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

need to understand the synamics of promoting brands.

Here is a brautiful infograph to inform your brand promotion  strategies

based on researh by aytm (Ask Your Target Market). Enjoy

Source: AYTM Market Research

1. Product Awareness
As customers and consumers continue to spend more time on the internet, digital advertising is becoming very relevant. The attitude and lifestyle of the consumers is what should dictate the platforms and not the other way around. Huge budgets allocated to product launches can now be reduced to achieve a significantly close success in creating product awareness. Entrepreneurs can also leverage on these social media sites to market their products and services, announce new arrivals and generate hype for their work.
Cheaper and effective, or why spend huge advertising money on TV when most of my target audience is in traffic.
2. Generating Leads
If you are not generating leads, your business is not growing. Generating leads open up your business to avenues to grow your customer base, explore new opportunities and to attract more prospects. Since your customers are busy discussing brands in Social Media, seeking opinions of others in making buying decisions, you need to be paying attention and converting leads into profit.
3. Networking
In building your professional career and business, networking is key. Social media affords you the opportunity to reach people that the front desk receptionist will never have allowed you to reach. Social Media is still an emerging field and a lot of business professionals are personally managing their portals. Discussions about events and networking opportunities are also going on and it is important that you don’t stay missing.
4. Reputation Management/Public Relations
Whether your boss is a social media cynic or not, conversations are going on about your business and you need to be paying attention or your business might be committing latent suicide. I had previously written about what to do when social media attacks your brand and explained how people are influencing others through social media. It is important you consider what you happen if a customer you treated badly goes online to shout about it.
Online reputation and Public relation tools abound online and has continued to deepen the practice of Public Relations in Nigeria.
5. Customer Service/ Educate
Especially for products that need lots of education and information for the consumer, social media affords an almost cost –free avenue to maximize the use of the product/service, social media provides a huge platform to accomplish this objective.
6. Building Brand Communities
Nothing is more attractive to a brand/social media manager that the opportunity to build a community of people who are loyal to your cause/business/brand. While former president Ibrahim Babangida spent millions to to launch his presidential campaign bid, president Jonathan merely got behind a laptop ( got someone to do it?) and announced his own bid without setting up huge equipment characteristic of political campaign kick-offs in Nigeria.
If money is to be made in email list-building, building a fan page on your Facebook can yield huge returns.
7. Thought Leadership
Especially for people in the B2B industry, (i.e. Businesses which serve other businesses) social media affords the fastest way to become brand leaders in their various fields. Social media platforms have allowed easy distribution and cost-free avenues to establish your business in your field.

Ok, over to you, what does social media do for your business?

orange academy

My week is going to be very interesting. I am in the final week after going through the war room 11 of Orange Academy’s School of Brand Advertising. It’s been four weeks of fun and work excitement. I am presently working on our final presentations for the final battle with the other mock advertising agency.
The school, though two years old, is one institution that has done a lot in stamping it’s presence into the heart of Brand and Advertising Industry in Nigeria. Bespectacled Kenny Badmus, who initially struck me as a nerd is one great guy full of expressions and fun. For someone responsible for the new generation of orange diplomats in various industries, he did not fail to prove his stuff.  He took us round the world of copy, strategic planning, brand innovation and management.

The programme was structured like a practical reality show, though without hidden and spy cameras. We were organised into two advertising agencies- BAD and ACE. These two agencies have been given the task of branding a health drink which should be in the market in the next few months. I must confess, ACE agency has done a lot more talking than working; not because I’m in BAD agency, it because I know the rules of engagement. But whichever team wins on Sunday, I must say I’ve worked with a great team altogether.
Despite BAD consisting of people from different  sectors of the Nigeria industry, we did not fail to exude synergy.From our meetings at night to the groups’ mails, calls and to our brandishing of idea daggers, verbal postures and compromise, I’ve had a lot of fun. But then, the intense work before Sunday remains.
Sunday represents the final pitch day and the 2nd anniversary of the Academy. I finally decided today to be one of the presenters for my group- that means more work. So I would be one of people telling ACE where their PLACE is- at the BASE!

For a school with so much achieved at 2,

I say congratulations to the entire Orange Academy Team.

Most times, the common complain    with people who have ideas is the problem of finances. Most peoples’ dreams eventually die because they are waiting for and expecting one big money to land on their laps so that they can pursue their passions- that only happens in movies.

There are numerous ways by which you can raise funds for your business, if you are hungry enough to pursue it. But firstly, you need to have a plan; the month of April will be dedicated to developing a business plan.

1. SELF FINANCING:

I call this self financing as a way to raising funds for your business on the premise that you understand you are different from the business. What happens when you bring money out of your savings or save money towards starting your business is that you are borrowing the business some money or investing in the business to start.

To self finance, you could deternmine when you want to leave paid employment, i.e. if you have a job or when you want to start and then begin to save gradually towards it. Self financing is the most common methods, but then lots of people get into trouble when using this system because the feel they own the business and the money and as soon as the first signs of money begins to roll in, they eat it up. But it remains the safest method.

2. INVESTMENT: sales & liabilities

This is like the first where you sell what you have to secure what you want to achieve. There are times when money may not be available but we have investmens or liabilities stored somewhere. If you are truly passionate about your dreams, one of the things that will test your commitment is what you are willing to give up for it. I know people who went into businesses and gave up cars, lands, which could be an asset or a liability depending on the expense and cost. But if you see farther ahead of the present assets and enjoyment, nothing will be too small to give up for the business.

3. PARTNERSHIP :

This occurs when you usually realise the dream may be bigger than your funding which is usually the case. But then a note of warning; sharing your idea exposes it to duplication or poaching, but then if you want your vision to grow, you’ve got to share it. Partnership is the coming together under agreed terms on the various issues; roles and functions, funding and profit sharing.

When your dream is bigger than you, or your interests, partnership might be the next thing on your mind. You might want to engane the services of a stronger company, or some one with a lot more cash than you presently have.

But then like I said, be careful of sharing your ideas with poachers, in further editions we will be discussing protecting your intellectual property.

4. FRIENDS & FAMILY:

Another avenue is to leverage on family leanings and relationships to develop the amount you need to start your business. This is using other people’s money (OPM) to finane your ideas. There are friends and family members who have the cash you need to start your business. if your plan is convinding enough, and very viable, it is sure to receive the amount of resources needed.

5. HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS

This is using other people’s money (OPM) to finane your ideas. There are high net worth individuals who have the money and are looking for people who have ideas and need funding. These people are willing to look at your ideas and help you fund it, some may seek to partner with you on the business, while some have funding companies as part of their own ways to giving back to their communities.

6. INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS

This includes investment banks, venture capital companies, SME funding organizations and Microfinance Institutions. There are numerous institutions, even supported by the Federal Government that have been empowered to support growing businesses at reasonable interest rates that even banks will naturally not want to provide. There are lists of microfinance banks and SME companies on the internet and in the press.

In all, the gratrest asset asset for your business is yourself. what you need to do immediately about your business,make your business suceed.  All the best.

As we continue to negotiate the journey towards the rebuilding of our nation, there are questions we need to begin to ask ourselves. Truth, the message that the nation is in dire need of a radical transformation is no more a selling point. Gone are the days when people who can talk about the problems of the nation were seen as stars- we are in dire need of solution providers and action-driven individuals.

Late last year, I was privileged to be a meeting with a group of people of most notable was Fela Durotoye,one of Nigeria’s finest Public Speakers and business consultant, and Deolu Akinyemi, my brother, in fact I call him my Oga- he has been an inspiration and a motivator since university days. For more than 16 hours, we were raising factors and issues why Nigeria can and cannot be among the most desirable nation to live in 2025- and how. Lots of issues were raised, but then the most important question tugging my mind was expounded by old story from the book of Genesis as I read this morning;

Gen 30:25 When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place and country.

Gen 30:26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know the work which I have done for you.

Gen 30:27 And Laban said to him, If I have found favor in your sight, I pray you [do not go]; for I have learned by experience and from the omens in divination that the Lord has favored me with blessings on your account.

Gen 30:28 [AMP] He said, State your salary and I will give it.

Gen 30:28 [LB] How much of a raise do you need to get you to stay? Whatever it is I’ll pay it.

Why are you crying for change?

This final question is the strongest question that will determine whether change will come. Laban was asking Jacob to name his wages… how much of a raise will get you to maintain the present day Nigeria. It is a question that judges the depth of your motives. Many cry for change in Nigeria because they cannot find rest, some because they believe they are not eating part of the national cake. Some because of their present challenges, they envy the people at the helms of affairs, and then they cry for change, what’s yours? If the Nigeria of today discovers the reason you are crying for change is because you need a better job/salary, once you get one, you will forget about the common man on the street. Ok no, your cost may be higher, if you have always dreamt of a status early in life, the moment you get one, with the attendant cars, houses, praise singers and luxury attached to the political and executive offices, you may say like a minister said like 3 years ago that there is no poverty in Nigeria. If your housing estate just voted NGN 21 million for fuelling generators for a year, you may one day forget there are Nigerians who stay in houses without light for months.

It may not be your business today, but you will build a house like a prison, and lock yourself in, because you are not safe; you will send you children to war zones called schools, and they are not safe; some of us will travel on roads and aircrafts that some people have refused to develop because you never cared about governance; some government officials will be attacked by assailants and thugs that they never bothered to educate when their case was still redeemable.

Somehow the question remains, how much are you being paid in kind or cash by the present day Nigeria, for you not to take up the responsibility of change in our nation. It is on record that most working middle class people have the worst record of electoral voting attitude in the nation. This may be because of the relatively more comfortable life they live which makes the nonchalant about the voting process, they will rather rest at home on those days- the system needn’t even pay you more to remain in that way.

In that “Laban prison”, he married two wives, acquired sheep and ewe, but somehow Paddan Aram (meaning a plateau), where he lived for 21 years, still represented a plateau (an elevated position with a flattened peak – no more upward movement). For him fulfilling destiny now was beyond incentives and a false life that all is well, and for you? How much comfort and luxury are you being paid that will not make a changed Nigeria a reality.

Are you having anything to gain in the present system?

When we analyse the Nigerian condition as a failure of leadership which is as a result of the perceived failures of the state, we are only identifying a symptom. Corruption did not just happen, it was a system built into the Nigerian DNA. As long as the DNA of corruption is found in your system, you are disqualified. How else could Ribadu have been a threat if he had enough skeletons in his cupboard? The question “Name your salary?”, seeks more to uncover the spirit behind his motives. If his motive was for more money, he could have been bought right there. If his motive was for a new level, wife, cattle, right there he had lost the battle. Jesus said, the prince of this world comes and He will find nothing in me- the people who will restore the nation will work because they have no iota of selfish interest in them, do you fit the bill?

This is the reality and it is the truth- Those who will change the system will not be people who directly or indirectly benefit from the system. They are people who will have nothing to lose if the system collapses. Or how else can you continue crying for PHCN to be better if you are a beneficiary of diesel importation? How else can you explain the sudden powerlessness of a comrade, a radical, an outspoken person how gets into political power and begins to speak from both your sides of the mouth? Logically, you cannot advocate against a system that puts food on your table.

The Oputa panel report, the white paper on the power probe, The Ministry Of Information Bill, the Reformed Electoral Acts are all laudable theories that only a National Assembly devoid of hidden ambition and agenda can pass. Except by God, how can a people pass an act, which they know will limit their prevailing powers?

Remember once again if you are gaining undue advantage of the system of the present day Nigeria, you cannot change the system.

What is your Laban?

Most times we run from our challenges and fears, we run from the pains and challenges that the unfair Nigerian society imposes on us, we run till we find a safe haven. Safe have not because we have solved the problem, but certain parts of our needs are being met. You have a dream and an idea, you could not continue because of capital and the hostile Nigerian climate you run into a JOB (Just-Over-Broke), and then you feel safe.

In the story, Laban represented a man and a place- a man of imprisonment and a place of advancement. Laban represented a place where you can find easy enlargement and false lifestyle. He had wives, sheep and children, which looked like enlargement but then it is an imprisonment for his dreams

What is your own Laban?

Send me away

Every Nigerian is like a Jacob, with the innate desire to tell this present day Nigeria,” send us away”, do not keep us bound in this quagmire of a nation. Do not keep us in a nation where the solution for solving problems is to create another; we don’t want a nation with lots of sound ideas without implementation; we do not want to be a nation with land swarming with oil and paying the most expensive price for the same oil. Our innate desires are questioning why even noble men get into power and they become monsters. Why even in a nation blessed with arable land, with abundance of natural resources, the human resources needed to transform the nation are stifled by some leaders who are rather “humanquakes”.

One day we will not just tell our leaders to say no and act right; we will demand it and they will listen, again, that time comes, and it is so close…

This is _______________’s review of ____________ written on the _________________
Deadline: One Year from Today’s Date_________________
1. Look for, or think of all your goals for 2008, and rate yourself over 100%, what did you score?
2. What was your greatest achievement and loss/regret for the year?
3. What other goals did you achieve and which are left untouched?
4. In what ways could you have done better in areas less achieved by you?
5. If you were to think of a word or phrase to call 2008, what would it be?
6. Consider your response to the goals, challenges and opportunities and define yourself by a single word or phrase, what would it be?
7. Now be honest here, what are the things you would have done better, or rather you would have wanted them not to happen?
8. Highlight in numbers, the achievements you would be proud of in 2008, how many do you have?
9. Name the people who made a difference in your life. Why and how did they make a difference? (Make it a point to call, mail or text them to thank them for their impact).
10. How did your relationships grow, change or end? What did you learn? [your wife, children, spouse, friend]
11. Whose lives have you contributed to this year, especially one in which you never expected anything in return?
12. What projects or activities: social, academic, relational, are still in progress? Which ones did you not achieve in the previous year.

It important to write them down somewhere, don’t just answer them in your head. The new year will be turbulent, but for strategic people, it holds a lot of promises and you cannot afford to be a spectator in December 2009, when other people are counting gains.

See you at the other side of the year, but then…
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

On my way back from another business transaction yesterday, I thought the book on e-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber which I forgot to pick on my way out of home so I could read during waiting times… Ok, that’s not true I had left un-read at home countless number of books, eBooks, charts and lots of stuff ( let him who does not have unread pdfs, cast the first stone!), so much that I feel like getting a book on how to manage and read books…lol.

Welcome to the age of information; we do not just have access to information, we are swimming. We are in the information age. I don’t know if you are like me, with a number of partly-read hardbacks and countless number of eBooks, each with their powerfully crafted topics, promising the power to change you/your environment, business and finance, only if you have the patience and TIME to read, remember, and apply them- those are the major problems. How about the amount of other information that is coming through my ears in discussions, movies, mp3s, phew! …we are truly swimming in the age of information.

It is rather unfortunate that it is not the people who have the information that shape the world. I mean, two out of four birds decided to jump, you know how many will remain? Four. Because two birds decided, we never knew if they actually did. Likewise lots of us buy books, attend seminars and falling in the hands of other people selling information, copying and downloading every free PDF-looking file on the net, packing and stuffing our hard discs and flash drives with information…hoping one day we will get to read the stacks of books. Swarming in the midst of this all, it’s hard to find time to develop yourself, build value and dissipate the same into the environment if you really do not have a plan for it. How many times do you go to learn time management, pay o learn how to explore an opportunity

1. Do you have a life goal?

One of the fundamental reasons why we amass lots of books is because we have never realized the fact that all books are good. Ok not all, but an awful lots and loads of them. But we have not come to terms with the fact that we need to be strategic in handling the information that enter into our minds. Imagine that books are like footballs. Why have stacks of footballs on the field without a goal post? It is important that we have well defined life objectives that the amount of information will help you fufill. If you already have one by praying and planning then it should have been broken into bits and the necessary skills needed to achieve them identified. Furthermore, supporting books can thus be identified. I mean the one that will best address the skill. 

For me, I need to develop myself in the field of project management, and I have access to about 26 eBooks, totalling 326MB on my system. After defining my objective I need to find that book, the book that covers most of the areas of the subject matter I am interested in. I eventually chose the PMBOK   (Project Management Book of Knowledge) and a Q & A support for it. After reading that, I can skim through every other book on the subject.

1. Have a life goal development plan

The problem we have in applying strategies to our lives is not to read more books, but to pay attention to and apply the existing knowledge we have to develop ourselves in the particular area. Do we pay attention to the daily attainment of our goals? Do we set an agenda for the habits we want to develop/stop?. Assigning a month to learning about managing finance ensures I read only books that address the subject matter. Ensuring that I go to a seminar because I INTEND and really will begin using the knowledge at most a week after I have been there. Most of us jump into opportunities when it is already public news, by then, it’s already late- the losers are rushing in.

All information should be tailored to meet the goals and plans for your own personal development.

1. What will the information add to you?

What do you plan to do with what you’ve learnt? If you are paying money for a seminar or book have you determined how desperate you need the information? I once finished two books of an average of 350 pages per book in 48 hours while working 6 hours every day. Why? I had to defend a proposal on the subject matter in about 2 days. The content of the information was important and necessary to win the proposal. If there is a demand on the knowledge or an impending consequence of not having or applying the knowledge we are geared towards focusing on the task at hand. I started being an early say starter when the demand for time

1.  Set a time chart for your personal growth and development

Another thing to consider is to define per month how many books to read and which topic to cover; and specifically which books to read. Most times now I discover when I get to borrow books, I read them faster to beat the deadline given by the owners. It is important to you know the direction in which you want to develop yourself and how. Keep a journal where you write stuff you’ve learnt from. If you love it use a highlighter to decorate the wise sayings from your own copy of the book, and make sure you are able to track your progress along the line. Probably refuse to read a new book until you’ve finished the ones you started reading.

I have to stop here so I prepare the proposal I will be taking to meet a client tomorrow. I’m also putting things down for the end of the year and Nigeria in particular. Stay with me…