On Saturday April 12, BAKE held another successful training workshop at the Nailab. This time, the workshop focused on how to make money online in relation to brands and social media.
The training was a panel moderated by Mark Kaigwa of Nendo. On the panel we had
1. Manoj Changarampatt – Director, Mobile and Internet – Samsung Electronics East Africa
2. Asif Khan, Head of Social Media / Community Management – Squad Digital
3. Maryann Michuki – Digital Media Manager, Safaricom
4. Ahmed Salim, General Manager – Qube
Mark Kaigwa did a brief summary of the Nendo Social media report to tie it to the training. Things are changing in the digital world. Social media is gaining prominence and more influencers are being hired to promote products. Bloggers are among the people being paid for sponsored content.
The training gave us the difference between a brand ambassodor and an influencer. An influencer is generally piad to promote a product. A brand ambassador does it for free because they have a passion for it.
The panel was in agreement that you don’t have to wait for a company to approach you to work for them. if you have an idea, seek them a=out and sell what you have to them.
“You don’t need to have a million followers to be influential. people are more likely to trust their friends than they would a stranger” said Asif Khan. He says that at Squad Digital, they are more concerned with the content you will put out when running a campaign. This is key for brands and digital agencies.you must be prepared to generate great output.
When it comes to disclosure, the panel was says it is all a matter of individual decisions as well as what the contract dictates. you can disclosed that what you post is sponsored content or you can keep it to yourself.
One question that came up was how do brands and agencies select people to run campaigns. Maryanne Michuki says that at the end of the day, you have to pick someone credible and who represents what your brand stands for. you shouldn’t select someone who will post about sex today, technology tomorrow and in between is talking about sports. Pick someone who is consistent in their posting and will not cause damage to your brand.
When companies look for bloggers to run a campaign, they look at blog stats as well as the content you generate. post consistent work, be credible and you will be selected for it.
For more on the training check the hashtag #BAKETraining