At the just concluded Platform 10.2 organised by Covenant Christian centre on the 1st October 2012, Experts from various fields spoke to a capacity audience. They discussed about entrepreneurship, the digital economy, Social Media, technology and how all these things are changing the way we interact, communicate and do business. As a Social Media enthusiast, professional and practitioner, I was a member of the audience and held captive by the thoughts shared by these men and woman. Enlightening, challenging and thought provoking are just some of the words I can use to describe some of what I learned. The following are some of the more provocative things I heard and that were pointed out during the seven hour period I hung on every word.
Magatte Wade
Magatte Wade set the ball rolling by speaking about the Entrepreneur’s Power of Intent. She spoke about fear being a factor when starting a business and that the only thing to do with it was to overcome it. She pointed out that it’s good to succeed and do well but that when this has been achieved that the individual (or the business) should ensure it does good as well, i.e. to colleagues and others encountered on the journey to success. Ms Wade, pointed out that when you succeed you must succeed on your own terms! This is absolutely crucial for the longevity of your business and brand as a whole. She also pointed out that a global world meant that everyone was represented but that right now Africans were not represented when global brands were considered.
Consumer brands more than any other thing were crucial for propagating the culture of their founders, in her opinion the power they wield cannot be overlooked. Magatte feels that through building global brands and being the best, reverse-colonialism can take place. Thus, an African brand that has influence can court the best talent and retain it as a result of what the brand connotes and possesses economically etc. She believes that it’s time for Africans to shine through their companies and also use technology to make ancient, traditional and indigenous products available in the 21st century i.e. with technology make familiar recipes modern and an indispensable hit! According to Ms Wade, the future belongs to authenticity and authentic products are everywhere on the African continent.
Lawrence Watkins
Lawrence Watkins shared a little bit on his entrepreneurship journey, about how he decided to help Dr. Boyce Watkins (his brother) build his speaking career and how this ultimately evolved into Great Black Speakers Bureau. How his discovery of Facebook and subsequent addiction to it earned him skills that enabled him reach out to powerful people worldwide. He was eager to point out that one will never know where new skills will come from, so it’s important to stay open to experiences at every stage you find yourself.
Lawrence urged people present to know their product to the core because it will help tremendously when selling it. Furthermore, he advised that discovering what needs to be done to produce 80% of desired results would also help when it comes to Social Media usage. Mr. Watkins outlined the three pillars of Social Media marketing as content, distribution and design. All three are aimed to engage your customers and ultimately lead them to act in a specific way i.e. buy a product or service. For him, the distribution rules are quite simple and include:
Use the same distribution channels used by your ideal customers.
Focus your energy in one channel first and then expand.
Be consistent with your posts…it’s hard to gain momentum once it’s gone!
He reminded everyone that Social Media is a distribution platform and that we’re all competing in the marketplace of ideas!
Moses Kemibaro
Moses Kemibaro spoke on “Leveraging digital media and marketing for business success”. He told us that there existed a 40million mobile market in Nigeria and that it was an exciting market! Studies indicate that Nigerians use mobiles for three key activities i.e. Social Media (81%), entertainment and news. The mobile market growth is constant and has been found to be both highly social and active simultaneously. For businesses that are online content and SEO are crucial, this gives ready access to the business and makes ‘findability’ high.
Social Media also means every brand is now an editor and can produce information of high professional standards on the web. The digital space has made analysis easier and data analysis is important so that customers within easy reach can be properly harnessed by the business. Marketing automation is another tool that can be used in the marketing process. Once it has been set-up it makes the entire process easier to conclude. Mr. Kemibaro also pointed out that when customers are afforded the opportunity to touch and feel products (online) it boosts engagement and purchase. As a result of the unique nature of the market another important element that should be considered and factored in for online business presence mobile compatibility. This will increase interaction with the business and ensure that it’s readily found by prospective clients.
Stephen Newton
Stephen Newton’s talk was on “How to use Social Media to grow your business”. Stephen started by pointing out that people have always shared ideas about what they like or don’t like. What Social Media has done is made it possible for us to do this on a much larger scale. Essentially Social media is sharing on steroids! As a result of this Social Media is expanding and its traditional counterpart shrinking. One in five people use Social Media i.e. 1.43 billion people! Now people choose the platform they want to use to communicate and so could decide to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. This means that potentially your business has access to the mass of people that use Social Media.
It permits companies expand digitally when they couldn’t do so physically or geographically. Interestingly you cannot control your brand once it’s in the digital space but when you listen to the conversation and are a part of it then you can handle any negative situation properly and further endear the brand to clients. Social Media is highly beneficial in that measurability is a key component and so responses and actions can be measured and analysed for further improvement. On the other hand Social Media isn’t free because time and energy is involved in its utilisation. The benefits to be derived are enormous and include connecting with people that can help your business in ways you had not envisaged.
Francis Ebuehi
Francis Ebuehi spoke on “Marketing in the New Economy”. He started with a simple definition of marketing as, ‘anything you do to grow your business. This includes advertising, public relations, sales, merchandising and distribution.’ The new economy is a new way of doing things, a new world order. It is the widespread access to, sharing of and use of information (or knowledge) in economic activities. It is greatly facilitated by the internet. Thus, information is no longer confined because of geography or time and space too. Currently Nigeria has 44milllion subscribers on the internet.
This is 15% penetration of the total population of 160million people. There are 5.8million Nigerians on Facebook alone. These figures make it very attractive for businesses to reach these numbers. And the most interesting part is that the SIZE of the business doesn’t matter, anyone can partake in the new economy through a website. There are various ways you can get a free website that’ll help promote your products and services online. He kept it practical all through his presentation and also indicated that a marketing mix can be used to catch offline demographics. This is as a result of the peculiar nature of the Nigerian market.
Chika Nwobi
Chika Nwobi spoke on “Steering your venture to success using the Lean Start-up Approach”. He also commenced his talk by defining a start up as, ‘a human decision to create something new under extreme uncertainty.’ He shared his story about his first venture into business and how the original idea didn’t work the way it should because of the supporting environment. The sure thing in the equation was his ability to deliver the results but the support structure doomed it to failure.
Thus he pointed out that it was essential to always find the smallest and cheapest way to test a product i.e. a minimum viable product. By so doing you’ll find out that it’s not only cheaper but wiser in the long run to go this route. Chika also pointed out that the quicker the lessons are learned the faster the business grows. When measurable metrics are used rather than vanity metrics it also helps the sustainability of the business in the long run.
His talk was based on the lean start-up approach originated by Eric Ries. Before he rounded up he gave the Earth, Israel and king David as some examples of divinely inspired start-ups! He also used one of the lyrics from the popular rapper MI as examples of people that should be cultivated, avoided and managed in the course of the entrepreneur’s journey in business.
From L-R: Stephen Newton, Lawrence Watkins, Moses Kemibaro, Magatte Wade, Francis Ebuehi and Chika Nwobi