1. Know the system in which you operate and identify the gap

He had worked long enough in the journalism industry to realise that the businesss to know that the future of journalism is digital. Sometimes the business idea you need to be successful is all around, tou need to be fufiling a need in the market or else youa re on a stroll.

2. Understand Timing

Timing can just be the only business between a great idea nd a frustrating one. the net.ng started when most people had not considered going online as a veritable option. The execellent timing and the element of luck was responsible for our success.

3. Start small

Cashflow projI had spent 3 years searching for people and organisations who could fund my business idea for NGN10billion. I met the unwilling, relectant and deceptive type of investors whi wasted my time.

It was not until I got someone who told me all I needed was a portal to start the website and gave NGN 250,000 to the project. and so I started, without staff, office i began the journey called thenetng today

4. Don’t borrow, grow organically

Borrowing to an entrepreneur might have its negative effects; it can stiffle creative and also ensure you shift your attention form your attention from growing the business to looking for money.

5. Create a USP, and sell it from the word go

I had decided that our selling proposition was going to be the credible source of information about entertinment news in Nigeria and we stuck to the ethics and principles of journalism. Newspapers that thought online news reporting does not work are copying our work and quoting us on their news report. People call us to confirm news reports because for us, credibility has always been

6. Know the rules and break them

Sometimes rules put a limit on our creativity and those who suceed in impacting the world and find a way to push the limits. There are traditional unwritten rules that people follow traditionally; how to plan front pages, treat important staff members, methods and systems of running a business. While most of them have been based in historical events, the rapidly changing nature of human behaviour and technology makes some rules irrelevant.

We cannot say we have reached our peak but we are well positioned within the industry to move unto greater heights

‘A Negative brand equity is a death sentence’; the Goodluck Jonathan Government should have been listening to Mark Ritson. More rightly put, it can lead to suicide. The #OccupyNigeria train hit Nigeria like a thunderstorm bringing to bear what Nigeria’s foremost humanright’s lawyer, Femi Falana calls Nigeria’s most powerfully organised protest. The #OccupyNigeria protests, which is the simultaneous response of the Nigerian people against arbitrary increase in fuel pump price and #Governmentwaste, is a similitude of the Egyptian and Tunisian protests but named after ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests. It has been a “deregulated protest” spanning Nigeria’s major Cities, Embassies and High Commissions around the world.
What trend is the #occupynigeria depicting for brands?

1. The other edge of Social Media Marketing has been officially activated

With so much talk about social media marketing and its impact to reaching out to social customers, little attention has been given to social media advocacy.If your business/boss has not been taking social media serious, the impact of social media advocacy will jolt you into action. There is no doubt that the ongoing social media revolution will have an enormous impact not only on the way consumers and brands communicate with each other but also the impact of consumer-consumer communication. For this reason, social media engagement and relationship management strategies are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘must have’ for marketers.
But marketing via social media channels is not as simple as it is through other channels because of its two-edged effects:
a. Consumers can publicise negative experiences and ideas very widely in a matter of minutes;
b. They can also publicise positive experiences and ideas very widely in a matter of minutes.

The impact of social media as a rallying platform for #occupynigeria cannot be over emphasised. The announcement of the venue of the Lagos rally which cascadingly gathered close to 2 million people in its third day was announced though social media platforms (Blackberry, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other instant messaging platforms).
The ‘unlike President Jonathan day’ (featured on CNN) and ‘the most cursed president’ (ranked on Google) campaign was widely impressive with CNN and Google helping to hype its veracity. With the tools to quickly rally people around a cause readily available, its time to watch it!
The days of poor customer service and treating clients/customers like thrash are counting.

2. Never Violate Trust – It’s the Currency of Brands not Prices

Brand Equity (the strength of a brand) is derived from the goodwill and recognition a brand has garnered over time as a result of fufilling its brand promise. This translates into higher sales volume and profit margins against competing brands. This is the reason why some brands command high patronage even if they charge premium for their products – it is the intangible asset of all promotional efforts.
In an unprecedented manner, the docile and unconcerned Nigerian populace have been jolted alive – thanks to access to information. The total breakdown of trust between the Nigerian people who ‘massively’ voted for the Jonathan Government can be attributed to the widely spread information available on Government’s spending habits, budgetary allocation and money politicking among its high ranking officials.
It is an important lesson to learn that you cannot gain equity by increasing product cost before improving its funtional attributes.

3. Be Ready to Cope with Impersonation

Especially if your business has no officially identified presence in the digital and social media space, or your boss is one who thinks Blackberry is a popular fruit; you now need to prepare for uncertainties, impersonations, rumors and ‘company leaks’.
Some organisations had spent considerable time and enegy refuting claims that they ”ordered people to resume or face sack” during the Nationwide strike declared during the #OccupyNigeria protests. Brands with extensive and original Twitter and Facebook pages quickly responded while traditional businesses looked for avenues to calm misconceptions. The official Twitter handle and Facebook page of the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala came alive in response to claims that she had threatened to resign from office if Nigerians eventually win the battle of the reversal.
Brands now have to think of ways to guide employees’s social relationships, have a policy and chief responsibility officer in preparation for crisis, and consistently stamp their voice online to crowd out impersonating pages and conflicting handles.

4. Social Media can no longer be left to that junior staff

Brands now know they need more than the ability to read and write to assign social media engagement to anyone. Whether to outsource to a social media agency or assign an employee to handle the platforms. The Social Media Manager is not necessarily for the Senior Manager; the appointment into this position requires a new way of thought. It is important to appoint someone with a natural flair for meandering and communicating through different platforms; someone with tact, intelligent, temprate and intelligent enough to engage a wide and varied number of issues and tempraments.
Improper handling of these platforms can backfire and the ripple effects cannot be directly measured until it impacts on the bottomline. The story of how a Fan Page moderator became intolerant when people began to complain on its Facebook about the use of non-renewable palm oil in their production is already a global case study on how not to speak on Facebook.

5. Listening to these Social Media ‘rants’ is now critical

Citizen’s blog posts , comments, social media and Blacberry discussion trends . . it is no more enough to hear about them, it’s time to listen. The emotional and connectedness between brands and their teeming customers can quickly translate into hate and social media mass action if you are not listening early enough and reponding appropriately.
Sustaining Brand equity is a valuable asset which companies invest huge amounts of money to develop; social media listening is now an avenue to maintain and sustain that social reputation.
The web is awash with various tools to help brands listen and respnd appropriately. Brand equity refers to the intangible value that accrues to a company as a result of its successful efforts to establish a strong brand

6. Despite its uncertainties; there lies the power to raise a tribe

SApart for an avenue to execute a highly targetted online marketing campaign; social media is established as a veritable tool for building brand loyalty.
The best way is to think of it as a party. The same wisdom that applies to any social situation also works with social media: Just be yourself and talk to people. Anyone following your brand is also following his or her family members, friends and colleagues. If your brand fits in with a customer’s personal social network, there is great potential for that person to build an emotional attachment and loyalty for your brand the same way they would for a friend. And when a customer thinks of you as a friend, you have a loyal customer.

There is no doubt that the ongoing and fast-developing social media revolution is having an enormous impact not only on the way consumers can communicate with other consumers, but also on the ways in which consumers and brands communicate with each other. For this reason, social media engagement and relationship management strategies are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘must have’ for marketers.

However, if you’re looking at taking a huge chunk of the youth market and emerging young professionals, then you need to take a shot at using social media strategy to jump start your business.

Startups are not that easy, they are lean, they are hungry for success and they need to catch up with clients and keep a close eye on their industry. Many more internet startups are dying faster than traditional businesses and it is important to get to know what had been consistent thnigs that the few successful one did.

This infographic by some great guys at Udemy helps to summarise how social media can be used by startups to get off the ground.

by Column Five Media via

1. The Public is Back!

Yes, the public relations is no more about what you can do improve
communication with your target audience and stakeholders alone, you need to pay
attention to how the publics can now influence your organisation and its
interests. Stakeholders are now more empowered to respond to organisations’ decisions,
policies and people in a record time and in a massive way.

The multiplicity of communication platforms has also thrown lots of
challenges in the way of the reputation manager. Having a customer’s article
about poor service showing up in Google search results before your
organisations’ website is guaranteed to make you lose customers. Online
Reputation Management, Social Media Engagement, Search Engine Optimisation and
Marketing skills are the new competence levels and it is the business of a
public relations manager to be abreast of consumer touch-points and the various
ways in which consumers can provide feedback on organisations products and
services.

 2. The Rise of New Influencers

Trust agents used to be opinion leaders, community heads, monarchs and brand                                                                                                     ambassadors – but not anymore. Across industries and sectors, new influencers are rising and
it has little to do with their educational or professional certifications.
People in your industry with huge social media followers have become powerful
influencers and those with the knowledge of marketing and promotions are fast
turning themselves into marketing and advertising professionals.  A
quick example is the rise of Nollywood Love, an online YouTube channel that
streams Nigerian films online. The organization and its founder have become big
players and influencers within the industry and he didn’t start by showing up
for auditions. With the democratization of information, everyone has become a
potential publisher and the owner of big media houses are paying attention.                                                                                                                                The major lesson is this; today everyone has the power to influence the perception                                                                                                                   of your brand.

3.  Time is no longer money

If you still quote ‘time is money’, it has become an old fashioned
assumption. Really time now costs you more – it is influence, authority,
authenticity, originality and all the leverage that huge amount of money may
never buy back. Letting news about your organisation or client travel faster
that you can respond will cost you more than you think. In our 24/7
customer-centric world, social media has increased the potential for negative
outcry to gain visibility faster than your brands’ media efforts. The challenge
of the PR professional is to be well-informed, methodical, think fast and be
proactive about every public relations issue that affects your organisation’s
reputation.

4. Researchers are Smiling

The speed of information sharing is faster than ever before and PR professionals
have access to a wealth of content that can be shared with consumers seeking
solutions to a problem. Creating a simple keyword based search on Twitter and
Facebook can connect companies with people at exactly the right time to serve as a helpful
resource. By engaging proactively, PR teams can create new opportunities to
create a favorable brand impression that can lead to the beginning of a potential
business relationship.

Social media has also positively influenced the long standing dynamics of the PR-Journalist                                                                                         practice. Journalists seek information from online sources and PR professionals have also                                                                                             benefited from the added access to available channels. Account planners and researchers can                                                                                               also use digital polls management platforms to conduct their research and analyse results.

5. Digital Reputation Management

Since people are going online to find out about brands and product, it is
only natural that brand managers will be concerned about their online
reputation. They will demand that their Public Relation Consultants expand
their level of competence online and to ensure that traditional communication
channels are extended into online communities.

Rankings of negative comments, opinions and perceptions of your brand (or
product) in search engines now become important to your business.

The business of the reputation manager is now more complex, dynamic and
evolving – the time to rest on the oars can’t be now.

6. Conversation is the new Communication

The word ‘mutual understanding’ a consistent  feature of the definition of Public
Relations? Social
media  has added more tools and re-structured the strategy
and execution of successful two-way communication.

Two-way conversation. PR pros can no be information peddlers that puch information into the
media and sit back and expect to succeed. you can be assured that your PR press release will                                                                                              be answered quickly and in a personal manner, faster that all the time you took in developing it.

Timely, two-way communication is the “new normal.” Listening, engagement and thought
leadership are now three areas that PR pros manage.

7. Analytics, Methods and Tools

PR pros need to understand and use emerging social media tools.
Analytic tools can help track return on investment, including direct costs of staff time spent                                                                                                using the tools, social media marketing efforts and measurement of the traffic it drives to a                                                                                            company’s website.

Social media tools is already becoming the main interphase between
journalist s, PR professionals and the publics. There are many tools onlinen to
help achieve this.

It is the business of PR professional not to get lost in
this season of digital disruptions.

It’s time to step up to the game!

Apple has lost its creative and visionary leader Steve Jobs. Even if you never knew him he has influenced humanity. His brilliance approached in develop Apple brand of products remain the keystone of Apple’s success story. It is still hard to imagine Apple without him.

As brands battle the decision whether to go social media, how to engage new media platforms and exploring the new ways to sell their products and engage their rapidly changing consumers. While some are busy considering what to do, some are brilliantly leveraging on social media to meet the rapidly changing consumer behavior to promote and build their brands, grow their market share and to flaunt consumer loyalty.

This is a roll call of 5 Nigerian’s corporate brands (and honorable mentions) that have smartly engaged social media and are using this to encourage interaction, promote their brand, products and offerings and they are doing a great job at it.

1. GTBank integrates it all

Especially in a traditionally conservative industry, GTBank braved the odds in integrating social media into their traditional corporate communications strategy to reach and sustain communication with their target audience. The GTBank Facebook page remains one of the most engaging and active Nigerian brands on Facebook (ok, maybe after The BeatFM).

GTBank completely uses its Twitter and Facebook page in driving traffic into its websites and targeted communities. It also uses the same channel in attending to customer service, collating customer feedback and promoting programmes and events. The new Acting Managing Director, Segun Agbage was formerly in charge of corporate communications and made his first official media statement on Facebook (YouTube), with this interesting start; I believe we are set for more innovative creations from GTBank.

2. Individual Brands are driving the Heartbeat of The Beat 99.9 FM

If any media brand has consciously or unconsciously integrated traditional and social media, The Beat 99.9FM is it. The Beat 99.9FM is one of the radio channels under the management of Megalectrics Limited and they are hitting the beat hard. The strategy of ensuring that both employees and listeners gain ownership, and promote the brand using their personal networks has yielded brilliant outcomes. While I think they did ‘ojoro’ in importing ideas and methodologies, they have succeeded in patiently waiting for Nigerians in the future and we are growing to meet them there. Coinciding with the rise of radio-enabled phones and traffic jams in Lagos, The Beat 99.9 FM has continued to make traffic fun; following its fans everywhere from offices to their homes.

One interesting feature is how they have used individual brands and a careful blend in the use of Twitter and Facebook platforms in collating user feedback and comments during radio programmes. Other radio stations are catching up on the idea and with time it will soon be normal; Inspiration FM, Top Radio, and recently Star FM.

So to Oreka, Gbemi, Toolz, , Olisa, Dj Caise,Chris… who did I miss? You guys rock!

3. The Courageous News Breakers – 234next

This idea of Dele Olojede has earned him one of the most innovative CEOs in the world. They have consistently used technology as leverage to stand toe-to-toe with the older newspaper companies in Nigeria. They have pulled out every technological trick to stay afloat and to define and the reach of their target audience.

With ground breaking investigative journalism, layout and creative copy as its key differentiation factors, they are using Online Ads, Bulk SMS technology, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube in driving traffic and improving their bottom line.

In a season where government patronage is a lifeline for press houses, 234next is staying true to the call – they are still standing tall.

4. Virtual Window-shop – Samsung Mobile Nigeria

Samsung Mobile knows they are not directly selling a service; they sell products and they are willing to use every avenue to promote it. If you need a quick run through of Samsung’s products in the market, visit their Facebook page.

The Samsung Mobile NIgeria’s Facebook page beautifully uses the platform to help you windowshop for their products. They have also included tabs that encourage customer feedback, users’ tip and tricks and the collaboration they have with The BeatFM. The Facebook page also encourages customer interaction and thus remains one of the most active brand pages on Facebook.

5. Fame overtakes MTN brand

If you snoop around Facebook you are more likely to arrive at the MTN Project Fame page faster than the original MTN Facebook page. On every front, the people have chosen where to interact – the MTN Project Fame WA page.

MTN Nigeria is also the worst hit on unofficial pages – you will find so many MTN Facebook pages than another and will take you time to know the original one is MTNloaded on Facebook.

While being a popular service brand with lots of product offerings, they are bound to get a lot of customer service requests and enquiries and they need to get in-house managers to engage them effectively. The MTN Project Fame on YouTube also has a huge following within the Nigerian context. If any telecommunication can build an engagement on social media, MTN has the potential because the people are already waiting.

Honorable mention:

Always is building a tribe with Girl power!

Facebook fans -120,165

The Always Nigeria Facebook page is seeking to promote knowledge about Teens, womanhood, growing up, puberty, first period and being a girl. It is designed o provide a supportive community for girls entering puberty and giving helpful tips and answers to many of the questions girls have and they are doing it well.

We have dissipated our time and energies in coordinating our communal efforts to develop our nation –we have gone to orphanages and convalescent homes to help others, we have supported the work of inept governments when we repaired our damaged roads, but we can only do so much. We have taken to the streets when we have been pushed, deprived and beaten to the wall – only to say enough is enough. How many people die when hospitals shut down because of strikes? How many people meet untimely death simply because the person in charge feels some other personal agenda needs to be serviced? We cannot afford to sigh.

If all we do is to succeed in spite of the system, we may be paying a heavy price for negligence of the fate of others and the society. If we can afford to buy good cars for bad roads and generators for candle electricity; we cannot build refineries to supply fuel for our cars and generators, or can we then raise our kids in body armour? Some go to school with kids who have no idea what tomorrow holds for them. It is time we rolled our sleeves and got working. If one conscientious leader becomes your Local Government Chairman, Governor, even President then our lives will be fuller, safer and richer. Everyone who desires the interest of Nigerians must not be spectators; we must be part of the solutions. Our sighs must be a reward of our committed labour.

Where am I going? We need 300 people. Will our members everywhere, those interested in the rallying around a cause strong enough to push Nigeria forward come together? If we were to look back in 15, 20 and 30 years from now, if our children asked us the single moment for would have loved to change, will it be now, when we have a chance, not only to vote, but to vote for results that matter. I don’t want to join the company of people who will look back and sigh to ourselves – we could have done better!. God, give us great leaders, give us great men!

Register now here

I delivered the message titled “My letter to Idris – 10 lessons to an undergraduate”. I spoke extensively on these lessons as they relate to life, leadership, academics and relationships. I enjoyed myself while sharing personal examples and principles that I learnt the hard way, the easy way and the ones I learnt after the fact. I intend to post the presentation once I finish sorting out the technical issues involving my website.

But going through the Ife – Lagos highway, I could literally point out potholes before we got there even after not being on that road close to a year. I thought about the numerous accidents I saw, the countless number of lives lost and families in grief because some people refused to execute their responsibilities. I thought about our challenges of power supply which have defied all possible approaches. When people rise into leadership in Nigeria, do they become helpless or conscienceless?

We need men in power, men and women with courage and a conscience; people who have come to understand leadership as a call to destiny and not one of the necessary rites of life. When the right people don’t show up by election day, people will vote for the ones available, and if we don’t show up to vote, some people will vote on your behalf. Will the next president please show up early enough?

We don’t have to vote for experienced incompetence.

Though life is calibrated and measured in years and accomplishments, the outcome of those times will depend on the little details of our lives – in days, hours, minutes and seconds. The key to success in life is getting to do little things correctly, all the time, every time, so that the summation of our actions will yield a balanced, structured end result which is a brand of impeccable and sound quality.

Even in my work, where I demonstrate a passion for work and idea generation, I have come to appreciate that commitment to quality and relentless attention to details are essential hallmarks of excellence. Attentions to details save organisations a lot of time, frustration and money. Most organizations and people that have enjoyed the greatest success understanding that it takes hundreds of small, seemingly insignificant details repeated day in and day out to create an unforgettably excellent experience.

Lesson #1: Train your brain, but back it up

Some clichés become so common they often lose their significance like it is often said that the shortest pen remembers better than the shortest memory. I have thus learnt to carry notebooks about wherever I go. I have notebooks for my work plan, personal projects and ideas, meditations and church notes- and I use them.

It’s not that the devil is in the details, but that every detail we forget contain a seed that can potentially make the difference between success and failure. If the benefits of your work, prayers and efforts will be reaped, attention to detail is an absolute necessity.

Lesson #2: Write your life

Even when you have a notebook, make sure you put things down- the stupid, necessary and the critical. Most time we can’t track our progress because we don’t care to measure it by writing it down ab initio. It doesn’t matter the information, put it down (and keep sensitive details secure!). The reason why the history of global development is western is that Africans propagate history by word of mouth which eventually gets lost in transmission.

Lesson #3: Order

Anyway you look at it; they’re going to be times within your job or life where your attention to details will save you. One of the key issues to being exact is orderliness. Having an organized desk, room or life may seem minor, but when the outcome of a circumstance clean and organized desk it’s easy to find papers quickly. And just like your desk, the rest of your job should be organized and neatly projected that so that little things like going over budget don’t get by you.

Lesson #4: Do things immediately

One of the reasons we lose details is usually the ‘I will do it later’ syndrome. The idea that there is a convenient time to do things always makes us rely on our memories to keep us up to speed.

Putting off tasks till later is half leaving things undone.

Lesson #5: Learn how to do things right the first time

No matter what business or personal activities you are involved in, you will be confronted with greater challenges that could have been prevented if you had paid closer attention to the details in the first instance.

Lesson #6: these things are a reflection of your leadership and personality

I was told of someone applying for the post of a financial analyst who was called to an interview. The man was astute in his presentation and was heavy on pedigree, but he forgot his CV and credentials at the venue of the interview when he left.

Excellence in any endeavor is a production in which every little detail tells a story about one’s personality, commitment, and character. Pay attention to the small stuff. Consistent attention to details produces excellence and that’s why every detail counts!

“The magic behind every outstanding performance is always found in the smallest of details.”