22-year old Peace Itimi and 26-year old Joyce Imiegha are the co-founders of Rene Digital Hub, a Digital Marketing and Creative Agency which helps businesses grow, using solutions such as Social Media Marketing, PPC, Visual Branding and Web Design.
While Joyce is a serial entrepreneur with experience working in several industries, including PR and Entertainment; Peace, on the other hand, is a Digital Marketing Guru who also works as a trainer in Google Digital Skills for Africa Program, and has trained over 2000 people.
At Rene, Peace leads the Digital Marketing team while Joyce heads Business Development.
What inspired your decision to start Rene Digital Hub?
Joyce: We wanted to solve marketing problems for people. Digital marketing wasn’t as saturated when we started, so it was a relevant reason to start a company that would cater to the needs of individuals and brands seeking to expand their businesses in the digital sphere.
Peace: As Joyce rightly said, we started Rene because we wanted to use digital marketing solutions to help businesses grow. We realized that there was (and still is) a huge digital divide between businesses and their customers; a lot of people are using the internet and social media for personal purposes, people practically live online these days, yet businesses and brands are not using the opportunity efficiently.
How has social media been able to help increase your productivity?
Joyce: Social media is the major core of digital marketing; it keeps booming with lots of people (users), activities, trends, controversies etc, and this in turn serves as an avenue for us as marketers to understand people more (their needs, likes, dislikes, fantasies etc). Social media has and keeps helping people achieve their digital marketing goals on a daily basis.
Peace: That is very true, and for Rene Particularly, social media has been one of our biggest client acquisition sources. We get lots of inquiries and clients on Instagram and Twitter.
What key factors do you consider for small brands to help improve their digital footprints online?
Joyce: Unique identity, Content, Consistency, Great Customer Care and Creativity
Peace: Definitely! Consistency and Great Customer Experience would make any brand stand out and help convert first time customers to retainers.
[bctt tweet=”Entrepreneurship is not an easy or rosy path – Peace Itimi” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
Apart from social media, are there any online methods that can be beneficial for small businesses?
Joyce: Yes there are numerous channels small businesses can also utilize. Email marketing is great, there is also Contextual advertising, Public Relations, Influencer marketing and so on.
Peace: I particularly like PPC (Pay Per Click advertising). It is a bit more cost intensive than social media but with the right targeting, it can greatly affect a brand’s awareness and ROI.
What are some of the things that are likely to change in the digital marketing industry in the next few years? And what impact would it have on small businesses?
Joyce: Automation. Automation can be defined as the technology by which a process or procedure is performed without human assistance.
Automation is definitely going to change the modus operandi in our industry in the not-so-distant future, and we are steadfast in gearing towards it. With automation comes the need for less human resources, and this means most people might become jobless if their job operations get successfully replaced with automation.
What’s your perfect one – line statement for young females trying to build a brand via social media?
Joyce: Whatever you do, always kill it! That’s all people really care about in your journey.
Peace: Entrepreneurship is not an easy or rosy path, but with consistency and resilience, you can do it.
How has social media helped you grow and build a positive brand image, personally and professionally?
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