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I remember sometimes ago I was trying to promote and sell some properties for a client of mine, I did a lot of social media and traditional advertising but found I was really hitting above my advertising budget and was not making sales at all.

I was at a loss! practiced all I knew in social media marketing but this was proving difficult, I had to go back to my archives and did other diagnostic process methods, made a lot of researches on the internet. I had to do all these, my client was no longer getting patient with my methods and approaches. All he wanted was results, all he wanted was sales!

Alas, found a way out, I read an article online by Neil Patel talking about content marketing been master key that unlocks closed doors in social media marketing. Really? my interest aroused, I buried myself into the article and then researched more on this interesting “key”.

WHY I AM SHARING THIS?

I am sharing this experience, because I know a lot of my kinds then, are currently going through this, trying to look for away out.

If you are reading this it means you are interested in knowing how content marketing can really help to grow your business, if you are ready let’s get started with what content marketing stands for….

WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?
According to Growth Hackers, “content marketing is the creation and sharing of information that is both relevant to your business and seen as valuable by your businesses’ target audience.”

In simple terms it is when you create information about your area of expertise or on a product that eventually establishes you as an authority on that business or the product to the targeted audience without appearing to be selling.
I really like the way Neil Patel puts it, “content marketing is a long-term strategy that focuses on building a strong relationship with your target audience by giving them high-quality content that is very relevant to them on a consistent basis.”

It all about the customers, making them make guided decisions into buying your products or services and which will ultimately result in customer loyalty in the long run. You got it?

OK, WHAT NEXT?

After we have gone through in establishing the meaning of content marketing, I want to believe that what would be on your mind is, so how can content marketing become a powerful tool for growing my business, relax! We would be discussing that shortly…

BACK TO MY STORY….

Having gone through what I needed to know on content marketing and how to apply it on any product and services in Nigeria, I swung into action, I started writing about the product that I wanted to sell at that time, my first problem was, the product was a technical product, I needed to do more research work on this product in order for me to sound professional and also win their loyalty in which it will eventually lead to sales, I was increasingly finding it difficult to do this.

Why?

Simple, I was not too good at writing stories, especially if it on what I don’t know much about

I had to hire a content writer for this particular product, I had no patience to do all this writing around a product and services.

I started publishing content on every known channel I used e.g. Facebook, twitter, general forum platform, LinkedIn, Medium just to mention a few.

My content writing was consistent, getting desired readership and attention, people started asking questions on some particular areas in which they are not too clear about, and I was answering them and feedback was growing and positive.

Wawu!

I became an authority!
I was able to sell four properties within a short time
So, this became a critical strategy of my digital marketing process in selling any product or services.
I will be talking about the content marketing strategies that you will employ to grow your business

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS GROWTH
You might be wondering, are there any strategies for content marketing for business growth, yes! There are, and will be stating them now:

1. SET YOUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The first content marketing strategy is to set a given goal or objective of your activity. You state a brief statement of what you intend to achieve. Some of the content marketing goals could be your target audience, how to reach your target audience and what will benefit them, how would they get consistent reading your content?

2. GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: Your audience is your market, knowing this fact, then you have to take it further to identify your audience and be so clear about what they want in order to create the right content for them.

How do I know my audience then?

Start collecting and studying data from your customers through your email subscribers, social media followers, and your website visitors. Some of the data should be about age, gender, education, and income, these are the general demographic data.

Another way of knowing your audience is by getting feedback from them, this feedback findings will show how your content is currently producing desired results, what their most urgent needs are and what your content will do to address their urgent needs.

The last thing in knowing your customer is to create a customer avatar or buying persona.

A customer avatar is when you have ideal followers and customers so that you can target content better.

Your avatar should include your customer challenges, how you source information, and their behavioral motivations. With all these points stated above it will allow you to know the type of content your readers will respond to, how it will be of help to them.

3. DECIDE THE BEST CONTENT CHANNELS: This is straight forward; the next thing is to get the best content channels for your audience. Some of these channels include some social medial platforms, websites, and email marketing platforms. All these mentioned channels perform excellently well but I need to emphasize this, not all platforms work the same way with the same audience. You will need to find the best channel that works best for your audience. And the best way to go about this use Google Analytics to see the overview of your audience, to know which channel they use most to subscribe to your content.

4. CONTENT TYPES: Remember from the beginning, we discussed content marketing as the creation and sharing of information. Information could come in different ways.

So, let’s talk about types of content

There are several content types such as blog posts, video content, Facebook post, LinkedIn post, etc.

Blog post: Blogging gives you the opportunities to post content or articles regularly which attracts attention to your audience.

Video content: Another way to create content is to make a video and post it on your YouTube channel, some audience relates better to video. The act of promoting your video on YouTube is called video marketing. So, pick your styles!

Social media post: your style and your audience determine your best channels to do this. Your audience could be on a Facebook group, the types of content will be different from the audience on a LinkedIn platform. But note this social media content could contain both blog post and video content.

[b]5. CREATE CONTENT! [/b]After identifying your goals, knowing your audience, content channels, and content types. Then what are you waiting for? Start creating content. Your audience is waiting, don’t keep them waiting!


CREDIT: https://aadigital.com.ng/content-marketing-a-powerful-tool-to-grow-your-business/

Facebook ad has proven to be one of the best online marketing platforms for reaching out to the target audience.

Some time most business goals are to convert the targeted audience into a buying customer. For this to happen Facebook has an improved feature that helps track activities of your audience for you to have an informed decision on your campaign.

I will be discussing this great tool known as Facebook Pixel.

What is Facebook pixel?

For us to get a better understanding of how Facebook pixel works, first let starts by knowing the meaning of Facebook pixel.

HubSpot defines as “A Facebook pixel is an analytics tool that measures the effectiveness of your Facebook advertising.”

But this is the way Facebook puts it –

“Facebook pixel allows you to keep track of actions that happen on your website as a result of Facebook ads (paid) or organic reach (unpaid)”.

My own – The Facebook pixel are the code that allows you to track activities on your website as a result of the Facebook ad campaign.

So why do I need Facebook pixel?

I observed from my engagement with small business firms in Nigeria, they engage in the Facebook ad without any data to execute such ad campaign which oftentimes lead to expensive campaign with no or little returns on campaign.

The Facebook pixel addressees these missteps, it helps to give better information that will influence better Facebook ad performance through a better audience target.

Another great thing about Facebook Pixel is even when you are not running any Facebook ad campaign, the pixel will collect data from your website site activities, in as much the Facebook pixel has been previously installed on your website and it will apply them whenever you are ready to run a Facebook ad campaign.

Some other reasons why you need Facebook pixel are:

Facebook conversion tracking: This a tool that allows people to interact with your website after going through the Facebook ads and track their activities for conversion by giving necessary information for their conversion into paying customers.


Facebook retargeting: Retargeting means showing a targeted ad to the audience that have visited and interacted with your site. The Facebook pixel gives the right data for retargeting. This mostly the practice in eCommerce sites, they retarget those abandoned items in their shopping carts.


To create lookalike audiences: A lookalike audience is an audience that is built to have similar attributes, interests, likes, and demographics of the audience that have already visited and interacted with your website. The Facebook pixel gives the right information in order to increase your potential customer base.


To optimized Facebook ad for conversion: Data collected through the Facebook pixel tracking can be used for an optimized Facebook ad for a given specific conversions. This is made possible if conversions are aligned with your business goals for the Facebook ad.


Facebook tools and metrics: The Facebook pixel can be used to track some metrics such as cost per lead or cost per conversion.


Facebook pixel not website cookies!

From the above illustrations, I need to emphasize that the Facebook pixel is not the same as website cookies. Website cookies track devices, for example, if someone visits a site with different devices, the cookies will count them as a different person, while the Facebook pixel tracks people activities not devices



How to use Facebook pixel

In Facebook, event is regarded as the specific actions that people take on your website to meet predefined objectives of the Facebook ad campaign.

The Facebook pixel can be used to collect data in two different events, namely:

Standard event
Custom event
Standard Event: The standard events are event template codes that track common conversions. In standard event you easily copy and paste to use. Examples are

Purchase
Pageviews
Lead
Complete registration
Add payment information
Add to cart
Add to Wishlist
Initiate checkout
Search
View content
Contact
Customize product
Donate
Find location
Schedule
Start trial
Submit application
Subscribe


Custom Event: The custom pixel event is used for remarketing on Facebook ad. People sometimes want some specific conversions for Facebook to track which might not be included in the standard event. Examples of custom pixel events are abandoned shopping cart, landing page, or webinar registration.

These are the overview of how a business owner can use Facebook pixel for business growth.



The next digital marketing article will demonstrate practically how to install Facebook pixels on your Facebook page.



Remember

LEARN DO TEACH and see yourself becoming an expert in no time.

See you at the top

Credit: https://aadigital.com.ng/facebook_pixel_for_business_growth/

Vacancies
Vacancies exist in an organisation located within Kosofe and Ikeja LGAs of Lagos State.

Positions

1. Psychologist/Guidance Counsellor/Epidemiologist

Requirements
- A minimum of first degree
- At least 5 years teaching experience
- Must be computer literate
- Sound spoken and written communication skills
- Evidence of Journal publications is an added advantage
- Higher educational qualifications is an added advantage

2. Secretary/Receptionist

Requirements:
- A minimum of first degree/equivalent in any academic discipline
- Minimum of 2 years experience as a Secretary/Receptionist in a reputable organisation
- Computer literate with certification or evidence of computer training
- Fluent in English communication and writing skills
- Certificate in Business Administration, Secretariat Studies etc will be an added advantage.

2. Security Guard

Requirements:
- A minimum of Secondary School Certificate
- A minimum of 2 years experience as a security guard in a reputable organisation
- A minimum of 25 years of age
- Have good communication skills
Interested persons should forward CV to giftba84@gmail.com latest by 27th of March, 2020.

Vacancies

Vacancy for the following positions exist in an NGO in substance abuse prevention and treatment

1. Programme Manager
Requirements:
- A minimum of first degree in any academic discipline
- Experience with NGO
- Experience in programme management
- Fluent in English communication
- Additional qualifications and training in any area of substance abuse will be an added advantage

2. Addiction Counsellor
Requirement:
Relevant academic qualifications and experience in drug addiction counseling

3. Recovery Coach
Requirements:
- A minimum of OND/NCE
- Recovering from substance abuse with a minimum of 2 years of abstinence
- Evidence of receiving treatment for substance abuse in a recognised facility.

Interested persons should forward CV to giftba84@gmail.com latest by 15th of July, 2018

08023480776 pls add

How to Reward your employee as a startup
For a startup enterprise, it is very much difficult to gain the services of a top notch talent, and retaining such. The bigger companies like Zinox, NBC, PWC e.t.c with experience, have what it takes to convince a top talent employee simply because of the perks and rewards they provide. The startup firm can also better motivate the employees in their service by doing the little they can and not go overboard or try to be at competition with bigger and established firms.

In Sam Adeyemi's book 'Ideas Rule the World’, he expatiates on how simple thought processes drive innovations and inventions. Ideas, don't drop from heaven, they are gotten from well-motivated individuals. Those who are inspired by what they do.

Don't get it wrong, in Nigeria and mostly Africa, the main driving force for most employees is the financial reward they may get at their work place. Much unlike in other climes where intellectual engagement is the magneting force for recruits. So, even if a startup can't provide the pay cheque like a multinational company, anything that would make the employees spend less of their salary (or add to it) would go a long way to motivate them.

The caution however, is to tailor the perks along the corporate culture, vision and goals of the startup firm. Otherwise, it would easily go off track and may not achieve the set goal. Here, we take a quick look at some of the ways a startup firm can apply some perks and bonuses to motivate its employees.

Incentives or Discounts
In retail outlets like Shoprite, MrPrice, Max e.t.c it is common practice to allow members of staff to buy some of the goods with a certain discount. This gives them the edge over the ordinary customer. They are even your first customers! If you own a school a certain discount should be given to teachers and other workers whose kids attend the school. It's always a win-win strategy.
There are times that just little gifts like branded umbrellas, notepads, T-shirts and pens may serve as in incentive to the employee. The rule of branding is that people are always in need of something to identify with, so you give it to them; promote your enterprise through your employees - your best bet!

Create Opportunities for Career Growth
One of the main reasons why top talents tend to opt for bigger blue chip companies is the fact that they are almost rest assured they have the chance to move up the organizational ladder. For a startup enterprise where the staff duties and obligations are not well defined, it may be hard to elevate the worker when doing such will most likely mean employing newer staff to take on roles left behind.
Nothing motivates an employee better than knowing his services and dedication will be rewarded with promotions and he can develop new skills and then channel his knowledge and energy into his specialty. According to Kyle Wong of Pixlee : "The best candidates aren't solely motivated by salary. They are often motivated by the opportunity to learn, grow and be challenged".

Access to Express Their Ideas
Communication is the powerhouse of any relationship. Same goes for the workplace environment. There should be a free flow of ideas and suggestions without unnecessary bottlenecks and bureaucracy. No one has a monopoly of good ideas and as such, the little contributions by the members of staff of a startup enterprise can feel like a part of the organization if their suggestions are either used in full or modified. The basic thing here is recognition and appreciation of such employee. It goes a long way to make them put in their best into the task at hand.

Employee Recognition
The first set of people to experience your products and services are your employees, so they deserve a form of recognition. This makes them feel important, as everybody loves being loved. A little appreciation SMS or email for meeting a set target or praises in team meetings goes a long way to spur other workers to put in their best. The surprise birthday cakes and gifts by the firm And inclusion into a bigger project as a result of fulfilling a smaller task also helps in keeping the spirits high at the workplace.

Amiable Work Environment
The worker is almost always as effective as his work tools. The major task of a startup entrepreneur is to provide good working tools for members of staff. The right software,furniture, restroom, to make it easier to carry out their functions.
There may also be the organization of free lunches for members of staff, a play room to unwind and meditate and also some staff vacation and trips, also helps blow off the steam from the troubles at work.

Share Excess Profits
The first step is to pay the employees their salaries when due and be fair, so they can make plans with it. Payment of bonuses and excess profits are then differentiated so they can better be appreciated when paid. For a startup enterprise, the employees know when the company is making an unusual profit; they know when their inputs are yielding results. The entrepreneur cannot hide this from them by just paying the basics, some little percentage of profits should be set aside for the staff maybe by way of commissions or bonuses, something to tell them 'thank you' for the work done. Surely, this has been proven to be a great motivation to the employees.

Conclusion
Incentives may be a little further from the company's main goal, but the real startup entrepreneur should know how to maneuver them to align with what the company stands for. No one advertises your firm like a well-motivated employee. So set aside certain measure of appreciation to well deserving members of staff, and watch them increase their productivity.

SOURCE: https://founders.com.ng/2017/08/18/how-to-reward-your-employee-as-a-startup/

for Insights, interviews, strategies, profile, news and guide for established and aspiring startups and entrepreneurs in Nigeria do visit :https://founders.com.ng/

Marketing Mistake for Startups to Avoid

Marketing is an art, very few can understand. While it works seamlessly for some, it is a nightmare to others. To survive the tough battle of attention from would be clients/customers, a startup entrepreneur needs to be king of this aspect of his business or at most, get someone to take charge on his behalf.

The success of a startup will often depend on its approach to marketing. Unfortunately the vast majority of startup founders have little to no experience or marketing or managing a marketing budget. Well it's in the planning! Make sure that you have got your marketing strategy in line

Many times the failure of many entrepreneurs is anchored on the fact that they pay too much attention to their products/services without much thoughts about how these would get to the end user(s). There are a huge number of private professional outfits (law, accounting and real estate firms) on the streets of Lagos who are struggling to survive. They may be loaded with the technical know-how but how these would impact their target audiences and in turn bring in the needed financial gains is always an uphill task for them.

For a startup entrepreneur not to fall into the trap of self-denial, he needs to know what he does not know, and take time how to study them. There are a million articles out there on brand development, launch marketing, PR, viral videos and more. Reading them all would be a start.

Often times, most startup firm fail to understand that everybody can't be your client /customer. You need to know the basic difference between advertising and marketing. While the former is an aspect of the latter, advertising your products only gets you awareness about it. This is what some startups do on social media. They create the awareness that is not financially of benefit to the firm. Marketing your products and services offers both awareness and sales. Reaching out to the target audience/users and selling the products to them. That is what a startup needs - Sales!

Once you choose a social platform, you need to commit to it. Having an inactive presence on any of the platforms creates a bad impression. Having the last tweet date as two years back is worse than not having a Twitter handle. You need to show activity on the social platforms and website, and need to have consistency. The opposite is also true – you just cannot do too much. Don’t bombard your LinkedIn company page followers with 10 updates a day just because that will give you more number of impressions!

Some tech savvy entrepreneurs tend to forget businesses need roots to stand. They invest so much energy and resources into SEO, social media publicity, paid ads etc. Notwithstanding the gains these may bring, the failure to identify the key people that matters - the community you reside, the friends, colleagues, family and social club members who needs to be convinced by the word of mouth about what the outfit is about, may spell doom for the enterprise when the storms start to rage. These are your unpaid brand ambassadors and they would go to any length to convince other would-be clients/customers about your services. They bring in the referrals! They are the roots of any solid business. Mark Zuckerberg started out Facebook with his college friends while in Harvard University. He had a root!

People relate to other people – and this is especially true for startups, where people are
buying services from founders more than from the company. So it is important that startups include the personal branding of their founders in their social media planning and strategy. You need a face for your company.

As a startup, you don't have to copy the big brands in the industry that has the financial muscle to be on every platform, and adopt any type of marketing and awareness. You have to find out what suits your organization and your target audience. You don't want to be tweeting and posting on LinkedIn when your target clients are mostly the uneducated and aged. Be yourself. Find the right rhythm and don't expend unnecessary energy on wrong platforms.

Get on the street. Get the feedbacks about your products/services never be stiff necked about it. Accept constructive criticisms. Use it to sharpen your outputs. Meet real people and not internet reviews. Meet your early clients and talk to them!

Conclusion

Never make the mistake of underestimating the power of compounded growth. Try as much as possible to focus on growth rate rather than absolute numbers. Then you won’t be dismayed if the absolute numbers are small at first. If you have 30 users of your products, you only need three (3) more in a week to grow 10%. And while three users is a small number for most products, 10% a week is a great growth rate. If you keep growing at 10% a week, the absolute numbers will eventually become impressive. Grow slowly, but purposefully!

SOURCE: https://founders.com.ng/2017/08/04/marketing-mistake-startups-avoid/

Cutting Costs as a Startup

Cutting costs is as important to businesses just as oxygen is to man. High cost of doing business is the surest way of suffocating the enterprise, even though it may be making some measure of profit. The economic recession which found its way into the Nigerian economy has made it even more imperative to minimise cost, even as a startup enterprise.

While we may not be talking about profit making here. We however, will be considering a number of ways through which a startup entrepreneur may reduce the cost of doing business and waddle through the murky waters of entrepreneurship.

Stay Virtual

The excitement of making some profit off your first sales or getting massive referrals and recommendations may be so overwhelming that you actually don’t get to sit and decide if your startup is ripe enough for an office space. The image and ambience of a formal office may be enticing too but is adding any kobo to the revenue? Not to forget that renting or leasing an office space doesn’t come cheap and may pay a huge hole in the purse of a young entrepreneur. Nobody is saying that getting an office space isn’t a wonderful idea, but the big question is: is the cost commensurate with the expected revenue? If the office space and location goes to the very root of the business, then why not give it a try? For a startup, it is more advisable to share an office space with another startup or other business, so as to save more money which can be further used to employ more hand for better productivity.

The new trend is for startups to remain virtual and hover around the cyberspace until they are financially strong enough to own an office space. Irrespective of what aspect of entrepreneurship you may be into. A number of businesses even remain online and still carry on business, thereby saving costs on office space, electric bills and even taxes. For example: Seun Osewa’s nairaland.com and until recently, linda ikeji’s blog.

Buy Wholesales

Another way a startup entrepreneur incurs costs is by buying things needed for the enterprise in little quantities. The idea is to reduce spending, but in the long run it does the opposite, as more monies are expended for less. Take for example; office stationeries, the more the cheaper. Same thing applies for almost all things needed for running the business. It even affords you the right to ask for a discount from the seller. That way, you reduce cost of transport and also it covers for an unforeseen inflation, should the price increase later.
Buying in bulk makes you a prime customer or client to your suppliers. The advantages are numerous, as you may ask for supplies and pay later or that you may ask for up to three different quotations from different suppliers so as to get the real market price and thus avoid overspending.

Automate Your Processes

There are a number of specialized services that a startup entrepreneur will be needing in his business as soon as the enterprise moves up the growth chart. For example, you’ll need the services of an accountant or a personal assistant. This comes at considerable cost to the purse of the entrepreneur. There are a number of software or apps that van effectively do the job(s) required and would only need an administrator, (which may be the entrepreneur himself). Also, only employ for your weakness, for things you can’t do yourself. If you can handle an extra position, do it. Chances are, you’ll do it with more passion that an employee.

Hire Cheap

Getting the right and qualified workers for startup could be of immense benefit to the enterprise but may be drilling a hole in the pockets of the enterprise, if they are yet to get a financial breakthrough. You may want to get the free services of friends and family on specific tasks or even employ freelance or casual workers who may be cheaper than the usual employee, and still provide the same service. A sure way of getting cheap labour in Nigeria is to employ the services of interns or Youth Corpers of the NYSC. With a little stipend or salary, you are sure of getting an almost equal service as a full time employee would give. A startup should not be burdened down with crazy overhead costs as salaries.

Prioritize and Review Costs

There are some expenditure that expensive, yet very necessary. The young entrepreneur, interested in reducing cost, must find a way to set aside the things that not immediately or directly beneficial to the profit making of the organisation. Some expenses should be pruned down or outrightly dispensed with. For instance, expensive swivel chairs, air-conditioning systems, vacation tours, luxury personal car(s) etc. Pay attention to little details. Little things matter in finances.
You may want to also review all telephone, internet and other subscriptions. Discover how they add to the business and pay accordingly. You may consider delaying payments also for supplies that are not immediately needed for the enterprise.
The good thing about cutting costs is that it puts you in a better position to assess the progress or otherwise of your enterprise. The more you spend on important things, the more you get eager to make the money back. Provided your business strategy is tested and trusted to guarantee financial returns.

SOURCE: https://founders.com.ng/2017/07/30/cutting-cost-as-a-startup/

Google CEO's Visit: What Nigeria Stands to Gain

The visit to computer village, Ikeja by Sundar pichai took the Nigerian cyberspace by surprise. Not because he couldn't visit the country, but that he thought it wise to visit the country shortly after Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft's Satya Nadella did the same thing some months back, prompting many industry watchers to pontify that something is brewing in the Nigerian tech industry that the world is yet to fully understand, and Lagos being chosen by these tech icons, is positioned to take the centre stage.

Sundar Pichai is an indian born american entrepreneur, and according to Wikipedia Pichai joined Google in 2004, where he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google's client software products, including Google Chrome and Chrome OS , as well as being largely responsible for Google Drive . He went on to oversee the development of different applications such as Gmail and Google Maps.
Pichai gave a demonstration of Chrome OS and the Chromebook was released for trial and testing in 2011, and released to the public in 2012. In 2010, he announced the open-sourcing of the new video codec VP8 by Google, and introduced the new video format, WebM .
On 13 March 2013, Pichai added Android to the list of Google products that he oversees. Android was formerly managed by Andy Rubin. He was a director of Jive Software from April 2011 to July 2013. Pichai was selected to become the next CEO of Google on 10 August 2015 after previously being appointed Product Chief by CEO, Larry Page. In 2015 he stepped into the new position at the completion of the formation of Alphabet Inc. , the new holding company for the Google company family. Pichai had been suggested as a contender for Microsoft's CEO in 2014, a position that was eventually given to Satya Nadella.

He announced his visit to computer village at Ikeja, Lagos on his Twitter page. Computer village is a popular spot to purchase electronic gadgets in Lagos state and has grown to almost mythic proportions as the go-to place electronic devices.

Pichai said his team would be training 10 million Nigerians in the next five years. While highlighting the need for individuals and businesses to leverage on the digital space and subsequently transition into a digital economy.

Nigeria has a 191-million population and an estimated 91-million Internet users as of December 2016. This equates to 47.9% of the population, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission. A majority of the tech enthusiasts in Nigeria are self trained and are doing well in their little cubicle. This training by Google will go a long way to set up the young enterprenuers who has long been in dire need of mentorship and the right platforms to broaden their tech skills.

"Having 1 million digitally skilled young people in Africa is good for everyone. Because we think that if young people have the right skills, they’ll build businesses, create jobs and boost economic growth across the continent,” says Google South Africa country director Luke Mckend of this Digital Skills programme, which offered 89 courses through an online portal and face-to-face training in 20 countries with 14 training partners.

SOURCE: https://founders.com.ng/2017/07/28/google-ceos-visit-nigeria-stands-gain/

Pains Of A New Startup Entrepreneur


The entrepreneurial career path is not always a glamorous lifestyle as been hoped for by would-be startups. Just like life and anything a man dedicates himself to, there would always be challenges. Many startups’ survival during these trying times is largely dependent on the founder’s personality and outlook of life. Just as a child struggles with many falls to crawl and then walk, so is a startup enterprise. The challenges may be daunting but the end result is always priceless. The corner retail shop owner day-dreams of one day competing with giant stores like Shoprite and move to the malls or giant stores, but first, he must battle with keeping a regular inflow of the few Nairas that come his way. Here are some of the challenges a new startup may be facing, and possible ways to overcome them.

Learning To Reject Offers

Leadership without restrains is nothing. As the manager at the helm of affairs, to a large extent the business is you, and you are the business. Your weaknesses are not to be transferred to this new enterprise. You must learn how to cut back on those shopping sprees, turn down invites that won’t add to your business growth, and at times learn to say no to a business prospect/partnership whose end you are not too clear about. These things require discipline. Which is one of the key words of leadership. Some offers may look too good to be true, and in most cases they really aren’t true. Many had allowed their lofty entrepreneurial pursuits fall by the way side simply because they kept an open policy to all kinds of clients and customers. A budding entrepreneur should know that not everyone is your client/customer, some are merely window-shopping and thus deserve less attention.

Managing Cost

As a startup, the idea is to be everywhere, be in your clients’ subconsciousness,have the best of work place environments, the best hands in the industry and be made reference points in business building. Yes, these dreams and more, are achievable, but as a new startup, one of the major challenges you’ll face is managing your finances. Even if the support and partnership provides adequate financial backup, it is usually advisable to balance the cost of keeping the business afloat. Expenditure (which may be very necessary tangibles) should not always exceed income, except it is to bring in a more direct inflow. You don’t want to hire over-qualified staff that may end up putting a hole in your purse. And use heavy equipment for less work. Your office rent should be something very feasible and reasonable to meet with, because businesses don’t just boom at once, you’ll go through the teething stage, at that stage are you prepared to carry overburdened costs?

Growing Relationships

As the boss, you wear a new toga of leadership which you may not be used to. There is this air of seriousness that permeates everywhere you go and things you do. Everyone just expects you to be business minded. This is actually cool if you are at work, but then, you cannot be too serious and not be able to share a joke with a member of the team. The analytics may be reading low and a bad day is looming, but who says you can’t still be positive with a ‘happy hour’ mood with your team members, clients or customers. Some great ideas have been born out of the little informal social interactions we have with people who may not matter much to us. Keep it simple, keep it real.

Motivations

‘A merry heart doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit, who can bear?’ Says the bible! Even if your clients and prospects aren’t returning your mails and calls and everything seems wrong, and your morale is very low. It happens to everyone, but hey! You are not ‘everyone’. You are now the face of a new startup, a multi-national enterprise in the making! Gloominess is not a word in the dictionary of leaders, Never! You can’t afford to spread the virus to the team members, you just have to hit your high frequency. Spice up your mood before working. Be self motivated. Inspire your team. Productivity begins with you. You can not afford to lose out to mood swings. Get up and get it right!

Balancing Work And Life Outside Work

As the leader of a new startup enterprise, your new life requires the huge lifeline of attention so you give to it. Lots of it. Except your line of business is intertwined with your informal lifestyle, you may be on the verge of losing people close to you. Many business moguls have had to sacrifice their family, marriage, long term friendships for the sake of their business build up. But at the end, will it be worth it? You don’t buy valuable relationships with money. Its PRICELESS. You don’t want to be a slave to your enterprise and lose those that really matter to you. Strike a balance. Work should work. Home is home. Never bring work home. Don’t overburden your emotions with work. It will work out if you work it out. But if you walk out of your real life outside work, it may not work out again.

A lot of times, it is important to always point out our errors, to mark them and work them out. The business world is tough, very tough, and may be a drain on you emotionally, financially and otherwise, but how you deal with the numerous challenges is what makes your business stand out and strong. Cheers!

Source: https://founders.com.ng/2017/07/15/pains-new-startup-entrepreneur/

Hiring Your First Team Members

Starting a new enterprise can be both exciting and draining – emotionally and physically. You have to be everything and at everywhere. You play all roles. Even those you are not good at. It’s your dream, and you did not expect another person to bring it to life but you. The thing is, you can’t be multi-tasking and still function effectively with the services your outfit sets to offer. You just have to employ extra hands to take some burdens off your shoulder. And getting the right people to pass and manage the torch of your corporate culture is important. That is why your first hire is just as important as you’re getting your first client.

Convincing the right and qualified candidates can be a bit tricky for early startups too, bearing in mind that the suitably qualified personnel would more readily want to identify with a known or established industry brand. It makes one assume that those who apply to startups are not really competitive enough, knowing they would be earning less than their counterparts. However, for a leader of a startup, there are still a number of ways to corner capable hands to your startup.

Know why you are hiring

As the leader of a startup, you need new hires in virtually all positions, but you can’t just go about letting huge wage bills weigh your new enterprise down. You have to prioritize the positions. You’ll need your first hires to multi-task as much as you probably are doing at the moment. It should be part of the negotiations. The right candidate should be able to see the company as a startup and not an established company. Hiring specific professionals would largely depend on where your startup is located on the growth curve. The leader should be able to detect why and the right moment to ‘risk’ hiring.

Delegate the process

If you don’t have the luxury of time to start multi-tasking, just like most startups, you should delegate the first stage of the hiring process to some qualified hands to help you prune down the workload of entries that may come your way. Consult friends who have hired for specific roles (marketing, sales, engineering or administrative) to learn where to source the best candidates, how to effectively review resumes, better questions to ask and ways to determine the final selections. And if an ad-hoc team is on ground already, have them meet and interview potential hires to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and agrees on the best fit. You don’t want to neglect the very reason why you are hiring to something others can do for you, while you devote more time to the core services your enterprise sets out to do.

Due diligence

The assumption is that the list has been pruned down with the help of others, now you are faced with the shortlisted candidates. This part can’t be delegated they are your prospective team members. Get to know them, have them relate with you. Listen to them, away from the things put down in their résumés. Know if they have transferable skills for the position you are hiring for. Be careful to observe things important to them and respond to them. If you miss it, you start with the wrong foot. Hiring the wrong person for your team can be worse than not having anyone at all.

Relate with the candidates

Interact with the candidates. Sell the brand, vision and mission to them; see how much they buy it. For small teams, every new employee has a profound effect on team culture and norms. They will market your brand beyond your imaginations, even if not successful in the interview process. Let them demonstrate their potentials and not credentials. Test their abilities.

Table realistic remunerations

As a startup, never make the mistake of being a crowd pleaser. In a bid to retain a candidate, never make promises you can’t fulfill, especially when it concerns remunerations and other work conditions. Make sure you convey a holistic offer, meaning that you reinforce the cultural aspects as well as the monetary ones. Things like flexible work schedules, a social culture (frequent events for staff to connect as people, not just as colleagues), or even a shorter commute may be very attractive to some people. Be clear about what you can offer, and let the candidates decide.

Don’t assume, retrain

Happy that the preferred candidate(s) had been selected? You don’t just dust your shoulder and expect the new member of the team to carry on without training or supervisions. In real fact, they need real hands-on experience on the peculiarities of your outfit. Trim them to your shape and taste. Training may not be as elaborate as that of established firms. A little supervision, a memo on the notice board or a little guide would do.

Get your legal documents handy

Seal up the deal in black and white! Get the details of the contract on paper. It is the evidence of acceptance of your offer. And when you’re laser-focused on revenue and market development, the last thing you need is a legal headache. Knowing that everyone is officially taken care of means that you can focus on what matters most.

Getting focused on the work at hand for the leader of a startup is a very difficult thing. Many aspects of the buildup might actually be a distraction to the real services offered by the firm. Why not delegate the process of hiring, so the process doesn’t weigh in on the quality of services offered? It is proper also to know how to balance the priorities.

SOURCE: https://founders.com.ng/2017/07/15/hiring-first-team-members/

John Momoh (OON), Founder and CEO of Channels Television. An ace broadcast journalist with a vast experience spanning close to four decades. Before founding Channels, John worked variously as News Anchor, Senior Reporter and Senior Producer for Nigeria’s National Radio and Television Stations, (Radio Nigeria and Nigerian Television Authority).
The journey into the entrepreneurial side of John Momoh is not without thorns and at some point he wanted to pull the plug. The Corporate culture at Channels Televisions today, has become the yardstick to measure up other broadcast channels and broadcasters. Here, we take a walk into the path where it all started from.

Genesis

“It’s an amazing 20 year history which has seen professionalism and enterprise fused into one, to result in what is today, the most trusted, and most successful news organisation in Nigeria. I set sail within Nigeria’s radio and television broadcasting environment some 38 years ago, to pursue a career path as a broadcast journalist. I started out as a junior and then senior reporter; news anchor; news editor; and then finally, as a key producer respectively, for Nigeria’s National Radio network of (FRCN) and the National Television Authority (NTA). Prior to that, I had a two year stint with Ogun Radio Abeokuta.
I reached a tipping point in my life and a place of absolute restlessness. And so, propelled by a strong urge and passion to create an innovative professional paradigm, I resigned from the NTA after fifteen years, without any tangible evidence of financial security. Nonetheless, I was convinced without any doubts that an untapped “Greenfield” opportunity with specific reference to my area of speciality, was well within grasp. With great anticipation towards achieving a fulfilling, purpose-driven life, I started a production facilities company in 1993".

Challenges

Overcoming the challenges of a startup TV station was enormous for John on many fronts as he had to battle both the political and financial landscapes to survive. It was during one of the most challenging times ever, in Nigeria’s recent political history flickered with military dictatorships. With limited capital, he applied for a licence in 1993. To launch a free-to-air news television station. With a resolute determination to succeed, the commitment of John's family, a loan from a local retail bank, and the eventual support of a few friends, and a committed core staff of fifteen people, Channels TV began test transmission two years later within the municipality of Ikeja, Lagos. But for a dogged spirit of faith and a committed wife, the sudden rush of early setbacks which was experienced then, should have completely broken his resolve to continue in the pursuit of what rapidly disintegrated into an unlikely dream. He hadto endure the wearisomeness of energy-sapping trials, uncertainty and, a stagnating period of financial insecurity. At the beginning, mainstream advertisers including multinationals and their representative advertising agencies, the mainstay of any free-to-air television station, were reluctant to come to the table. A dedicated news channel was not an attractive bet and for those investors that was approached, it was too high-risk a call.

Also, talking about the infrastructural challenge facing the company, especially the cost of powering generator sets. He said "we run a generator for the most part, so we are used to it. We have always done, ever since we started Channels. The national grid is our back-up power.
But this last time (national fuel scarcity) it was very scary. We were still running on our reserve of petrol and some people came to our aid. We were lucky because during the crisis, if you did not have petrol you had no choice but to halt or limit operations, like some broadcasters and banking institutions did. We have three operations running from this organization, all within the same building; terrestrial television, digital television and then Channels 24 consecutively. So if the petrol shortage lasted longer than it did, we would have been in deep crisis."

Stemming The Tide

The political terrain posed a big challenge to the establishment of Channels TV even in a democracy. In one instance a fake news about the President's ill health which may lead to his resignation was spread on an independent news wire. The information was broadcast by Channels TV, just like other reputable media houses did. This didn't go down well with the government which shut down the station and detained some members of staff. "I actually apologized to the former president in a letter, explaining the source of the story and that we meant no harm. He acknowledged my letter, wrote back saying he understood, and so we went back on air. This is one of the hazards of the profession and it also helped us ensure that we do the checks even much more than we were doing. We get a story and before we break it we cross check and double check and triple check. It was a learning curve for us."

"So, in spite of the early pitfalls and near collapses, we had to survive. And survive we did, bootstrapping our way to financial stability, cognisant of the self-instructed fact that there was no turning back until our mission is accomplished."

Impact

Nonetheless, from its humble origins and through sheer persistence, Channels TV has subsequently, during the course of the past twenty years, won Nine out of fourteen, of Nigeria’s Media Merit Award Trust’s coveted roll call of honour and distinction, as Nigeria’s most outstanding national broadcaster. The station was also crowned Best TV Station In Africa in 2014, by the African Achievers Award Trust.
The company achieved its best online performance yet, with the coverage of the just concluded Nigerian elections by breaking all records in online viewership in Nigeria. Channels TV has been recognized as 2013 Convergence Leader in News Media Broadcast (by the West African Know how Intelligence Unit). Rated the most RELIABLE and TRUSTED source of information in Nigeria by a Reuters and BBC Poll.

When asked about his accomplishments, he said "I haven't accomplished all that I think I should accomplish. It is a very interesting question. I'm not really afraid of anything but it may not be the whole truth to say that. What I may be afraid of is not to have fulfilled God's will for me. I think I need to be able to know what the Lord wants me to do; part of which is to use the instrument that he has given me along with the members of my staff, to impact on the human race, to provide information, to be able to improve their lives and to be more informed to make the right decisions to challenge their curiosity. And if I'm not able to succeed in that, then that is a continuing task; it’s a never-ending story."

source: https://founders.com.ng/2017/07/22/entrepreneurial-side-john-momoh/

SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS: TOP TEN FREE ANALYTICS TOOLS

Wikipedia defines Social Media Analytics as a part of the process of gathering data from stakeholder conversations on digital media and processing into structured insights leading to more information-driven business decisions and increased customer centrality for brands and businesses.

"it furthers explain it as Social Media Analytics is the art and science of extracting valuable hidden insights from vast amounts of semi-structured and unstructured social media data to enable informed and insightful decision making, using sophisticated tools and techniques.
Today I will be sharing the tools and techniques used in social media analytics


TOP FREE SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS TOOLS

1. BUFFER: Buffer ranks top among the free social media analytics tools. All the social engagement statistics on every post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ can be found on buffer.

2. Google Analytics: The major use of Google Analytics is for monitoring behavior of traffic on your website. It is a free web analytics service powered by Google to track, analyze and report website traffic

3. HOOTSUITE: Hootsuite is one the freemium social media analytics, it is a social media management platform that allows users to schedules social media posts to any page of Facebook, twitter, instagram, word press, LinkedIn, Google plus. It helps you to find audience, send targeted campaigns to your discovered market. It gives a weekly updated report on your social analytics.

4. FOLLOWERWONK: Another tool worth mentioning is Followerwonk. This tool is used on twitter. It gives details of your followers and their activities and you can also view the information on followers and following. It shows statistics on your followers online, your posts and the categories of followers like their social authority, total tweets and their follower count.

5. SocialRank: [/b]You can use SocialRank to get statistics on your average number of retweets and likes on Twitter or Instagram. Also it can states most used hashtags, words and emojis for followers and those you are following. You can see followers’ location, when active and the type of post they share

[b]6. Social Mention: This is a platform that provides real-time search and analysis on social media. It organizes top keywords, hashtag and site into a single stream.

7. Google Alerts: for an in-depth analytics platform, Google Alerts needs mentioning. It informs you whenever your brand, services or your competitors in the industry is mentioned online based on the alert you would have set. It is tool for online PR and also good to know the type of topical content your audience are discussing and for you to share with them.

8. Cyfe: This is fantastic tools that create a custom all-in-one dash board that monitors and analyses statistics found from most marketing tools and gives a social feed from a single location in real-time. It gives overview reports on the account you manage and the want you to follow.

9. Quintly: This is a dashboard tool that comes with customized widgets to suite your needs and track the data that matters to you. It covers Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google plus and YouTube. It is freemium platforms ( i.e there is paid and free versions)

10. Klout: The last social media analytics tool that is worth mentioning is Klout. It is a tool that works with your profile and pages across some major social media channels. There is a score that measures your impact online which tells about your standing and the relevancy about your content to share as well authors to follow.it puts together a score ranging from 0-100 on your influence on social media.

The next article will talk about inbuilt social media analytics tools such as:
• Facebook insight
• Twitter analytics
• Pininterest analytics
• Instagram insight
• Youtube analytics
• LinkedIn analytics
• Google influence


SOURCE: http://gtmultimedia.com.ng/social-media-analytics-top-ten-free-analytics-tools/

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Odimbite Odimbite: How Digital Marketing Causes Bleeding in Nigeria

Nigeria's Digital Marketing space when coloured with unprofessional activities potentially causes bleeding in some ways! Hey, is this a joke or what one may ask? There are ways in which uncoordinated digital marketing causes hemorrhaging across business setups. Businesses and ventures especially in Nigeria are bleeding due to digital marketing activities arising from ineffective use of Social media platforms.

Shared Exposures

I recently met a business executive who lamented that his company embarked on a four month long social media campaign and invested millions of Naira but there was no result all in the guise of digital marketing. I probed further for more details. This executive posited that the digital marketing consultant they eventually engaged presented his company with a robust proposal for Facebook campaigns, email blasts, bulk SMS blasts, viral marketing and Google banner adverts to drive sales and improve revenue. The company invested huge millions and after four months, sales still were crawling and the digital marketer has caused bleeding in his business and severe cash erosion has occurred. This typifies some of the "losses" digital marketing adventures has caused SMEs in Nigeria.

Another SME business owner also had an unpalatable experience. The company hired an IT professional who prided himself as a digital marketing guru to anchor the Company's digital marketing efforts. To their utter disappointment, after spending millions, there was no improvement in revenue and the Company is considering other options. The company suffered severe bleeding. Money was spent and corresponding result, expected increased sales, wasn't achieved.

Many businesses suffer cash bleeding from uncoordinated, unprofessional, misaligned digital marketing campaigns. Digital Marketing is now trendy, a new craze and an all comers entity. Some folks with a laptop and an internet connection are self-styled digital marketing experts in the midst of real digital marketers. Digital marketing in Nigeria comes in different sizes, shapes and formats. The difference between successful and the unsuccessful social media marketing efforts is "Marketing". Pushing a text message to phone numbers, sending email to thousands of email addresses the recipients don't need, putting a banner advert on a sister website no one sees, generating likes on Facebook and others isn't digital marketing. These are tools for skillful and focused digital marketing campaigns.

Digital Marketing

Marketing is a process of identifying and targeting consumers with a product that satisfies them with a benefit. It requires identifying the target customers. It requires crafting an appropriate appealing message. It requires using the most appropriate channel in a given time and place to reach the target consumers thereby achieving set objectives.

Digital marketing may be done to create awareness, improve awareness, increase sales, increase revenue, obtain referrals and reduce consumption/ usage of a product. The disconnect between the objects of the business owner and digital marketer arises when the digital marketing cosultant doesn't understand the campaign objectives and how to measure effectiveness of any given campaign. For instance, some campaign experiences show that when a Facebook user clicks the "Like" button for a Facebook campaign, that "Like" doesn't translate into an immediate conversion. So, a business owner who sees thousands of "Likes" wants to see increase in purchase, ordering or usag of the product advertized. The digital marketing campaigner is happy he has generated tons of "Likes" and measures his campaign as successful but the SME feels he has wasted business resources.

A digital marketer may focus on generating Facebook likes but the business owner wants to see how much extra revenue comes through the many likes recorded in Facebook. Suppose Facebook users click like because they liked the picture or graphics, or liked the concept or product but that "like" clicked should in a way, be converted into desired Company campaign objective. The digital marketer feels there is 20% increase in number of likes and is happy but the business owner says, there is little or no growth in sales to accompany the rise in the "likes" recorded.
In Nigeria, due to digital marketing dilution of this type, business objectives are far from being achieved and businesses are stripped of their cash and bleeding occurs. Many businesses suffer this way regularly; they keep spending but have no results to match the expenses. Once one can tie up digital marketing spent to expected results and demand clear achievement of the company's objectives, these uncoordinated digital marketers will give reasons why it's unattainable and may back off.

They back off because they have the technical knowledge of how to do it but not the knowledge of marketing principles that makes digital marketing what it should be: marketing using the digital space. This bleeding must be minimized. SMEs should hold digital marketers accountable for achieving stated and expected Campaign objectives.

Close the gap

Wisdom is, don't part with your cash until you are convinced the results will meet organization's objectives. Before investing huge sums of money, run a test drive with few thousands of Naira to test the campaign effectiveness until there is certainty that results are sure to roll in with bigger investments into digital marketing.

Professional and Chartered marketers in Nigeria must rise up; fill this need of SMEs with moderate and affordable digital marketing solutions. If they over price themselves out of the reach of the SMEs, unprofessionals will continue to cause businesses to severely bleed.

Read more at : http://gtmultimedia.com.ng/how-digital-marketing-causes-bleeding-in-nigeria/

The marketing industry must constantly evolve alongside the audiences it attempts to reach. Cutting-edge is adequate, and everything else falls by the wayside. I’ve often said that the one main secret to my success is my possession of an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and curiosity. Without that, it’s hard to stay relevant in a space that changes so rapidly. That being said, where can marketers go to learn from influencers within the industry?

There’s a variety of blogs in social media, content marketing, and other different marketing verticals, so it’s difficult to identify which ones best serve general marketing needs. Some blogs and publications supply the knowledge every marketing professional requires.
Also, they all offer critical resources for the application, not just the digestion, of what they’re trying to teach. Here are 16 marketing blogs and publications you should add to your reading list this year:

1. MarketingProfs: Whether you’re seeking industry trends, topical overviews or professional development, MarketingProfs is a blog for marketers of any ilk. Typically, umbrella sites don’t deliver unique insights. But, as a network of marketers — supported and read by marketers — MarketingProfs is constantly stocked with legitimate content.
Key Resource: Marketing Guides and Reports: Processes and procedures can be hard to define for first-time entrepreneurs. The guides and reports provided by MarketingProfs can be a life raft when beta testing email automation, for instance.
2. Business Insider: A rising star in the content world, Business Insider publishes on markets and strategy, daily. Think of it as the Huffington Post for business and marketing professionals.
Key Resource: BI Intelligence: Beyond the content that Business Insider already produces, Intelligence is the company’s research arm. Utilized by Fortune 1000 companies and startups, alike, it provides data-driven solutions “essential for corporate decision making.”

3. The Knowledge Bank: Influence and Co. specializes in creating and distributing content to influence an audience and raise the profile of a company’s key employees. But the company’s blog touches on all aspects of content marketing and branding — from thought leadership and content creation to lead generation and content distribution.
Key Resource: Resource Library: Content is taking over the marketing industry. Here, whitepapers and templates provide step-by-step guides to a comprehensive thought leadership platform. You started a business; you’ve got it in you.

4. HubSpot Blog: HubSpot is best-known for its software and primetime marketing conference, Inbound. Beyond these product offerings, this blog is the first step towards inbound marketing certificates offered by the company.
Key Resource: Academy: Home to the aforementioned certificates, the Academy provides inbound marketing training that can be critical when developing your young business’ content strategy.

5. Vero: Email campaigns have long been the bane of marketers’ existence. How do we get consumers to open our outreach material? The answers reside with Vero, a purveyor of email automation software.
Key Resource: How To’s: On the surface, email marketing appears easy. Write strong copy and send, right? Not quite. Utilize the blog’s “How To” tab to discover the role data plays in this process.

6. Kissmetrics: Entrepreneurs occasionally struggle with leveraging the analytical data available to them. Kissmetrics sifts through the numbers, to expose mistakes your current suite of metrics can’t account for.
Key Resource: Infographics: For many marketers, a predominantly aesthetic perspective conflicts with data interpretation. Kissmetrics’ infographic library provides visual roadmaps for complex marketing practices.

7. Hootsuite: As many entrepreneurs figure out the hard way, social media is not simple. Consistency is key for your social audience, and Hootsuite provides myriad content options for micro-scale businesses looking to adopt a macro approach to posting.
Key Resource: Hootsuite Life: This portion of the company’s blog adopts a cultural approach to social education. If social media is truly a device for bringing people together, shouldn’t we study it as such?

8. Seth Godin: If brevity is the soul of wit, then Seth Godin is the wittiest man in marketing. Featuring short, highly digestible posts, Godin frequently dives into marketing life lessons that would benefit marketers of any age or skill level.
Key Resource: Levity: The content marketing world is saturated with articles on processes and procedures. Godin connects our professional lives to our personal. It’s a welcome reprieve.

9. Moz: If you’re a human being, then the first time that you heard of search engine optimization, you were likely confused. Moz strives to sift through the algorithms and keywords of SEO to provide insights on the search engines businesses must pacify.
Key Resource: Whiteboard Friday: Led by Moz co-founder, Rand Fishkin, Whiteboard Fridays provide visual dissections of confusing marketing principles. The medium? You guessed it, a whiteboard.

10. Ogilvy & Mather: Ogilvy is synonymous with excellence in advertising. No matter what portion of the marketing mix you or your business addresses, learning from design pioneers is crucial to evaluating how your brand looks to consumers.
Key Resource: The Red Papers: Authored by company thought leaders from around the world, The Red Papers address topics spanning from the unwritten rules of digital marketing to appraising brand worth. These authors are more than bloggers; they’re the best in the business. Learn from them.

11. IMPACT: Within an industry focused on content, Impact won’t let us forget about branding and design. Be it strategy, lead generation, or even software hosting, this blog addresses how marketers can greet consumers with an endearing aesthetic and intuitive user interface.
Key Resource: The Learning Center: Every marketer knows that strong brand messaging takes some TLC (forgive me). The Learning Center provides just that with white-papers, video, and slideshow content on everything from demographic studies to the in-house vs. agency debate.

12. Marketing Land: Digital marketing and tech development are mutually inclusive. Marketing Land reports on this relationship and more, ensuring that your content strategy fits in the palm of your target consumer’s hand.
Key Resource: Marketing Technology Landscape: Every year, Marketing Land creates a massive infographic categorizing the companies that make up the marketing tech world. If you’re looking to find a software provider for your company or next campaign, this is an excellent place to start.

13. Marketing Magazine: Some insights from north of the border would be nice, eh? Marketing efforts don’t know geopolitical lines. Eventually, your company may grow beyond its home base. Marketing Magazine provides insights on marketing in Canada, a reasonable place to expand operations.
Key Resource: The 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada: The best way to start understanding a foreign market is to see what works there. This list of influential brands, with context, proves a strong starting point.

14. Duct Tape Marketing: As a newfound small business owner, you may be an expert on your brand, but not necessarily on how to market it. John Jantsch and Duct Tape provide content on how to garner your first consumer base and grow from there.
Key Resource: Community: E-books, webinars, and podcasts dot the Community page, providing numerous resources for small business owners. All you have to do is register; it’s free!

15. Convince and Convert: If you are looking for ways to use social media, marketing, content and other digital tactics to help convert customers, Jay Baer and team has actionable advice that is timeless.
Key Resource: Podcasts & Books: Jay Baer and team have a ton of great resources on the site including podcasts, case studies, and a couple of books, as well. All for free, well, except for the books.

16. Brian Solis: No list of marketing thought leader blogs would be complete without including Brian Solis. Solis, which is pronounced “so-lease“, (I asked him,) not “solace” or “soul-less”, has authored several best-selling books including: The End of Business as Usual, What’s the Future of Business (WTF), Engage!, and his latest, X: The Experience Where Business Meets Design.
Key Resource: Insights & Books: His blog, BrianSolis.com, is ranked as a leading resource for insights into the future of business, new technology and marketing.

Marketers are only as proficient as what they learn tomorrow. As ours is a business of “what’s next,” learning the fundamentals of “what was” is the first step in discovering your ability to innovate. If you stop learning in this space, you’ll quickly become irrelevant.

CREDIT: http://gtmultimedia.com.ng/16-top-digital-marketing-blogs-you-need-to-following/

It was Sonny Okosun, who made an enduring fame from a blockbuster entitled, “We want to know who owns the land”. The chartbuster, which criticized land grabbing by white supremacists in Namibia from the aborigines, highlighted the harmful effect of the unending inhuman treatment of the natives by the imperialists. That was in Namibia but it was a Nigerian songwriter; musician and activist, who deployed his gift and guts to challenge the invaders and, in a way, helped to secure independence for Namibia.

Today, Namibia is free from the grip of their former overlords and the struggle remains a source of history. But Nigeria, from where Sonny Okosun wrote and sang the liberation song, is yet to be fully out of the grip of the Army. Officers and men of the military institution in Nigeria are so powerful that they can brutalize anyone and get away with it because of the fact that neither the police nor other para-military officials can question, detain or call them to order when they err. Indeed, the fear of the military is the beginning of wisdom in Nigeria.

That may explain why the management and staff of Kakatar Construction and Engineering Limited- ran away from their site at the Maitama Extension District on September 3, 2016, once the Army served them notice that they should not enter the vast plot any longer.

It was a Saturday morning and the staff of the company had arrived on their site at the Maitama Extension to continue their work from where they left off the previous day but they were given a shock of their life.

As they arrived the vast premises, which houses no fewer than 430 plots of land tucked in on a-230 hectare parcel of land overlooking the Mpape and Katampe Hills, some strange but stern-looking soldiers had taken over the road leading to the site.

“We are on the instruction of the Chief of Army Staff not allow anyone to enter this place,” a soldier who had been deployed to ward off any ‘intruder’, shouted at the top of his voice. “It was one of our Generals who brought us here last night but we don’t know what led to our being moved into this place but we will not allow anybody to enter this place until we get a different directive,” the soldier said.

With those words, the Army effectively took over the Maitama Extension, a sprawling district, which was created by the Adamu Alieru-led Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, in 2008 to provide a low density well protected housing estate for top class Nigerians and members of the diplomatic corps.

Since Aliero, now a serving senator, created the Maitama Extension District over nine years ago, the Army, whose Lungi, Mambilla and Yar’Adua barracks are close by, has never raised any issue of ownership of the land until September 3 this year, thereby creating a new set of questions that it is unable to provide answers.

In the main, the Army claims that the land was given to it by the Federal Government as far back as 1991 and would not allow anyone to encroach on it any longer. Since the forceful takeover of the land by soldiers allegedly on the instruction of the CoAS, Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai, the 430 title owners and workers of Kakatar Civil Engineering Limited, KCEL, owned by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s sibling, Azibaola Robert, have been kept at bay.

Neither the workers can gain access to their offices and equipment to continue with the provision of engineering infrastructure awarded to them by the FCDA in 2011 nor the plot owners can access their completed and ongoing properties.

And the two sets of people are angry, confused and frustrated. While the allottees have protested the land grab to the Senate and asked for intervention to secure their plots, the management of KCEL has dispatched two separate letters to Burutai and the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, seeking explanation on what has been done by the soldiers to the company and the losses it is incurring as a result.

In one of the letters, dated September 5 and addressed to the FCT Minister and sighted by Sunday Vanguard, KCEL drew his attention to the sudden takeover of the land by the military, denying the firm and its workers access to do their work. Sunday Vanguard learnt from competent sources close to the army that neither the letter from the Managing Director of KCEL, nor the plea from the FCDA to the army to reopen the site made sense to the army. But angered by the action of the military, the Senate Committee on the FCT, headed by Kogi-born Senator Dino Melaye, summoned the CoAS and the FCT Minister and his officials to appear before it and explain who owns the land.

When the parties appeared before the Senate, penultimate Monday, they all laid claims to the strategic piece of land. The army, represented by Maj. Gen. Pat. Ake, insisted that the land was allocated to the army by government as far back as 1991 but did not tender documents to buttress his claim. Bello said the land was allocated by the FCDA to the allottees based on the Abuja Master Plan.

Also, he did not tender documents to support his claim. Based on the divergent claims of ownership, the Melaye-led Senate Committee ordered the FCDA Minister and the army to come back with the proof of ownership to validate who owns the land.

Meanwhile, if the army presents allocation letter to show the land was given to it in 1991, it would be difficult for the FCDA to appease the 430 land owners, who are spoiling for ‘war’.

On the other hand, if the army fails to produce evidence to justify its action and seizure of the land, it would push it into confrontation with the land owners and generate bad blood. For now, the question remains: Who owns the MED land?

Read more at: http://www.naijapropertiesonline.com

Two years after, the Lagos State government commenced the construction of a seventh floor ultra modern car parking facility at Onikan, the completion date for the project has been surrounded with uncertainty.

The uncertainty was compounded with the recent commencement of another multi-storey car park on Campbell Street, Lagos Island.

The new car park was schedule to be completed within 18 months, with expectation to accommodate 400 cars on five floors with a 1, 000 seating capacity event hall, on the sixth floor.

According to the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof. Ademola Abass, the car park would help to reduce traffic congestion in central Lagos. The project, he stressed is a joint venture between Ibile Holdings and Willao Nigeria Limited with Kaiser as the contractor.

For the Managing Director of Ibile Holdings, Mr. Biodun Amokomowo, the project will reduce traffic caused by lack of organised car parks being, first of its kind in Lagos Central Business District (CDB).

Speaking further, Managing Director of Willao Nigeria Limited, Mr. Femi Williams, disclosed that the state government some months ago, consulted the company to develop the car park.

But The Guardian learnt that the Onikan multi million naira project initiated by the Babatunde Fashola’s administration through the state‘s Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to address parking problems in Onikan and environs is remained stalked, as a result of paucity of funds.

The project has DKR Associates as construction managements and architects, while Bolaji Ipaye and Partners are the engineering consultants; Trevi Foundations as sub contractors.

Sources said, works at the Onikan car park have stopped for months due to financial reasons.

The source said the state government is yet to fulfill some contractual obligations to the contractors.

Confirming this development, a source in the state’s Ministry of works and Infrastructure, said there are some challenges, which slowed down the pace of works in the facility.

The source, who could not however, disclose when the project will be concluded. He hinted that these challenges are being worked on, promising that the contractors would soon return to site.

Explaining the relevant of the car park facility despite the new ones being constructed within the vicinity, the source said, such facilities would continue to be in demand considering the nature of Onikan and its environs.

At the commencement of the Onikan project, a former Commissioner, Obafemi Hamzat had during the 2014 ministerial press briefing in Alausa, said the facility would accommodate 700 vehicles at a time. According to him, the facility would have an administrative complex to make the administration of the facility easier.

He said: “The mega city status of Lagos confers on it the need to manage its challenges. One of such is the issue of parking space.

“Within the Lagos Central Business District, there are varieties of parking places that invoke the semblance of an unplanned city. To address the issue, the car park facility building was conceived,” he has said.

Hamzat also assured that the project would be managed by the private sector. Also his successor, Ganiyu Johnson at the 2016 ministerial briefing at Alausa, Lagos, showcased the 7th floor ultra modern car park as one of the numerous projects embarked by the ministry.
The project adapted to the shape of a triangle, he said, has a capacity to accommodate 384 cars on six suspended floors with offices for ticketing and rest rooms on each floor.

The commissioner further stressed that the facility was proposed as a mixed use of multi-purpose space consisting of two banquet halls, one of which will serve as an auditorium with a capacity for 800 people and the other for which is for ceremonial use, can seat 600 people.

http://t.guardian.ng/property/controversy-trails-construction-of-onikan-multi-storey-car-park/

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