If you’re a frequent user of Twitter in Uganda, the name Albert Katruguma is not new to your eyes. Even those who are not on Twitter have probably come across screenshots of his tweets in Whatsapp groups or statuses and in the very least you have seen him as a meme but you probably didn’t know that it was him. MTN Pulse caught up with him to learn more about how he got into digital marketing

Tell us who you’re in a nutshell

My name is Albert Katruguma and I am currently a digital manager working with Pearl guide Uganda. I handle specifically four brands that is Ciroc Uganda, Captain Morgan Gold, Baileys Uganda and Singleton Uganda. I am also a social media influencer for a number of brands. Education wise I have both a Diploma and a Degree in Business computing from Makerere University Business School.

How did you end up in digital marketing?

Digital marketing is a passion so it is not a mistake that I ended up there. It is passion that drives me and I would never choose any other field over it.

For the years that you’ve been in this field, what have been the ups and the downs that you’ve experienced?

For the ups I can say that it is the future so there is a lot of potential. You’re always learning in this field because it is based on trends. You meet so many people from different walks of life and make many friends since every field requires digital marketing- I could say it surrounds and unites all of them in a way.

Ofcourse like any other field, it has some downsides. Sometimes you work with clients that haven’t really gotten a clear understanding of it so you have to keep going back and forth with them. Some people undermine digital work because when presented on paper it seems very easy yet there is a lot it entails. Actually, when people see social media posts, they have no idea the back and forth that the digital manager has gone through just to make a single post.

This is a field that many pulsers would love to join, how does one join and develop their craft?

First things first, you need to have the passion for it. Once you have passion, it will be easy for you to get into your creative space which is necessary with this field.

You need to be willing to learn and unlearn constantly because it is a field that deals with trends. There are many small online courses that pulsers should take up and be certified in them.

You may not need to be very tech savvy in the sense of writing code but you should be well conversant with technology in the sense of using your phone, computer, scheduling apps, etc.

They need to also trust the process. It’s not an overnight thing that happens because you have many followers. There are people who will get followers by being controversial and follow trains but it is best to have followers who are organic and they follow you for who you are.

Most importantly you should be able to interact with people out of the internet space because everyone has the potential of giving you work no matter the field, they’re in.

Albert has so much to share with pulsers who have interest in the digital field and you can best connect with him by joining the Pulse Nation and Cr8 your own data bundle on the Pulse app. After this you can follow Albert on his Twitter account.

Twitter: @albertKatruGuma