your buyer’s persona.

Perhaps, no one understands this better than Motunrayo Ifabanwo. An online vendor, she has found the Facebook Ad tool really helpful, and hope to seize the festive period to rack up sales for the year-end. “I am an online vendor that deals in food items and everyone knows that people will buy foodstuff for faaji (enjoyment), so I have to position my business for visibility and patronage,” she said.

According to her, she has utilized the Facebook Ads right from the launch her business, and hopes to proactively intensify her digital marketing efforts so as to build on her online presence.

Another online vendor, Desmond Ajimuda shared similar experiences. He said: “If Facebook Ads could help my brand maintain relevancy among my clients at the peak of the pandemic, businesses are in for a good ROI if they leverage the Facebook platform in the yuletide season.”

John Onwuka, a seasoned digital strategist, alluded to the impressive results from previous campaigns using Facebook Ads.

“Facebook’s Ads is very effective as it allows me to expose my campaigns to my precise target audience; the engagement is way better when compared to other social media platforms,” he said, adding that it is a good value for money as it avails business owners the opportunity to modify their spending budget while still projecting the reach.“Facebook Ad is budget-friendly as I can use as low as N500 to boost content and I’m still guaranteed a good reach and engagements on my posts,” Onwuka said.

There will be a surge of online shopping this festive season and businesses should take advantage of Facebook’s tools to strategically showcase their products to eager Nigerian shoppers, who will wish to celebrate surviving a challenging year.