Conversation in 2011

In the wake of social media revolution, the death of traditional media is probably more eminent than we care to admit. Most of us are turning to online platforms for our news and to connect with our loved ones. So picture this; we are no longer inactively glued on our screens for news, instead we are choosing to link up for real-time updates on our phones and on our social media sites. So for companies with messages to pass during these prime times on TV and on daily print outlets, the audience migration is crisis threatening a pandemic. In such a time as these companies have only one choice to evolve and adopt or to risk collapse. In Rwanda where computer access is way above 30 per cent it is important for companies to recognize our online presence and to speak to us through channels that we understand and care to keep afloat of. Businesses need to look at the online community as a resource ready for exploitation. So start simple, for once agree to be part of the crowd and open up a social media site, either facebook, twitter,linked,flicker all depending with your business needs. Recruit or ‘friend’ as many users as possible for your site. With a tagged crowd on board start a conversation about your brand and offering The good thing about social media is that it always offers referrals and hence your small community will in turn share your news and information with their friends and before you know it your brand will gain a life of its own. In a brands clinic recently a speaker challenged us to recognize the eminent social media explosion in Africa. He predicted that social media adoption would succeed more in Africa than other continents. Indeed we have an advantage, Africa is all about community, we talk, and share and mostly we are always in conversation. In Africa we recommend our experiences amongst friends and family members. Over the years our conversations have been hindered by distance, we have not talked or shared as much as we would like to, why because our relatives and friends are no longer at our proximity. Now enters social media that promises to change this, to return our conversational lifestyle in real time. Hence we adopt faster than any other continent because we need to stay as communities, deep with us we have been build to converse and social media delivers just that. Building brands in Rwanda and the rest of Africa will hence will be anchored in this same notion, we shall not push information to our consumers instead we will invite them to a conversation. This will mean opening up to social media platforms and taking our brands to the consumer. The beauty here being you will be able to Convince and convert your audience to buy your products and services and through conversation you will keep them glued there. pgathoni@gmail.com