Is social media overrated? See pictures from panel discussions at iblog.

So, last month we gathered at IBLOG to discuss find answers to the question; “Is Social Media Overrated?”

With the advent of social media has come people who attempt to convince you to part with money in order to help you get your product promoted on Social Media platforms. But how much of this really affects the bottom-line of a company's returns at the end of the business year.

Is social media for every business?

Should businesses be focused on getting 1000 Facebook likes or sales of stock from the shelves?

Some old generational banks have a presence on Social Media to attend to enquiries and complaints but ironically, only a scant few of their real offline customers are part of their crowd online.

 

As the discussions went back and forth, two points balanced the equation: 

·          Social Media campaigns are not successful by luck but by method.

 ·         Social Media advertising requires continuous effort to measure and monitor the responses of the target audience in order to continue to tailor messages that will influence buyer behaviour and not random messaging.
 

 If you weren't there, you missed out on a lot but watch out for the videos and in the meantime, do enjoy the photos!

 

Yisa Jibril: started his career in music with the establishment of his own recording label - MegaPhunk Records which had the well known rapper; Terry Tha Rapman registered on it. Working with Terry, Yisa Jibril promoted the “boys are not smiling!” brand to a household chant.

Blossom Nnodim:Her passion for social media and social good inspired her to create “AdoptATweep” a registered trademark that provides opportunities for people to connect to social media and use the platform for commercial and social good.

Joe Ukpong:  Has managed the sensational music group Styl Plus and also worked with other artists such as Sunny Neji, BigMouth, Romeo and Landlord.
.

                                              Happy Holidays! see you in the new year!!!

Credits: Words by Zainab Haruna
Photography: Cognito Studios
Video: Option A
Venue: 805 restaurant, Abuja

 

 

My interview with Honourable Minsiter of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on the transformation agenda

Pray Today.

Pray that God will make you fit for what he has called you to be.

Pray that God will fill your good ideas with his own energy so that it all amounts to something.

Pray that God will fill your acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something.                                                        Ref: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Is social media overrated?

 

Has the impact and relevance of social media marketing been wildly overstated and generally accepted without question? This November at iBlog, we are questioning the hype and attempting to put social media in perspective.

Taking views from business owners who have launched expensive social media campaigns, to artist managers who have used social media to promote entertainment brands- we look at the real value social media adds to a company, individual brand or product and see what is real and what is a puff of hot air.

The hype about social media appears to suggest that every brand should use it, that there are no drawbacks to the approach and every social media campaign is likely to succeed but how critical is social media really to the bottom line, client base and a brand’s visibility?

Should a business be focused on five thousand hits a month on its website or actual product sales?

Do the traditional questions of brand positioning, target segmentation and communication effectiveness apply to social media marketing?

Is social media the secret of success or a catalyst?

How do you measure the impact of your social media investment?

  

Let’s take the big International banks as a case study. Westpac’s head of online consumers, Ean Van Vuuren, recently told journalists he was increasingly expected to respond to customers’ comments and complaints in real time and had created a team of six people to manage the bank’s Twitter account.

 

All well and good, until you look at how many followers Westpac actually has on Twitter – a grand total of 6,400 consumers. That might sound like a large number but it’s approximately 0.6% of their customer base, meaning about one Westpac customer in every 160 is actually using Twitter to connect with their bank. Does that even justify a team of six marketers?

  

For the business wondering if the effort in creating and then promoting a social media presence is really worth it, this is an opportunity to find out.

Venue : 805 Restaurant, Opp. NNPC filing station, Aminu Kano Crescent,Wuse 2, Abuja

Time: 5:30pm prompt

Gate: N1,500

RSVP: 08023550822



References:  http://www.bandt.com.au/opinion/opinion-social-media---oversold-and-overrated
 

WHISPERS OF THE WEAVE

 

 

Asah – Barah presents The WHISPERS OF THE WEAVE- FREE THE ARTIST exhibition

The exhibition slated to run from the 7^th-10^th Dec 2013 to commemorate the anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights all over the world has been carefully put together, paying great attention to detail, standard and quality of the art to be show cased. The exhibition will be featuring both the performing and the visual arts categories.

Performing art categories to be show cased include traditional forms of dance, contemporary forms of dance, poetry recitation, singing, music performance and film.

Visual art categories include hand-made wall hangings of various media, paintings, sculpture and pottery. Each art form features an exclusive application of local fabric and other locally available textile material in a style that has never been seen on the shores of Nigeria before now.

 The exhibition aims to:

 

·         Draw the attention of Nigerians and the international community to the social and cultural rights of creative Nigerians

·         Shed light on the economic plight of artistic Nigerians

·         Highlight the need for public and private partnerships in sustainable artistic programs.

·         Call for the resuscitation of indigenous art forms.

·         Create platforms of opportunity to showcase various art forms in one setting.

·         Promote art as an income generation strategy for the sustenance of Nigeria’s art and culture practitioners and advocates.

·         Show that art is a discipline that offers economic freedom and supports tourism interventions. 

 “I am convinced that if we each start in the area of our gifting and spheres of influence, we can make a change in this nation without waiting for the government to get to it. There are so many creative people working as bankers, doctors, etc in order to pay their bills. There is wanton job dissatisfaction all over the place but people need to stay alive and so they plug into the system for it to pay them, while they leave their art and creativity behind. 

Artistes who can afford to push their art and succeed in the Nigeria of today are very few, while most others are swallowed up by frustration of the system, as it is literally almost impossible to access funding or any other kind of support. The result is the teeming number of painters and sculptures that display and hawk their art and craft on busy roads, where their work is devalued and more than most often, underpriced if bought at all. 

At Asah- Bara, we believe that a nation’s cultural identity, traditions and trends are in the hands of the artistes in each nation and that if the improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others, then likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the others. “

                                                                   - Xoxa Icha, Project Visionary and Artiste, Asah Bara.

A percentage of what is realized from the sale of art work at the WHISPERS OF THE WEAVE- free the artist exhibition will be used to support returning trafficked/ migrants through PROJECT RAHAB,  and also support humanitarian assistance and free health care projects through the 8thMile Project..

Omonaikee is an official media partner of this event.

https://www.facebook.com/Asahbara for more!!!

Pictured: Iblog October event- Selling on the internet for dummies!

 

See you on Nov 30th @ 805 restaurant, wuse 2 , Abuja! 5:30pm prompt!
 

 

Are you suffering from the "Is He My Husband?" Syndrome

 

 

If you are a single lady, chances are you suffer from the Is He My Husband syndrome (IHMHs). This condition predisposes you to ask yourself if any eligible young man you come across (hear about, see in a photo, watch drive past) is a potential husband.  You know you have it if any of the following happen to you:

1.       You walk into the board room and your eyes scan the room then rest momentarily on each new male face from the other company. You then make a quick assessment, sorting each face into the “too tall”, “large nose”, “perfect height” file before making a mental note of the eligible prospects you will introduce yourself to after the meeting.

 

2.      You wake up on Monday morning feeling lousy and all you want to wear are those comfortable flat shoes that have the stain by the side of the right shoe. The stain wasn’t your fault but mistakenly happened when some super glue missed the false nail your beautician was trying to fit on your finger and landed on your shoes.

 

You still have the shoes because you have psyched yourself into believing that the stain is too small to be noticed after all “who will be looking at your feet when they should talk to your face”, right?  Today you don’t feel like wearing anything fancy so you drag the shoes out of the shoe box where you buried them but just then, you hear your mother’s voice say “always look your best every day, today might just be the day you meet your husband”. You immediately dump the shoes for a pair of sleek heels instead.

 

3.      Your friends are going for their colleagues wedding. You don’t know the bride or the groom but you tag along taking great pains to wear the colors of the day. After all, one of the groom’s men or bride’s friends might cast a glance your way and you certainly want to be prepared!

 

4.      It’s your lunch break at work, and you have been at your computer all morning working on that tedious presentation. You bite your lip when something is difficult so your poor lips have lost all the coatings of the red lipstick you applied that morning. But as you pick up your purse to step out for lunch, you catch a glimpse of your face on the dead computer screen and gasp. You don’t want a potential suitor to see you this way so you snap out your lipstick, foundation, powder, blush, mascara, even your toothbrush because today just might be the day.

 

5.      You attend corporate events, conferences and seminars with more on your mind than just learning about the new things happening in your industry. You always seat yourself next to the friendly gentleman who returned your greeting warmly and at lunch breaks you are the most conversational at your table, handing out complimentary cards generously.

 

6.      You have been invited to a dinner party hosted by your cousin, Isioma who is famous for her prowess in the kitchen. You have had a long day and all you want to do is eat a home cooked meal. Once you arrive at the venue of Isioma’s event you want to dive straight for the food on the table but there is a gentle man seated next to you and even in your hungry state, you manage to notice how good looking he is. You somehow find the restraint to eat with a fork and knife even though you would much prefer to eat out of your hands.

 

7.      On your way home after a long day at work, you find yourself wishing you had a man you could smuggle close to, close enough to catch a whiff of his perfume. Except that you weren’t feeling this way until your married friend said she had to go home to cook for her husband and couldn’t hang out with you. As a matter of fact, you didn’t even come about this desire yourself, you read that perfectly constructed fantasy somewhere and you thought “that sounds like a nice feeling I should add to my bucket list of single girls wants!”

 

If you’re guilty of any of the above? It’s really not your fault at all. You probably have IHMHs known to turn the sweetest, calmest girl into this man- hustling terrestrial with special eyes that dart left and right, scanning the perimeter of every event venue for a suitable man of substance and caliber!


 

LEARN: Selling on the internet for Dummies!

 
 

 

It's our biggest iblog yet!

 

This edition Omonaikee media company is partnering with Jumia.com, Nigeria's No. 1 online retailer in our October edition themed "Selling on the internet for dummies"!

 

Just after one year of selling online, jumia.com controls 70 percent of the online retail market in Nigeria and as a result have attracted about $70 million investment funding from blue chip companies like JP Morgan. All within one year!

 

Imagine what it feels like to have half a million customers - the big result of one small change from just having a shop in Wuse or NEXT or the boot of your car to having a shop on the internet with access to millions of people.

 

Jumia is here telling you how. And that's not all! Dealdey.com is also supporting with information about selling, stocking and presenting your brand, products and services attractively online.

 Can your small business offline potentially be big business online? 

 

Find out this Saturday, the 26th of October, 2013 @ 805 restaurant by 5:30pm( Doors close to late comers at 6pm-sorry!)

 

Gate fee: N1,500 kpere!

 

 

Call for enquiries, adverts and sponsorships 08060753163

 

Whether you sell services; bake cakes, make up faces or photograph them or sell products like Brazilian hair, clothes and jewellery- taking  your business online is one small change that can bring phenomenal results!

 
 

See you there!

Specially curated just for you!

 

 

Watch some of my best episodes of iBlog, specially curated just for you! Enjoy!

 

1. The March edition of iBlog was my all time favourite, where we talked about "Using social media for a cause"! Strongly leading the conversation was Meka Akerejola, the benefactor of the social media championed #SaveMeka fundraiser, crowd sourced last year to help him treat a chronic kidney disease. 

 

 

 

 

2. On this episode of iblog we discussed Online sharing: How much is too much? The social media users we talked to obviously don't see their investment in a blackberry phone as a status symbol or tool for business communication on the go but as a financial investment to make money from. While people put up pictures of vacations on Facebook others use the social networking site to market their products and services, build a customer base and make actual sales. They share great tips on online/social media marketing strategies from experience! Watch!

 

 

 

Keep it locked on this dial *wink*