Is Your Culture Your Brand ?

   I came across a certain quote that said "Your culture is your brand" i didn't understand it initially , so i used it as a PM on my blackberry messenger to see people's reaction, and possibly chat with someone  about it with. I waited impatiently until finally with great relief, a friend of mine who is an artist pinged me, and after our usual yabbing session , he asked me what the quote on my P.M meant ?

And  then in a few seconds i was able to figure it out ! (that's why it's good to have conversation with people) I asked him; what do you know Fela for ?

I've tried copying this stance, just can't seem to get it !

       His reply was a bit disjointed ..... he knew the answer but he didn't know how to phrase it, so i had    to save him from his misery. 

Fela Kuti   was bold, stood up for his beliefs , and was never scared of expressing himself. That was his identity, it was a way of life for him, therefore that was his brand.  This qualities made him accepted by the world at large which in return made him very influential socially and in today's Naija music.                                                  

What makes people powerful and influential in life? Well....there are Six Weapons of Influence namely:

 1) Scarcity    2) Likability 3) Consistency 

4) Authority 5) Social Proof and 6) Reciprocity. 

But how do you influence others in a world with no rules? No hierarchy? There's a seventh weapon of influence that is unique to the Internet and unique to now, suggests Mark W.Schaefer . And that's content. We all have the power to influence one another with the content we share. Fela created musical contents that tilted towards influencing a positive change and he did so passionately.

Social media provides a medium for sharing of contents in various forms. If you want to make your on-line presence influential, 

• Take a step back to think about the value you can add based on who you are and the expertise or the unique service or solution that only you can provide

• Define why you are different than your competition

• Design the professional brand and the persona you would like to convey online

• Describe “your” experience: What is it that you want people to see or think when they find you in social networks

These pointers will guide you on the kind of contents you will be creating, makes it easier  for one to find out what you are passionate about !

 

Why Great Content Is King !

So the Olympic games finally came to an end last night, as usual records were broken, new once were set and then broken. In general the London games was amazing to watch though, except for the certain comments which Carl Lewis made about the Jamaican track athletes team. I guess when he saw Usain Bolt snatch gold medals for the 100, 200 and 400 meters relay, he must have shouted boombaclart, boombaclarter, boombaclartest.

Simply Amazing

Next stop is Brazil  who will be hosting both the FIFA world cup and the Olympics in 2014 and 2016 respectively, wow that country must be on some omobabaolowo tinz. Anyways football is back and our usual weekend action returns.... yipeeeee !

Social media is changing the way consumers are making their purchasing decisions. Consumers are less likely to be influenced by brand advertising, and have a higher level of trust in on-line reviews and recommendations. People are also spending increasingly more time researching and evaluating products on-line before making a purchase. Through social media advocacy, which is a gradual process that is propelled by engaging with your target market.

Great content is crucial in engaging with your target market and also some sort of platform is needed for your content to be discovered. Here in Nigeria a lot big of companies actually have a poor presence on social media, and the SME,s embracing it lack the resources or the knowledge on how to go about it in the first place.

Just imagine if you as a local business starter who wants to create awareness for whatever it is you are selling (goods/ services), what do you do ? Go on-line, since most people are always spending more time on their PC or mobile devices than on T.V. And this is were great content comes into play ! Take a look at this video.

Dollarshaveclub captivates its audience with great content by creating such a funny video. It all boils down to your top priority; which is for you to know your brand no matter how small your audience reach is and be very natural to it . Secondly utilize videos, photos and well composed texts to give your content the ultimate packaging for your audience. This guideline especially applies to bloggers (cooperate or personal) .

 But if blogging isn't your thing ? simply reach out to a competent blogger who could package a great content for you on a part time, or, full time basis depending on your budget. Consistency in sharing of great content over different social media platforms is needed to engage, with your audience in other to promote social media advocacy for your business. The world is going social, don,t be left out.