Digital advertising is the way to go

The number of Internet users and mobile penetration have grown rapidly in the country in the last few years.

According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, information communication technology penetration  now stands at 78.2 per cent.

“The digital universe is rapidly expanding, with everyone and everything now online,” observes Rosemary Momanyi, the senior industry manager at Google Kenya.

There are 23.2 million Internet users in the country, 97 per cent of whom access it via their mobile phones.

Smart phone penetration stands at 27 per cent, while  4.2 million Kenyans are active on Facebook.

Internet users spend 6.2 million hours spent per month watching YouTube and 99 per cent use various search engines. Google Display Network penetration stands at 98 per cent, says Ms Momanyi.

POTENTIAL TENANTS

“It has become cheaper to go online through various data offers in the country,” she says. “With a greater interest to own homes, house hunting is on the rise, and the majority of buyers are using mobile searches to find a home,” says Ms Momanyi.

 The online platform has become a huge marketing frontier today and some real estate players are already using it.

“When we first started in 2012, the main problem was convincing people that online advertising worked. People were very sceptical about the value we could add. But as our numbers increased and people realised how powerful the online platform was, we had to start dealing with the challenge of new competitors,” says Lizzie Costabir, the marketing manager at Buy Rent Kenya.

With over 13,000 properties listed and more than 150,000 people accessing the site every month — a third of whom are overseas — it is clear that the online platform is really gaining momentum.

“The Internet is greatly diversifying real estate products as companies structure their operations to remain relevant in the digital age,” says Ms Costabir.

Ninety-two per cent of Kenyans who are online are potential tenants, while 73 per cent are prospective real estate owners, says Ms Momanyi.

“Kenyans likely to be potential tenants are most likely above 20 years of age since, at around 25, they start thinking of where to rent their first apartment, and buying their first home becomes apparent as they grow older,” she offers.

According to Abec Real Estate Director, Mr Samuel Manjau, the buyer above 50 years of age is less likely to use social media to search for property, but the younger generation is certainly adopting it. 

Data from Google indicates that 40 per cent of online users are potential tenants, and 35 per cent potential homeowners. Forty-nine per cent of online users are between the ages of 25 and 35, and 34 per cent between the ages of 35 and 40. These are the potential tenants developers should be targeting for their rental houses. Potential homeowners constitute 17 per cent for those between the ages of 45 and 54, and 11 per cent for those in the 55 to 64 age bracket, according to Google.

FLOOR PLANS

Google’s internal search data grew by 43 per cent in quarter four of 2014 in the real estate category, with those who searched for houses to buy standing at 16.4 per cent, and those seeking rental houses at 83.6 per cent.

“Property  letting is a big beneficiary of online platforms as one will naturally find the younger segment of the population keen to use online technologies, who are initially tenants before building up deposits for purchases,” notes Mr Manjau. “As the younger population grows in their careers and have more disposable income, these platforms will grow in importance when it comes to marketing and property search.”

Kenyans also search for other real estate-related services such as movers and house plans, says Ms Momanyi.

The first way to maximise on online marketing is to maximise digital shelf space, Ms Momanyi says. With 97 per cent of Kenyans accessing the Internet through their mobile devices, 27 per cent via smart phones, eight per cent via desktop, and one per cent via tablet, a developer should be present on all devices, she says.

A developer or marketer should also reach undecided consumers by using all the available opportunities such as Google Search, Display and YouTube, she adds.

One should also be in the best position possible. The top position drives10 per cent more new clientèle than the other  positions, Momanyi says.

“People will spend the first five seconds hovering over the top of the page, then they will scroll down. The premium positions are the top and the right side, and that those are the most strategic positions to place advertisements,” says Momanyi.

A developer or marketer should also showcase their best offers first in order to immediately capture interest, and also leverage on creative formats that highlight benefits such as cost, and use advertising extensions like calling address.

There is certainly a future in online property market, but the main focus should first be on gaining and consolidating a market share, says Mr Manjau.

“However, online developers  should initially provide them for free as they gain market share, then gradually introduce advertising fees which can be justified by online traffic to these portals and their share of the market,”  he adds.

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THE NUMBERS 

FYI 

•Kenya has 23.2 million Internet users

•Smart phone penetration in the country stands at 27%

•4.2 million Kenyans are active on Facebook

•Kenyans spend 6.2 million hours a month on YouTube

Of the online users

40% are potential tenants

35% are potential home owners

49% of potential clients are aged 25-35

34% of potential clients are aged 36-40