Dr Kawira scrolled through six months of reports and could not find a single phone call.
She runs a veterinary clinic and agrovet shop in Meru: vaccinations, farm visits, animal feeds and dog food. In March she signed up with a digital marketing agency in Nairobi for KSh 40,000 a month. Every Monday, three posts went up on Facebook and Instagram: a stock photo of a puppy, a “happy Monday” graphic, a quote about animals. At the end of each month she got a PDF full of screenshots: reach, impressions, “engagement up 18%”.
What the PDF never said was how many farmers had called to book a visit, how many people had asked about feed prices on WhatsApp, or whether any of the KSh 240,000 she had spent had come back. When she asked, the answer was: “Brand awareness takes time.”
So she asked a simpler question: “What should a digital marketing agency actually be doing for me every month?”
The short answer
- A good agency works to a plan, not a posting schedule. Each month should start with goals (calls, bookings, sales) and end with a report on those goals.
- Every month you should see work in five areas: planning, content, paid ads, search (SEO and Google Business Profile) and reporting.
- Reach and likes are not results. Ask for calls, WhatsApp chats, form leads, bookings and cost per lead.
- You should own every account: your ad accounts, pages, Google Business Profile and analytics, with the agency added as a partner.
- In Kenya, expect roughly KSh 25,000–100,000 a month in agency fees for a small or medium business, plus your ad budget, which should be shown separately.
What a digital marketing agency should do every month
Whatever the size of your package, a month of real digital marketing work has the same shape. Here is what you should be able to see.
1. Plan the month around a business goal
- A short planning call or written plan at the start of the month.
- One or two clear goals: for example, “20 farm visit bookings” or “sell 100 bags of dog food online”.
- Which offers, seasons or events to push: school holidays, planting season, December, a new branch.
2. Create content your customers care about
- A content calendar you approve before anything is posted.
- Posts made from your business: your team, your products, your customers’ questions, real before-and-after results. Not stock photos.
- Short videos or Reels, because that is where most reach is on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok today.
- Replies to comments and messages, or a clear handover so your team can reply quickly.
3. Run and adjust paid ads
- Google Ads for people already searching (“vet near me”, “agrovet in Meru”), and Facebook and Instagram ads to reach people who are not searching yet.
- Ads that send people to a WhatsApp chat, a call or a page with a form, not just “boosted” posts.
- Weekly checks: pausing ads that waste money, testing new images and text, adding negative keywords.
- Your ad budget shown separately from the agency fee, paid into your ad account.
4. Look after search: SEO and Google Business Profile
- Regular updates to your Google Business Profile: photos, posts, opening hours, answers to questions.
- Asking happy customers for reviews, and replying to every review.
- Small website improvements each month: a new service page, faster loading, a clearer contact button. See local SEO.
5. Report on results you can count
- Calls, WhatsApp chats, form leads and sales, by channel.
- Ad spend and cost per lead or per sale.
- What worked, what did not, and what changes next month.
- A report you can read in five minutes, in plain language.
Reach and likes are not the goal
Reach, impressions and followers are useful signals, but you cannot pay rent with them. A post can reach 20,000 people and bring zero customers. An ad seen by 2,000 farmers in Meru, Embu and Tharaka-Nithi that brings twelve bookings is worth far more.
Ask your agency to track the actions that make you money:
- Phone calls from ads, Google and your website.
- WhatsApp chats started from ads or your website.
- Form leads and bookings.
- Sales, if you sell online.
- Cost per lead: ad spend divided by the number of leads.
All of these can be measured with free tools such as Google Analytics, Meta’s Ads Manager and your Google Business Profile insights, once tracking is set up properly.
Red flags to watch for
- The same three posts every week, with stock photos and no connection to what you sell.
- Reports with only reach and likes, and no calls, leads or sales.
- Ad accounts in the agency’s name, so you lose your data and history if you leave.
- “Boosting” posts instead of running proper ads, with no targeting or testing.
- Your ad budget mixed into one fee, so you cannot see how much went to ads.
- Long contracts with no way out if results do not come.
- Promises of guaranteed sales or “going viral”. Nobody can guarantee either.
What digital marketing costs in Kenya
Prices vary with what is included, but for a small or medium business you will often see:
- Social media management only: roughly KSh 15,000–40,000 a month.
- Ads management only: roughly KSh 15,000–30,000 a month, plus your ad budget.
- A full monthly package (social, ads, search and reporting): roughly KSh 50,000–100,000 a month, plus your ad budget.
Our own Social media management is KSh 25,000 a month, and Digital marketing Pro, with social, Google Ads management, email and content, is KSh 55,000 a month, plus a one-off setup fee and a three-month minimum. For more detail, read what social media packages include in Kenya and what Google Ads cost in Kenya.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What will you do for me each month, in detail? Ask for a written list, like the five areas above.
- Which results will you report, and how often? Look for calls, leads and sales, not only reach.
- Whose name are the ad accounts, pages and analytics in? They should be yours.
- How much of my money goes to ads, and how much is your fee? The two should be separate.
- Who will create the content, and can I approve it first?
- What happens if results are poor after three months? A good agency has a plan, and a fair exit.
Dr Kawira’s marketing, three months later
Dr Kawira moved to an agency that started with one question: “What does a good month look like for your clinic?” Her answer was more farm visit bookings in the planting season and more repeat orders for feeds and pet food.
The new monthly plan was simple. Short videos from real farm visits instead of stock puppies. A Google Ads campaign for “vet in Meru” and “agrovet near me”. Facebook ads aimed at farmers within 40 km, sending them straight to WhatsApp. Weekly Google Business Profile updates and a habit of asking every happy client for a review. The ad accounts were moved into her name, and the agency fee and ad budget were listed separately on every invoice.
The first report fitted on one page: 64 WhatsApp chats, 31 calls, 19 farm visits booked, and a cost of roughly KSh 350 per lead. By the third month, her Google Business Profile had gone from 9 reviews to 41, and most new clients said they had found her on Google.
Dr Kawira is a composite, based on situations we see often. The numbers are typical, not a promise.
Want marketing you can measure?
We plan each month around your business goals, create content from your real business, run Google and Facebook ads in your own accounts, look after your Google Business Profile and send a plain-language report on calls, leads and sales. See our digital marketing services, Google and Facebook ads management and social media management, or compare all prices and packages.
Digital marketing agency: FAQs
What does a digital marketing agency do?
It plans and runs your online marketing: social media content, paid ads on Google, Facebook and Instagram, search (SEO and Google Business Profile), email, and tracking and reporting on the calls, leads and sales they bring.
How much does a digital marketing agency cost in Nairobi?
For a small or medium business, often roughly KSh 25,000–100,000 a month in agency fees, depending on what is included, plus your ad budget, which should be shown separately.
How long before digital marketing shows results?
Paid ads can bring calls and leads within the first weeks. SEO and Google Business Profile work usually take three to six months to build. A good agency shows progress in its reports every month.
Should my ad accounts be in my name or the agency’s?
Your name. Create the Google Ads, Meta Business and Google Analytics accounts yourself, or ask the agency to create them in your name, and add the agency as a partner. If you ever change agency, you keep your data and history.
Is boosting a Facebook post the same as running ads?
No. Boosting is a quick way to show a post to more people, with limited targeting and options. Ads Manager lets you choose the goal (calls, WhatsApp chats, leads), test different images and text, and track results properly.
Can I do digital marketing myself instead of hiring an agency?
Yes, many small businesses start that way. Set up your Google Business Profile, post real content regularly and learn basic Facebook ads. An agency makes sense when you no longer have the time, or when you want to grow faster with paid ads and proper tracking.
