Tuesday 19 August 2014

Social Media in Today Ghana


Ghana, like many other African countries, is gradually appreciating the need for social media integration in corporate business. Few years ago, most brands saw it as a waste of time and money investing in social media advertising and campaigns but in recent times the trend has changed tremendously.

Today, there are award events for corporate organisations that use social media most effectively. The telecommunication industry has really blazed the trail on social media use. Political parties, the Media and other organisations are doing great as well.

Blogging Ghana, an organisation of Ghanaian bloggers organised their annual event ‘blogcamp’. The event was under the theme ‘The new phase of social media’ and this blogpost is my reflection and assertion on maximizing social media by corporate brands.
 I hope this post will serve as good motivation and guide to using social media for your brand.

COMPETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The competition for attention on social media  is soo intense the audiences become very fragmented. Brands do not only compete amongst themselves but against producers, distributers and consumers.
Yes, Consumers. This is because they can produce their own contents and it may be better than your brand. No wonder a consumer who posts good contents on their facebook or twitter page could have more and quality followers than an old brand.
Also because they can talk about your product and might do it better than u do. Be it a good or bad opinion.

WHAT DISTINGUISHES SOCIAL MEDIA FROM TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING MEDIA ?

When advertising in social media, ads should not only talk about the product but the whole brand. Therefore on social media u consider your brand values not product values.  Consumers interact with the brand not the product hence the brand image directly affects the product or service being promoted.
  
RUNNING A GOOD SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE 

Opening a Social Media page is not enough - A dormant page is as good as an empty shop. As long as no activity is going-on on the page, consumers begin to form negative perceptions about the brand. A dormant page may make consumers conclude that the brand is either unserious or do not have any good products worth promoting.

Promote consistent messages - What you are advertising on the traditional media should be in sync with social media. A brand’s ads on traditional media should be similar if not same as on social media. If you are promoting a new function of your product or service on traditional media you do same on social media with a digital twist.  

Listen to their needs, wants and interest - The beauty of social media is that it allows for interactivity and prompt feedback. On social media, communication is not a 1 way flow as is the case of the traditional media. As a brand is promoting their product, service or idea, consumers in turn analyze and comment on their forecast and experience about/with the brand.

Stay interactive - Real time response is the name of the game in social media. Prompt response reassures consumers that you take them seriously. Your office may not run 24/7 but your social media office should run 24/7. Good thing is, social media management can be done from anywhere ie.  2 administrators can be put on a shift to monitor and respond to post at any time.
Schedule posts where necessary.

Social media should not talk to people but talks with People


TIPS TO NOTE

Strive to fulfill the expectation of your audience
Provide relevant information for you people
Touching their emotions makes the difference
Put people’s stories first
Get people to love your product
  

 HOW CONSUMERS BEHAVE TOWARDS BOTH PLATFORMS


Show me                             TRADITIONAL MARKETING                               Sell to me



Help me                            SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING                                Entertain me


NOTE: Add value to the audience before they do it for your brand

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN DOING SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNES

1.      Am i thinking about the people first?
2.      Am i connecting those people’s stories to my brand in a relevant way?
3.      Am i creating compelling content that impact human change


SOCIAL MEDIA IS ALREADY TOO BIG TO IGNORE !

Wednesday 23 July 2014

FLOOD COURTS WITH CASES AGAINST BoG


On the currency track

Upon reading the story of Mr. John Ephraim Baiden, a lawyer and banking lecturer who has filed a petition against the Bank of Ghana (B&FT, 'BoG ordered to respond to Cedi case', 24 July, 2014), I think the BoG should brace itself for more lawsuits. Mr. Baiden has taken on the BoG on their inability to perform their duty of stabilizing the Cedi as mandated by law.
 Article 183(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana says:
The Bank of Ghana shall promote and maintain the stability of the currency of Ghana and direct and regulate the currency system in the interest of the economic progress of Ghana” and section 4(b) of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002, provides that the central bank “shall promote by monetary measures the stabilization of the value of the currency within and outside Ghana.”
Like a wounded lion, the BoG requested that the case be thrown out of the court because the Supreme Court where the case was filed was not the best forum. They had wanted to rule out the case on this technical ground however, Lawyer Baiden’s petition was upheld as he established the fact that his case primarily involves a constitutional provision – Article 183(2) (a) - which requires interpretation as to what a stable currency is, and what is meant by maintaining a stable currency.  This interpretation could mean a profound impact on economic management given the invitation to the Supreme Court to define a stable currency.
If the same cedi can buy 27% less dollars than it could buy in January (B&FT, 2014). I wonder what else could be the interpretation of an unstable currency.  Mr. Baiden’s reason for filing the case was that the falling cedi has caused him to loose wealth through exchange rate losses.
Have you lost wealth because of the harsh economy? I have. Every time I make a purchase, I feel the harsh strain it puts on my budget as the increase is always attributed to the dollar rise. On a lighter note, I thought this era was supposed to be Africa Rising not Dollar Rising. BoG and the attorney should either ensure that policies implemented results positively on economic growth or hire legal practitioners to battle their lawsuits.


#author #usiancedi #cedibolt #motherghana







Wednesday 12 February 2014

HAVE YOU TRIED THE FACEBOOK LOOKBACK VIDEO ???



The undisputed strong, excellent, up and running Facebook team have done it again. Upon attaining 10years of being arguably the most successful social media platform in recent times, facebook launched the FACEBOOK LOOK BACK movie feature to thank it’s users. The company thanks its 1.23 billion members with a product that celebrates their social-networking past.

The Look Back feature is explained to be an experience that compiles your highlights since joining Facebook. Depending on how long you’ve been on Facebook and how much you’ve shared, you’ll see a movie, a collection of photos or a thank you card. It is a video that contains 20 of the most prominent Facebook moments of each user. This may contain photos, statuses and life events. The video even comes with a nice tune to add to the cinematic effect.

“It’s been amazing to see how all of you have used our tools to build a real community. You’ve shared the happy moments and the painful ones,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said.





He furthermore said in a statement shared with CNET.

  "It's been an incredible journey so far, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. It's been amazing to see how people have used Facebook to build a real community and help each other in so many ways," "In the next decade, we have the opportunity and responsibility to connect everyone and to keep serving the community as best we can."

“This is a small gesture to thank the over one billion people who are on Facebook by providing a unique way to look back at some of their biggest moments.”

This company has always been on its toes to remain the no.1 in their line of business and this new feature adds up to their numerous successes. I hope Ghanaian based companies become more innovative and bring up products and services that appreciate and sustain the customers more.

I tried it and i loved it.

Click here to see how your FACEBOOK LOOKBACK looks like.

#facebook #technews #lookback #fblookback #emmbilloniare 

Friday 31 January 2014

POKELLO CHASES HATER OFF INSTAGRAM




Big Brother Star Pokello introduced her “biggest hater’’ to the lime light. According to her, she had noticed all the hating posts @langagwelo had posted on her pictures and realized it was an attempt by @langagwelo to get popular and therefore wanted to help make her quest easier by posting a picture of her on instagram. Attached to the picture was an amazing welcome address which was too hot that @langagwelo took to the heels leaving her instagram page blank.

Read her address below:




 Let me introduce to you all, my biggest hater. Her name is @langagwelo. You want to be famous? I will make it easy for u. Let this be a point of reference to anyone else who feels the need to share their vast and intricate knowledge of me. I have noticed your comments on my posts several times dear @Langagwelo so now let me school u. You said I didn’t have O’level education? Ur dad must have been one of my Teachers.
I suggest u use ur $1 airtime the same u log onto Instagram to google Monash University Graduating Class of 2009. U seem to like mentioning my leaked sextape or informing people about its existence it is Unfortunate that ur desires to see my life crumble after the sextape could not be fulfilled. sweetheart, the downfall of my Vagina is not the downfall of my Brain!
Last time I checked I had 6 pageant titles, a high-end store and was making headlines in newspapers way before that sextape. So I’m sorry that u r so affected by why a Ho like me is famous but I guess either ur mother shit you or slept with so many men the night u were conceived, becoz it’s only such a challenging start to life that can lead u monitor the activities of my vagina and it’s occupants.
I’m rather empathetic with ur own case becoz neither yourself or ur mother have managed to use ur very ‘beautiful’ and ‘reputable’ punani’s to even ascertain the services of an Orthodontist. My life pains u very much and I must sincerely apologise for that. Bye Hater!


WHAT DO U THINK ABOUT THIS ACT ????

#pokello #emmbilloniare #bigbrother #hater