₦airaland Forum

By Anietie Ekong 

Those who have accused Pastor Umo Eno of being the third term agenda of Deacon Udom Emmanuel may need no further evidence than what took place at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium today: the flag off of the Gubernatorial campaign of the Pastor.

The speech by Pastor Umo Eno which he tagged "My contract with Akwa Ibom people" apart from being drab, boring and full of political rhetorics and not pointing to any action plan, sounded too familiar to me. It was like I'd heard exactly the same thing before.

A little fact check confirmed my fear: Pastor  Umo Eno's speech today is a crude plagiarism of speeches and statistics thrown up by Governor Udom Emmanuel in the past. You don't need to read the guber candidate's speech if you had previously read or listened to that of Governor Udom Emmanuel!

From beginning to the end of the speech Pastor Umo Eno or whoever wrote the speech for him just brought out Governor Udom Emmanuel's speeches and dubbed them word for word. Such intellectual laziness with no originality of thoughts and ideas!

Just an instance will suffice for now. During a statewide broadcast to mark the 35th anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom State on September 23, 2022, Governor Udom Emmanuel had this to say:

"My dear Akwaibomites in the last seven years plus, we have ensured that you have peace in this state and that the security of life and property remain our first business of government. Our people are no longer being kidnapped, or are politically motivated assassinations the norm as it used to be, anti-social tendencies are almost nonexistence. Our youths have decided to protect the identity and soul of the state by maintaining the peace.  From Uyo, to Mbo, from Ibeno to Ekpat Akwa, all over the state, you can move peacefully without the fear of being attacked, it was not always like this, you will all agree with me."

As if on cue to repeat what Governor Udom Emmanuel had earlier said, Pastor Umo Eno did not disappoint today. Hear him: 

"Today, while insecurity has assumed a worrisome dimension in many parts of the nation, Akwa Ibom State has been an oasis of peace and tranquillity. From the fishing creeks in Mbo to the Raffia City of Ikot Ekpene or to the sandy beaches of Ibeno, or the inviting boulevards in Uyo, our people can travel any time any hour in peace and in absolute security.

"Today, our people go to bed and sleep soundly with their two eyes closed. It wasn't always like this. Not too long ago, our people were kidnapped, murdered and politically muscled and killed. People were removed from churches and killed in the most brutal of manner, a lot of Nigerians did not desire to visit our State for fear of being kidnapped, but today, that ugly narrative has changed."

Also check out what Pastor Umo Eno said about how politics should not divide us and place it side by side with what the Governor also said during the anniversary broadcast. 


The speech by Pastor Umo Eno is replete with wholesale plagiarism of past speeches of Governor Udom Emmanuel. You can check it out yourself.

FRESH AIR in the MUD��

On the (October 30th 2022), PDP slammed Monarch Odu of YPP with a 1 Billion Naira Lawsuit for quoting Senator Bassey Albert.

Next day (October 31st 2022), Monarch Odu left YPP to PDP and called his defection "FRESH AIR" while declaring total support for Senatorial candidate, Emmanuel Enoidem and PDP.

November 2nd , Monarch Odu visited Emmanuel Enoidem and took pictures with him and started blasting YPP's governorship candidate Senator Bassey Albert.

November 3rd Monarch Odu appeared on Akbc (Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation) channel 45 and was hyping Emmanuel Enoidem and PDP while telling the public that a Child who abandoned his father's culture and religion to embrace another is doomed

November 4th after Singing all his Hallelujah songs on AKBC Channel45 for PDP and Akwa Ibom State Government, Monarch Odu was arrested by PDP and Akwa Ibom State Government and was taken to Court where Court order was obtained for him to be remanded at Ikot Ekpene Prison.

Today, Fresh Air is currently cooling at Ikot Ekpene Prison.... Let the church sayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy......�

Ekpo society is a large one characterized by many arms. It is even safe to consider them as different types although they are all ‘Ekpo’. We had published other articles on the Ekpo society. Please click here and here.

Ekpo nyòhó
Costumed in a manner to scare women and children once they were seen, Ekpo nyòhó is mainly found deep in the core Ibibio area of Uyo -Ibesikpo – Nsit Ubium – Etinan axis. When the masquerade appears, it is dressed in black furry raffia that gives it a round amorphous shape. With a terrifying face, a sharp machete in hand and some green symbolic leaves, this masquerade is a handful.
This arm was responsible for orderliness and made sure that laws made were carried out on all administrative levels in Ibibio Land.

Ekpo Ndòk
Ibibio people considered this particular Ekpo as the actual ghost. It came out at night and majorly to penalize crimes committed in secrecy. It was considered to be fair and impartial, and hovered around the community unseen.

Ekpo Eko’on
This arm of the Ekpo society had its operations between June and August yearly and was known for bringing calm on the community. Whenever Ekpo Eko’on was out, the community will be quiet as everyone will be on automatic holidays.

Traders were not required to come late from their businesses, nor farmers to return late from their farms. In riverine areas, the same rule applied to fishermen. And then in colonial days when the civil service was birthed, workers knew better than to be found outdoors when the Ekpo was out.

Eka Ekpo
This was considered the mother of the Ekpo masquerade. It had a lot of respect accorded it. Before it emerged for a march, a display, a timeout for whatever purpose, every member of the community was informed. In some communities, you may be allowed to view it from your homes. In others, no one was to see it but the initiates.

Ekpo ntok-ayen
This was the teen Ekpo, worn by young people. It was strictly for entertainment and could be on display at any time or season, but especially during yuletide when travelers returned home to spend time with family. Its costume is usually of white painted raffia and the mask would be friendly, handsome, playful, anything but scary.


https://ibomheritage.com/ekpo-society-types-arms/

The Ekpo society is an interesting part of Akwa Ibom culture. Although colonialism watered down the substance of these aspects of our culture, we have managed to retain some of it. Read on to learn more interesting facts about the Ekpo society.

There is the first part to this particular article, which you can get by clicking HERE

Did Ekpo Have Supernatural Powers?
In recent times, the Ekpo masquerade has been more of a cultural display that hits the streets during important occasions. It is also mostly on demand and during end of year ‘ukapadisua’ (ukapisua) celebrations.

As with masquerades in other parts of black Africa, the use of magic does get engaged in Ekpo displays. Although this has been merely for entertainment, those powers still show up when hostile groups meet during simultaneous festivals.

There is nothing unique about the feature of magical powers in Ekpo festivals. It is just like masquerades and cultural plays you find in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among Bantu and sub-Bantu tribes. Magical powers are an integral part of the culture. But there is hardly any hard proof of these powers being channeled into harm.

However, as western civilisation continues to sip deeper into the cultures of the land, the uncanny reduces in display. This is why, to witness the supernatural powers of the Ekpo play, one would have to attend Ekpo festivals in the inner recesses of rural Ibibio communities.

Ekpo Has A Home
The Ekpo, considered originally to be a ghost, had a figurative place of abode given to it by the community. This place was treated as sacred because it was thought to haven the spirits of dead ancestors and other dead members of the cult who were buried there.

This ‘abode’ was in a forest and was out of bounds for women and children. If a woman or child or non-initiate wandered into this part of the forest, there were. However, as Western culture arrived, locations like these became increasingly open to members of the community.

The Ekpo Cultural Display
As with other African cultures, including the ones exported to other parts of the world through the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Ekpo has always had its cultural showing featuring its own distinctive masquerade known by the costume and mask. It also has its drum music comprised of the tone, rhythm and accompanying The display also has its drum music is also indicative of the Ekpo display. This is about the only aspects of the society that still feature in the Ekpo phenomenon.

When an Ekpo Society Member Dies
After the death of a member of the Ekpo society, there are sacrifices to the gods. These practices do involve a lot of secrecy. The items used for sacrifice are not made known publicly, although there is talk of human sacrifice in the distant past.

At the funeral ceremony, on the day of the burial event, Ekpo masquerades appeared with all sorts of performance amidst fanfare and feasting.

The society, community and family of the deceased do all these before they lower the corpse into the grave as a mark of respect to the dead member.

How About These Days?
Back in the day, the consequences for violating movement restrictions could be dire. You could be flogged, you could be detained depending on the arm of Ekpo or other society you ran into. The violent manner of enforcing rules using these cultural societies like the Ekpo group was increasingly frowned at as Ibibio culture mixed with English civilization.

These days, within Urban areas of Akwa Ibom State and Calabar, the activities of the Ekpo society have been severely curbed. The violent aspects have almost all together been ended, especially in the city centres. But there are corners of rural areas where these practices remain rife.

https://ibomheritage.com/interesting-facts-ekpo-society/

The Ekpo society is one of the foremost secret societies in the Ibibio society. ‘Ekpo’ means ‘ghost of an ancestor’ literally. As a cultural society of the same name, the Ibibios framed Ekpo as a law enforcement society in the cultural setting. More specifically, Ekpo society was an instrument for managing ancient Ibibio society and up to early post-colonial times.

Most of the famous men of the Ibibio society were members of the Ekpo society. Some were chiefs, some family heads, some youth leaders.

This group was so effective that the community held them in high regard. Non-initiates, women and children held them in great fear also.

Was the Ekpo a job?

The Ekpo members met in what we call ‘Afé Ekpo’, the Ekpo tent or meeting hall. Here, they made decisions that were binding on all members of the community. Since members were mostly leaders of the land, this was a major decision making forum.

The Ekpo also performed formal functions in historical Ibibio society. It ensured that the community carried out judicial verdicts to the letter. You can call them police of the precolonial era.

Ekpo was and is never an occupation, but simply a socio-cultural concept handed from ancestral Ibibio. Masqueraders were and are your usual everyday member of the community who is an initiate. They did not play ‘ekpo’ for daily bread in time past. Recently though, masqueraders have infused collection of cash appreciation into the displays – as an entertainment.

Did Ekpo Have Supernatural Powers?

In recent times, the Ekpo masquerade has been more of a cultural display that hits the streets during important cultural occasions, on demand and during the end of year ‘ukapadisua’ (ukapisua) celebrations.

As with masquerades in other parts of black Africa, the use of magic does get engaged in Ekpo displays. Although this has been merely for fun than for any other motive. Whether the magical powers can be channeled into something harmful is topic for some other research.

https://ibomheritage.com/ekpo-society-masquerade-ibom-heritage/

Stallionhorse:
to verify if he paid 1.5m a night or not..

Is that what happened in your previous relationship?

Stallionhorse:
Can we go with our dog.. E get why??

What is your dog's business in your marriage?

In Ibibio land, marriage is beyond the fusion of 2 individuals; it brings families and communities together. This is the case in many African and West-Asian cultures. But if you are a bachelor courting an Ibibio damsel, or your son is the bachelor, this article explains how to marry that Ibibio girl. It details the traditions you need to be aware of.

Drop Your Pride!

Firstly, you must know that Ibibio people take a strong exception to being treated with disrespect. If your Ibibio girlfriend lets you pass, her dad, uncles, elder brothers will almost certainly not allow you approach their door with superiority complex. If you manage to brush past them, you could get yourself into trouble. Trouble that physical science may never understand.

One of the worst hindrances you would meet in getting married into an Ibibio family has to do with your proud defiance of the Ibibio culture. It can cost you more than you could imagine.

There is the story of a woman from a community between Uyo and Ikot Ekpene who could not conceive until her husband went back to fulfil all marriage rites that he had arrogantly skipped.

Do not sit in Lagos or even in nearby Port Harcourt and assume you know all about the Ibibio culture. Or that ‘nothing dey happen’. Drop your pride and let the girl’s family show you what to do.

Udioño Ufòk – Knowing the Family

This is the first stage in the actual process of marriage. At this stage the prospective groom goes in the company of his best friend or close associate to visit the father of the girl. Beware of how you visit her father’s house while you are just a suitor. If you have not decided to marry her and cleared with your own family, don’t ask to meet her dad during visits. And when she has cleared you and your family is on board the project, take some gift (with wine inclusive), take a good friend of yours along and schedule a time to go see her father or his representative.

3 Stupid Things You can Do in an Ibibio Marriage:

If you go with a female friend or sister, that’s stupid. Or you tell her dad “I only came to say hi”; or you go alone, you just did something stupid.

During this visit, you will be questioned by her father. He will ask what you do, your religion and your family history.

This is also the opportunity you have to get familiar with the direction to the lady’s home. This is true especially if the dad invites you to his family compound, not just his own built resident – which, may be away from his ancestral home.

No formal demands are made on the groom at this first stage but courtesy demands that you carry a bottle of aromatic schnapps. If the family does not accept alcoholic drinks, carry a non-alcoholic wine.

Nkòñ Udòk – Knocking the Door

This stage is very critical stage in the whole process of marrying in Ibibio land. At this stage, your family members escort you to the lady’s family.

Basically in theory, the ‘Knocking’ simply means enquiring formally for the availability of the girl and confirming the willingness of the family to release her to your family. This is where you hear the incoming family use the adage; “we have seen a beautiful flower in your yard and will like to pluck it and take home to ours”.

At this stage also, the process does not require your family head. He can send his representative and a delegation.

One important question you will also hear at this point is; “Nso’o ke adi?” This means; “what are you here for”.

Affirm and reaffirm your reason for the journey. You will get an applause and then will become eligible for the next stage.

The family will decide whether to issue you their marriage list or to ask you to come back for it. Since Ibibios are naturally easy going people, they will most likely not want you to go through the stress of travelling in too many times. They would have prepared the list before this point and would just hand it to you or the eldest man in the visiting party.

Items required at this stage for traditional rites may include; a bottle of strong drink, pods of kola, assorted fruits etc.

Following this event will be a meeting to negotiate the list. This article does not include negotiation of list as a formal stage in the marriage process because you can skip it. If you can afford the items on the list, why negotiate?

How Not To Marry Ibibio Girls: A Stupid Thing You Could Do

If you ask the girl’s family, “Please, when is the wedding date”, you have goofed big time.

Traditional Engagement (MbɅb)

When you are done with the list, the next stage is the formal betrothal of the prospective bride to the prospective groom in the presence of both families. It is called ‘mbɅb’ because it is the actual ‘request’ occasion. From this point, you are now betrothed to the lady according to the Ibibio tradition.

It is usually a celebration, although strictly on invitation. It is also the moment when you present the items on the marriage list.

Usòrò Ndò – Marriage Festival or Traditional Marriage

This is when the family gives your their daughter in the traditional sense. After now, you can leave with your wife. It is a festival, a celebration of families, community members and visitors.

Some Stupid Things You Can Do

This is a festival with its own dramas. If you even slightly show disgust at any of the dramas, you have embarrassed the entire community of the bride. Another stupid thing you can do is to see the lady before they bring her out. The family can fine you, and that would still be on a lighter note.

Notice that there are traditions in the Ibibio marriage process that are no longer in practice. One is the ‘Mboppo’ practice where elderly women pass a girl who has a suitor through fattening, circumcision and display at the market. Some of these practices that were adjudged harmful to health had to be suspended by present day Ibibio cultures. In fact, in today’s Ibibio land, once a young man and a maiden have agreed to get married and the families agree, everything else is fanfare.

(https://ibomheritage.com/how-to-marry-your-ibibio-girlfriend/)

Maazieze:
well said oga, could you post more on ibom people and thier history?

Of course

The Ibibio people were known for many fantastic virtues in times past. These virtues historically distinguished them from other ancient ethnic groups in Nigeria. Observe that ethnic groups have specific traits which they are known for. The Igbos are industrious, Hausas are Language-conscious, and Yorubas are famously showy. And then you have the Ibibios with their qualities. Mr. Udom Inoyo identified 4 virtues of Ibibio people in his lecture at book launch of ‘Ibibio Nation: History & Culture’.

DILIGENCE AND TRUST
The Ibibio man is happy to do his job and earn his wages. He is content. He would rather earn the trust of his boss than perform eye-service.

At some point, they were so trustworthy and diligent that elite Nigerians freely granted them access to most protected parts of their homes: the kitchen and the bedroom. This has been their nature since ancient times.

REPUBLICAN NATURE
Ancient Ibibios were frank and very principled. Till date, Ibibio people have the adage “ndiagha ke ufok owo“; a common phrase meaning that one can express his mind without equivocation because his daily bread does not depend on any other.

An Ibibio person has a way of giving his sincere opinion on issues, even if it differs from the common.

LOVE FOR EDUCATION
The advent of colonialism influenced their love for education notably. Back then, the Ibibio people had increased passion for education and wanted to be like their bosses.

In the book ‘The Ibibio Union’ written by late eminent Jurist, Sir Justice Udoma, the union, established in 1927, invested in education immediately. They recorded excellent achievement in being one of the foremost African nationalist bodies to award scholarships to its indigenes to study in foreign countries. This body also worked with colonial education departments to establish Ibibio State College in Ikot Ekpene in 1946.

COURAGE AND EXEMPLARY LIVING
History does not leave out Ibibio women. They were deeply involved in the formation of modern Ibibio culture.

It was Ibibio women who led the famous riot of 1929 in Ikot Abasi. Although writers recorded this as the Aba women’s riot, an Ibibio woman, the exemplary Madam Adiaha-Edem, was the arrow-head. She was paternal grand-mother of Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

Ibibio people are naturally unintimidated though they are also humble.

For more, please order the most recent book on Ibibio Nation by Oto-Obong Uwah here: https://ibomheritage.com/product/


https://ibomheritage.com/fantastic-virtues-ibibio-people-known-for/

If you need to buy followers to grow your page, your content strategy is a flop.
You might as well see the Ad spend as punishment from Social Media companies; punishment for poor content or content failure. For if your content is great, your accounts will grow naturally.



There is a caveat however.



Paying for more followers will cost money but fetch quicker results than growing organically. Howbeit, growing without buying followers will leave you with ever-lasting results.

Also, it is possible to grow organically but sharply. You would need to field content that is sensational enough, hot enough, mad enough - and at the right time, distributed to the right discussion forums, however. This would have to be controversy, by the way. There is really nothing else on earth that can make everyone rush to a scene of an event if it weren't either controversy or a looting spree.



So, decide what content you can publish. Decide if you are ready for controversies or not. Giveaways also amount to a form of paid organic marketing, so we can conveniently categorize it under 'follower buying'.

The screenshots below show our results from Social Media Marketing using organic methods. What did we use? Soft controversial topics, '0' giveaways and '0' Ads.

Whatsapp us via /2347013112718


(https://www.jabborro.com/2022/03/buying-followers-vs-growing-organically.html)

When it rains it pours

Over the past two years, the popular and rapidly growing short-form video platform TikTok has become a key channel for brands to catch the attention of consumers. With more than 1 billion users, TikTok—along with its unique algorithm and discoverability opportunities—helps brands engage and connect with new demographics and audiences.


TikTok is still fairly new, yet it has already become a necessary avenue to reach audiences. Thus, marketers around the globe face questions: How do I know what’s working on this platform? What is the secret sauce to making a TikTok video go viral?

Get creative. Coming up with new trends or unique ways to showcase your products or services is proven to resonate with followers.

Adopt an entertainment-first approach. [/b]The direction of entertainment-based marketing allows brands to take a human approach when connecting with their key demographics, creating content that not only moves audiences emotionally, but that also converts.

[b]Define your purpose and be authentic. First, think about why you’re showing up and what you want your audiences to receive from your platform. Once you start to create content, authenticity will be key. Consumers don’t want to see polished content that feels like an advertisement or commercial. They want relevance and they want real.

Build loyal partnerships. The influencers you’ve worked with up to this point are going to slide into your TikTok strategy with ease. They know this space and they already live and breathe your brand DNA. Leverage them to build out your campaigns and bring your story to life by featuring them and through branded content tags.

Follow the trends—fast. Jumping on trends and contributing to the conversation is one of the most important things to pay attention to when building out your TikTok marketing strategy. Trends come and go at the speed of light, so it’s crucial brands keep a close eye on what’s trending on the “For You” feed and tailor content to fit your brand voice.

Be the same—but different. It’s natural to expect short-form video channels to have some crossover. Be strategic when filming your content so that you can show up with originality by putting your unique brand spin on an existing trend or theme. This will allow you to participate in content your audience will love without spending a ton of extra time or resources generating ideas.

https://www.jabborro.com/2022/01/marketing-meets-entertainment-how.html

The lad is already hustling na. Except by 'Go and hustle', he means go and be fraudulent?

Is this still open?

Is this still open?

A social media style guide is connected to your brand voice. You want your brand essence to be showcased on social media and other marketing platforms for better brand recognition.

A social media style guide can offer your team concise information about publishing posts, so there’s less room for error. It will also make it easier for you to train new employees. That, in turn, will save both parties time. The less time you waste, the faster you’ll reach your social media goals.

In creating your guide, you need to understand what to include in it in the first place. Here’s a list of important elements:

1. Consumer persona: Creating the consumer persona of your target audience is an important exercise for any business. The consumer persona is an exclusive collection of data about your target audience.

Including a detailed consumer persona in your social media style guide will allow your team to understand the audience they’re targeting. That will help them customize social media content accordingly.

2. Language and formatting style: You must ensure that style is consistent across all your channels. Decide whether to use the U.S. or British English.

Consider how you will optimize your headlines and descriptions for each platform. Different platforms on social media have different word limits. Twitter, for instance, has a 280-word character limit. Decide how long your titles should be and consider tools like that can shorten links.

Finally, consider things like the use of emojis in your style guide. Decide if they are appropriate and which emojis you can use.

3. Industry terms: Use language that’s specific to your industry. Identifying the correct terminologies in your social media style guide will help your team ensure the correct words are used for your social media channels.

Moreover, there may be several words or phrases that your brand exclusively uses. You must define them in your guide as well—but take care to avoid unnecessary jargon.

4. Brand voice: Your social media style guide can ensure you have the same brand voice, even if your tone changes. That’s important because a consistent brand voice helps humanize your brand to customers. If your brand voice is inconsistent, you’ll only confuse them.

You don’t have to reinvent your social media brand voice. Your brand’s website should already embody this tone in the first place. If you construct a brand voice that’s different from your website brand voice in the social media style guide, you’ll end up with confused target customers. Consistency is crucial.

5. Hashtag usage: Hashtags can help your target customers find you—but they aren’t appropriate on every social media channel. Your social media style guide must therefore include an efficient hashtag strategy.

For instance, you can specify the hashtags your customers tag you in when posting about your products. In your guide, you can also explain how your team is expected to respond to them. Do you retweet or comment, or both?

If you have an ongoing campaign or have a future one lined up for your brand, make a list of all those hashtags you’ll use in your social media style guide so your team can integrate them into your social media platforms.


https://www.jabborro.com/2021/09/what-every-brand-should-include-in.html

alextso:
A sports prediction company is looking to hire a customer service agent. Work is remote. You must have a very good smartphone with access to constant internet. Role is to chat with website visitors. Pay is 15k monthly.

You must be proficient in talking with people and closing sales.

If interested, send cv or why we should consider you to austine_idowu@yahoo.com, along with your whatsapp details.

is this still open?

Nigeria is losing internet subscribers at an outrageous rate, as seen in the NCCs monthly published data of Internet subscriptions. Too many businesses’ marketing managers across the country, this is horrible news.

It is already shocking to see the consistent drop in internet subscribers since November 2020. One would have thought that the Internet has become an essential possession to the general Nigerian population, following food and shelter. That Nigerians are quitting the internet is an ominous sign to everyone, even worse for marketers.

According to data from Statista, businesses in Nigeria advertise more on TV than anywhere else. Out-of-Home (or Outdoor) advertising follows and then the Internet comes in 3rd place...

Click the link below to read the full report.
https://www.jabborro.com/2021/08/146m-nigerians-abandon-internet-are.html

These days, the value and effect of influencers in the Social Media space have become inestimable.

These are genius people who have figured out how to turn their special skill sets and hobbies into profitable personal brands are almost everywhere. Blogs, Youtube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram e.t.c. You name it. These kings and queens of content creation and engagements, have basically made any Social Media platform you can think of their kingdom.

Due to their popularity, it's a no-brainer that brands are always on the lookout for influencers that can easily align the brand's goals with their audience and pull people into the brand’s circle of influence on the platform of a 'transactional relationship'.

Interestingly, despite the large pool of influencer talents available, figuring out what’s going on culturally and then finding that perfect person to cascade your message is not as easy as it seems. Below are a few tips that can aid you in recording success in your next influencer marketing campaign.

Research your audience; You need to understand your brand’s audience before attempting to craft a campaign. It’s not just about demographics but that nuanced psychographics that turn your “consumers” into real people who happen to have purchase power in your category.

Study your audience's other interests; These people with purchasing power don’t only care about products. They’re interested in the arts, in sports, in politics and so much more. Figure out what excites them, scares them, makes them laugh. And use specifics rather than generalized ideas.

Pick an influencer; After the culture study in the aforementioned point, you can now go ahead and select individuals who can tell these stories for your brand in ways that capture the interest of your desired audience. This influencer may be a YouTuber, a TikTok star, or a strong personality on say Instagram or Twitter.

Craft the story you think you want; Go ahead, make a brief. But keep it short and sweet. Include the necessary information and nothing extra. Again, don’t make your brief longer than needed.

Let influencers do their thing; You chose them for a reason. Likely it’s because they create beautiful content that resonates with their audience. Let them work their magic for your brand.

Pay attention to interactions; There’s so much that can happen after they make that Instagram video or Twitter post. Read. The. Comments. There may be a consumer insight from their followers that inspires you to create a whole new product. If someone shares their own poignant story, you should be on hand to take note and research into that. Maybe when someone DMs the influencer with a photo, you can also ask for rights to post on your social channel. And the right influencer partner is going to be paying attention as well, answering questions and engaging with their followers.

https://www.jabborro.com/2021/08/influencer-marketing-identifying.html

Digital PR is all about using PR tactics to earn backlinks to support your SEO strategy. In other words, digital PR is simply creating content that tells stories that are so good that journalists actually want to cover and link to them.

Different tactics exist, and success comes from knowing which and when to use. However, few tactics can help you earn links at scale, but digital PR can help you earn relevant links. Also, there are a whole host of other benefits to your business such that If you're not using digital PR as part of your link building strategy, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.

Below are a few digital PR tactics to use. They may not be suitable for every business, so you need to understand which is appropriate for the industry you are in.

Creative Campaigns; Creative campaigns are an effective way to come up with something that journalists want to cover.

Think visualizations, predictive imagery, or creative stunts that get people talking. While this often gets labelled as 'do something cool,' it really comes down to having a great idea that stands out from the crowd.

Newsjacking; Newsjacking is all about monitoring the news and reacting to breaking stories with expert insights, comments, and advice.

It's an effective tactic and one that doesn't require complex content assets. With newsjacking, your linkable asset is usually an expert within your business.

However, you need to be quick. You can't sit around and send posts 24 hours later. The quicker you're able to land a great post, the better your chances of success.

In addition, the comments need to add value to the topic, not simply trot out what has happened.

Expert-Insights PR and Quotes; Your people, their knowledge, and expertise can be an effective way to earn great linked coverage even when not hooked to a breaking news topic.

Sit down with product or service specialists within your business and talk to them about what your audience needs to know, what commonly asked questions could be asked, or hot topics to be aware of. Then, turn these into expert-insight pitches.

Create a piece of blog content to go alongside this, where possible, to improve the percentage of pieces of coverage that link, rather than give a brand mention.

Product PR; Product PR often feels like it belongs very much in the hands of a traditional PR.

But the truth is that the lines are starting to blur, and your products (or, more specifically, deals or the stories around your products) can help you earn links.

Product links often drive noticeable sums of revenue due to the nature of the tactic. At the end of the day, if someone is talking about your products in an article and these links get clicked, it makes sense that some of these users will then go on to buy.

Just don't forget the need to find a story.

Products on their own are rarely stories, but great savings during your latest sale can be stories. As can how your products can help to solve a common problem that your audience has.

Go above and beyond pitching out your products on their own. Take the time to think about what would make a journalist write about your product, and more specifically, why someone would want to read about them.

Put yourself in the reader's shoes and look for interesting ways to hook your products to the challenges that they face.

https://www.jabborro.com/2021/06/seo-digital-pr-tactics-for-link-building.html

Search engines are constantly changing and improving on their algorithms. This means that what worked years decades ago is no longer relevant today.

Google is always giving webmasters hints on how to optimize for SEO. Acting on that advice can instantly improve your rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Here are 12 factors you must consider:

1. Core web vitals

Google core web vitals are the latest user-centered ranking factors introduced by Google in 2020. They’re launched to help search robots assess page experience more accurately and improve search usability.

These metrics go beyond loading speed and page responsiveness and dig deep into user experience trying to improve how fast a page loads and how soon can users interact with it.

Although there are still lots of unanswered questions around Core Web Vitals, one thing is for sure: User-experience is the future of SEO.

2. High-quality content

Content quality has always been a top priority to search engines, which explains why it is a key ranking factor. Your content needs to be valuable in order for it to stand out and rank high. It must anticipate all the answers inside your prospects’ minds and meet them where they are.

Every organic visitor is facing a unique challenge that they need help with. Thus, search results that fail to provide detailed answers to those problems shouldn’t come at the top.

Duplicate, repetitive articles are never preferred by Google or its users. That’s why you need to go the extra mile and write all-inclusive articles for your audience. You must also revisit your old content regularly to keep it updated with the latest trends and provide new solutions to your readers.

Finally, every sentence you write must encourage the visitor to read the next one. So, keep your articles easy to read and skim through by using short paragraphs and phrases. Use a modern, elegant font on your website and leave a lot of white space around your text to improve readability.

3. Keywords in meta title tags

The title tag is the most important of all meta tags because it...

Please continue reading via this link: https://www.jabborro.com/2021/05/seo-googles-latest-ranking-factors.html

ogaprime:
Hello social media managers

I need a Social Media Manager that resides in Ibadan, Oyo state to manage the social media platforms for an established medium scale firm. Experience in food, event and catering sector is an added advantage.

Kindly drop your instagram handle here for review. Thanks

Hello, I am a good and experienced social media manager. I do not stay in Ibadan but I can get the job done. I have worked for different brands and businesses away from my locale.

When you tap into both brain science and information science, you discover amazing insights about attention spans, cognitive overload and interpersonal communication or lack thereof. This mix of brain science, psychology and marketing is how you break through the noise.

There’s a shift from trying to be elegant to trying to be more responsive. Here are three distinct, burgeoning communication modes to help communicate effectively in today's noisy world.

1. In-person, kinetic information sharing. As more people are vaccinated and begin to congregate, collaborative spaces and in-person meetings become as valued as ever before. This will surely provide a very powerful mix of people and ideas coming together.”

2. Active through technology. This is where people of all backgrounds and experiences are showing up and not waiting for an invitation. Social platforms allow for real-time conversations and a larger “playground” focused on connecting through auditory and visual channels.

3. A demand for on-demand content. We are now living in a world where content is accessed at any time. People want to consume and create content, and they want it now or maybe later, but it’s up to them. Communicators should provide more options.

PR and content marketing have one main thing in common: They help your company get in front of your target audience to tell stories that drive credibility and awareness.


Naturally, the two business functions can—and should—have a symbiotic relationship. Good content can fuel PR opportunities on its own, and you’ve probably already got a lot of good content.

But if you want to get as much mileage out of your content as possible, you’ll also need to work your content assets into your media outreach. Here are four ways to make your content power PR wins:

1. Use blogs as proof of thought leadership.

The definition of “thought leadership” has gotten muddled by overuse. Thought leadership is just expertise: insightful analysis, predictions and commentary informed by years of experience. Strong thought leadership is vital to a successful PR program. That’s because reporters are always on the hunt for expert sources.

The easiest path? Maintain a blog.

A thought leader needs to be an actual person at your company. Their name should be on your blogs, and they should be able to speak off the cuff about the latest industry happenings. It doesn’t necessarily have to be your CEO, but it should be someone who’s comfortable talking to the media.

The blog becomes the cornerstone of your company’s thought leadership strategy. In owned content channels, you have complete control over what you want to say. That’s a gift you won’t find in other channels.


2. Send your latest blogs as an FYI to stay in front of reporters.

You know that consistency is key for a content program’s success. It’s also key for building up PR opportunities.

Fresh blog content boosts search engine visibility and domain authority, which makes a reporter more likely to find you when searching for sources. Good content can be the hook that makes that reporter want to talk to you.

Publishing articles on LinkedIn and Medium, for example—with your thought leader’s byline—can also catch a reporter’s attention. We’ve heard firsthand from reporters that they search these platforms to see who’s writing about a topic to find potential sources.

New content is also an excuse to regularly reach out to reporters.

Say you’ve got your heart set on landing a story in a top-tier publication, but so far you haven’t broken through with the reporter. Try a pitch sprinkled with content insights. Share a couple of takeaways from your thought leader’s latest blog as evidence that they have nuanced commentary to offer.

What’s the right balance of information to include in your pitch? We’ve had the most successful offering a broad overview in an initial email and hinting at deeper insights beneath the surface. The reporter should have to set up a call to get the really juicy stuff.

3. Use webinar and podcast appearances to get speaking engagements.

Writing isn’t the only kind of content that can fuel your PR program.

If your company produces webinars and podcasts, use those assets to prove that your thought leaders would be great picks for a speaking gig. Delivering thought leadership in audio format is a distinct art. Producers want an interesting and articulate guest, not someone who just sounds good on paper. If you have a thought leader with a track record of engaging performances, share those clips with producers of podcasts, webinars and other speaking engagements.

4. Let your customers tell their stories.

Have a customer whose experience with your company perfectly captures your value propositions? Ask them if they’re game to talk to the media.

Customer case studies are useful for sales enablement, nurturing leads, and generating media interest. Why? Three reasons:

They tend to be less overtly promotional for your company.
They provide tangible examples of use cases and results.
A Fortune 500 company or industry leader in the headline grabs readers’ attention.
If your customer is willing, pitch them for stories or interviews on your company’s behalf. They won’t always say yes, but many will recognize that your case study is free PR.

Good content can organically generate inbound PR opportunities, which is reason enough to have a content marketing program. But there’s no guarantee your content will do this work on its own.

If reporters, editors, and producers don’t find your content organically, get it in front of them. Once your content has earned their respect, you’ll have built another foundation for PR: relationships.


https://www.jabborro.com/2021/04/how-right-content-marketing-helps-your.html

Distrust is the first reason among 6 hot reasons eCommerce startups fail in Africa, according to Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe's article on HBR. Others include such sensitive elements like logistics, random placement of market - everywhere you go there is a trader in Africa, cost of broadband (internet data) and others.

Read on below;

https://www.jabborro.com/2021/04/Distrust-eCommerce-Businesses-Africa.html

Proofreaders do not simply read and wait for errors to jump out at them. They take an active role in reviewing material, assuming that all content is guilty until proven error-free.

Herein lies the secret to great proofreading. Proofreaders find the most errors—shhhh—when they look for them. Of course, it helps to know where to look and which types of inconsistencies you’re searching for.

Mistakes can lurk anywhere, including headlines, captions, and graphics. Errors may be unrelated to spelling or grammar, cleverly camouflaged as an improperly placed photo, an incorrect page reference, or a broken web link.

Proofreaders should ensure they check for some of the following flaws when reviewing print or digital publications:


Missing or misspelt headers and footers, or non-sequential page numbers (never assume these items do not need checking!)
Mismatching page references in a table of contents or in the body of the text
Bad, broken or misspelt links
Inconsistent or incomplete instructions
Incorrect photo captions (always compare the caption to its picture!)
Misspellings or missing labels in graphs, tables, or illustrations
Variations in style or formatting
In addition, you'll likely catch more errors if you:

Read the text out loud.
Make paragraphs smaller and sentences shorter.
Read backwards, starting with the last sentence and proceeding in reverse to the top.
Take your time, and always read with fresh eyes.
It is the proofreader’s job to test all content for accuracy and precision before it goes out the door. Reading mindfully, with the intent to catch as many of these perpetrators as possible, is crucial to doing that job well. A proofreader should never ignore questions that arise when reviewing content—looking something up or querying the author is always advisable. If the proofreader falters, it is likely the reader will, too.

In the end, proofreading is about ensuring error-free content reaches its audience—for the author’s benefit in properly conveying the intended message, and for the proofreading sleuth in proudly earning more “Great catches!”

visit http://www.jabborro.com/2021/03/how-to-build-super-heroic-proofreading.html to read more of such insightful articles

While some of the latest developments have been brewing for a while in response to the internet revolution, many are the direct result of reactions to the pandemic. Here are 10 developments all media relations pros should track:

1. The click is king. As most print media outlets are now operating online, a story’s importance is now based on how many clicks and shares it gets. Do more clicks and shares mean the story is more relevant? Maybe, maybe not. But it is now how a journalist’s success is measured at most outlets today.

2. Remote interviews are the new norm. Remote interviews for TV and online media outlets have always been done, but were never preferred and usually reserved for important news sources. With social distancing in place, it was now necessary for all but rare exceptions, and for public relations professionals, this meant training clients to make Zoom interviews interesting. With the improved technology that most stations now have in place, we can expect this trend to continue.

3. Relationships are still important. For a good part of 2020, if it wasn’t COVID-19 related, journalists couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn't engage with any story pitch. PR professionals needed a strong hook and strong relationship with journalists and editor to get attention. On a local level, it was—and will remain—easier, as outlets have to produce a lot of content with ever-dwindling staffs and are relying increasingly on outside sources to provide that content.


4. The news won’t be free. All the free content on Google—which is at the mercy of editorial agendas—massacred traditional media, which struggled to compete for ad dollars. For those looking for objective reporting, most news outlets are going to subscription-based online content. This means less access to articles from traditional outlets with journalistic principals, and pitches about trending topics online will have more leverage with editors.

5. Live radio pivots. With fewer people commuting and travelling (and not listening to the radio as they do so) live local radio has been struggling according to the National Association of Many longer radio interviews have migrated to podcasts that have been highly monetized, and consumers can download and listen on their devices, including their smart cars.

6. Digital news gets aggregated. More people are getting news from social media and subscribed e-newsletters and podcasts. Legitimate news outlets are leveraging the power of social media as a tool to distribute their stories with their own Facebook pages and reporter twitter accounts where distribution is spread through readers’ sharing of a story.

7. Struggle for balance. With the advent of overtly left and right-wing news outlets, there is a growing division on how people get their news. As outlets become more politicized, the freest content on Google, social media and even newspapers’ guest columns and Op-Eds are falling in line with an editorial agenda. Consumers will need to pay for most objective content, and as many won’t, that means most will get their news from sources that follow their own political beliefs.

8. Local news is challenged. The model for local news is changing. Many turn to Google. Newspapers with a strong digital presence and some print distribution are trying to find their way through paid subscriptions, nonprofit models and other forms of sponsorships.

9. Social media influencers’ growing influence. Social media influencers who hit it big have a huge number of followers that are an attractive audience for public relations professionals to tap into. Public relations professionals are engaging more and more with these folks to get client stories, products and ideas mentioned to this new audience base.

10. More mergers, more shrinkage. More news outlets are merging, and with it comes the continued staff losses. The advent of this is that most reporters are now generalists and many “beats” are now gone or rare. For example, business news at mainstream newspapers is focused on the major industry of the region—for example automotive in Detroit—and other business news is now covered by reporters who cover a range of topics, but are not focused “business” beat reporters.

What media relations trends are you watching this year?

Visit http://www.jabborro.com/2021/02/media-relations-trends-to-watch-in-2021.html to read more interesting features...

1. Be authentic.

One of the key elements that make consumers feel connected to brands is authenticity. Making authenticity a pillar of your content strategy and brand is crucial in the grand scheme of your strategy, but it’s also the single most important attribute to successfully tap into Gen Z. This largely means radical transparency at the consumer level. Being open and honest with your audience reinforces and defines the persona that dictates a brand’s social presence.

Most business leaders can agree the world’s problems are too profound to stay neutral, or arguably worse, silent. Decide on the moral compass your organization strives towards and be true to those beliefs on social. By outwardly supporting the causes, charities and ideals that form the bedrock of your company’s beliefs, you will undoubtedly resonate with the audience you’re seeking. Go all-in on authenticity and don’t fall prey to half-hearted sentiments that aren’t backed up by tangible support.

2. Take the risk of being interesting.

Big rewards don’t come without an element of risk. No one has the perfect formula for what the internet will devour on any given day, but you can always take the risk of being interesting in a way that only your brand can.

Be unique in your creative approach to social media. This year has proven to be a year with a lot of noise to cut through on social, but good ideas and pure, unfettered messaging will help cut through the abundance of traditional marketing. Couple this with visuals that demand attention and you’re on your way to sharable content that will resonate with your audience.

Though it’s important to know what content your community craves, it’s equally as important for you to create forward-thinking content that hits.

3. Understand your strengths.

Know who you are. No one follows a brand to be marketed to; they follow a platform-native persona that aligns with their core values and interests. This is the greatest strength a brand can bring to the social sphere.

Go through the work of finding what makes your brand unique and what strengths and point of view you share with your desired community. Having a clear identity that is built to serve and entertain the demographic you want to reach is vital to meaningful success, including engaging comments and discussion, double-tap/retweet/duet affirmation and the real metric for widespread influence, shares and, ultimately, impressions.

4. Know what your audience wants.

Listen to what your community is craving and the feedback they have penned within the comments, DM’s, quote retweets, story mentions, etc. If you’re not listening and adapting, then you’re not using one of your most valuable resources. Testing and learning from your audience is the key to success.

Don’t neglect cross-promotion in your content strategies. You can also hit your target audience from multiple angles on social media by ensuring that talent and partners have the assets and access they need to bolster your messaging to potential new followers. More visibility equals more growth.

It’s a challenging social media landscape to navigate right now. Keep the balance between content that embodies your brand’s offerings and the content that showcases your core values and stances on social issues. Be authentic, take chances, lean into your strengths, and don’t be afraid to shake up your content when something isn’t hitting your audience. Take the risk of being interesting, by lifting the stuffy veil of traditional corporate comms and think social. Let’s get real.

Visit http://www.jabborro.com/2021/02/tips-to-help-your-brand-navigate.html to continue reading this and other articles.