In the second episode from TradeMalta’s new series, Christina Goggi, digital marketing consultant, and Benji Borg, CEO of 9h Capital, outline a company’s digital journey.
Following the first episode of ‘International Insights – Stories from the Real Economy’ – during which Dr Joe Schembri and Andrew Mangion, executive chairman and CEO of EC English Language Centres, discussed how a company can navigate a crisis – the second episode of TradeMalta’s podcast series turns its attention to digitalisation.
With some four billion people worldwide on social media every day, doing international business has become all about being digital – from achieving growth to recruiting, engaging with clients, and exploring new markets, digitalisation is key.
In the second episode of ‘International Insights’, Dr Schembri meets Christina Goggi, digital marketing consultant, and Benji Borg, CEO of 9h Capital. The two guests have years of experience in the digital field – and both offer precious insights.
“Digital media can be anything from social media to websites, podcasts, video,” Goggi says. “It is so broad but ultimately, it all boils down to a few questions that a business needs to address: Where is my audience? Who am I speaking to? Where does my audience spend their time? Once a business answers these questions, it can move on to understanding its budget and capacity. Based on that, a business will know where it can invest its time and money.”
These steps need to be taken before taking any action – but once action is taken, it changes a business.
“The coronavirus pandemic squeezed companies to have no other option but to go digital,” Borg adds. The future was always going to be digital – but Borg says that Covid was an accelerator towards this goal.
Borg adds how despite companies are moving towards digitalisation, there are still a lot of companies that have catching up to do. This might nowadays be easier.
“10 years ago, when I launched my business, certain technologies were unheard of,” Borg says. “Nowadays, there are much more options. There is more technology and knowledge – and this makes digitalisation more accessible and cheaper.”
Goggi adds how an audience’s location changes a digitalisation strategy. “Take branding, for instance – even a brand name changes from one country to the next. Localisation is not just about translation – but being topically relevant to whatever resonates with people in a particular region.”
Borg insists on content. “Creating compelling content is critical – and that has always been the case,” he says. “Purpose is also very important. If a company is just there for profits, customers see through that.”
International Insights is organised with the support of strategic partners HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. and powered by Studio Seven. Times of Malta is media partner. The series will be available on popular podcast platforms, TradeMalta’s YouTube channel and timesofmalta.com.