by Gilead Ogbonna | Aug 6, 2019 | Online Business, Social Media, Technology, Trending
Like many of you, I ventured down the entrepreneurial path a few years ago with really high hopes and an almost guaranteed conviction that everything would fall into place. Sooner did you realize that all those amazing projections was but one side of the coin. After several months you just couldn’t figure out why potential customers just couldn’t figure out the need you were filling for them nor even cared.
I have been there many times.
I have had multiple reasons to explain this in the past ranging from poor marketing, little or no ad budget, bad copy, insufficient market share, etcetera…
But today, something else clicked.
Interestingly, this is not the first time my mind has brushed over this reality. It just didn’t seem like enough reason until today.
One main reason why you are unable to get the attention of the audience you seek is because majority of them don’t read and don’t care either.
Let that sink in a bit.
Let me explain…
Digression ***
A common statement in Nigeria is that if you want to hide anything from the black man, put in in a book. Many people have challenged that claim citing the many graduates we have here and the great feats a lot of them are achieving. That is true.
However, we still have a whole lot of Africans and indeed Nigerians who will drop any piece of textual content that is more than a few paragraphs long just because it’s ‘too long’.
end of Digression****
To this day many business owners are trooping to Lagos and Abuja from within Nigeria and beyond to launch their businesses. Isn’t it curious that in these states where great deals are closed everyday, we still have extremely broke people there? Why?
The gap, is knowledge.
The people who break new grounds in business and make monumental impact are avid readers. These folks read everyday. They are in tune with current trends that matter to and help them achieve their goals and aspirations.
At the other end of the table are those who believe that they do not need to learn anything new. So they have zero interest in books or in increasing their knowledge. As a result they are ignorant about the opportunities you are bringing to the table. Worse yet, they are scared to even check it out.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin
Think about this… Why else do only few people grow in your area?
We can therefore make the safe argument that the easiest way to truly grow your business is to run it in an environment with the larger population of individuals and businesses that are educated enough to buy into your products and services.
If the people you are trying to sell your product or service are uneducated about how your offering can help them and are unwilling to read so as to learn, you are backing the wrong horse.
So, which part of Nigeria or Africa are you right now? Is your product or service getting the attention of the right crowd?
Or
Are you making noise in the minds of the wrong crowd?
You might realize that your current location is your main hindrance to scaling your business or to landing that job/ client you need to get to your next level.
Remember, if they are not educated enough and clearly don’t care about knowing more, you probably will be wasting away trying to convince them.
MOVE!!!
Let’s discuss…
Did the above make sense to you?
Can we fix it?
What recommendations would you offer?
Comment below.
PS: Feel free to email me if you would like to have a session with me to chart a Digital Marketing cause for your business.
by Gilead Ogbonna | Jul 16, 2019 | Social Media, Trending
A few weeks ago while going through my facebook feed, I stumbled upon a facebook post that was well formatted much like a well written word document. I was at first taken aback and after much thought concluded that it must be some third party mobile application that was responsible for this. So I ran to the playstore to find this amazing app.
But there was none.
Turns out facebook in their most recent update now allows you to format posts making them nicer and more appealing to the eyes particularly for long form posts.
I tried it out and it is really an amazing new feature!
Notice the presence of Bold text and italics.
You can add H1 and H2 header texts as well as list to your long form content.
What else do you need to write the perfect content that’s great for the eyes?
Okay, there’s a caveat though…
The feature is only exclusive to facebook groups at this time and doesn’t work on mobile devices, yet. Little wonder I couldn’t figure it out on my phone or directly on my timeline.
Time will tell if this great feature will be expanded across board.
If you have used this new feature, tell us what you think about it.
If you found this post valuable, kindly share. It will mean the world to us.
by Gilead Ogbonna | Dec 12, 2017 | Trending, Social Media
One skill that many entrepreneurs and small businesses struggle with daily is how to create graphics that do justice to their brands especially with their little or absent graphics skills. So it was with great applause that canva was welcome to the online community. The web-app has gone ahead to be invaluable to many businesses including me myself.
I especially love the canva app for its speed of turn-around. I literally create my designs in under 10 minutes and they are ready to serve. This is something that’d typically take me perhaps 30 minutes to an hour in traditional stand alone apps.
Now canva has a mobile app which is so brilliant. The accompanying image was designed right from my mobile phone. Interestingly I have somehow forgotten I have other traditional apps I use. 
Canva is not the only webapp that creates graphics. I tried my hands on CTDesign another mobile app that create cool graphics. The learning curve however may not be palatable for most users- it does have cool features though – however not as amazing as canva. I must be objective here. Canva is awesome!
If you have yet to check it out, do so. I endorse fully.
Especially with the rise of instagram and the massive appeal of images, there has never been a better time to create eye popping graphics that project your brand to the right audience in an appealing form. My handle has literally gotten more engagement because I can now design and post on the go without having to think about when I can get on my PC to plan, think and design a graphic.
I hope you take advantage of this super cool tool and utilize it in your business going forward.
Peace.
G.O
by Gilead Ogbonna | Apr 17, 2017 | Online Business, Technology, Trending
5 years ago, we’d start a project and believe that it will be profitable no matter how long it takes. Well we’re certainly older now and have gotten enough experience to realize that that approach is a highway to disillusion.You see, in an ever dynamic world and economy as ours, trends are always changing. And with such change comes changes in customer habits and loyalty, including their money.
Many businesses set the wrong targets. ‘if we make 10 million, we’ll be happy’, is the approach. This is why great businesses of 10+ years ago and a shadow of themselves today. Because they settled. There was no reason to keep moving.
Don’t get comfortable!
Here’s how this affects you…
So you can start up a business based on what you think will work, or you can observe where the trends are headed and strategically adjust your sails.
It’s the reason Microsoft still remain a thriving business; they are a major player now in artificial intelligence. Apple isn’t doing quite as well judging by their seeming silence of recent.
Your business can and will only thrive when you adopt a growth approach.
Don’t get comfortable.
It’s up to you to make your dream a reality.
Bots are Here!
2013, I created my first video tutorial. Oh the joy, the excitement, the dreams… I could not fail, I was certain. 12+ months, plenty fliers, posters, 50+ DVD down the road, reality set it. The feedback I was getting was all wrong- the market wasn’t ready. Frustration (for lack of a more graphic term) describes my state then.
I couldn’t help questioning what the hell was wrong with people for not getting it. The strategy was straight forward after all.
I would soon learn in 2015 that the market wasn’t ready and I needed to put that plan on hold. I needed to focus on what the market needed present and provide the solutions. And provide I did.
Today my company provides services I never thought we would dare attempt and we’re getting paid for it.
Here’s the part that concerns you….
If you’ve been attentive enough, you’d have heard of some buzz words bouncing here and there- online course creation, websites, online businesses, bots… Are you doing something about them or are you just a bystander stubbornly holding on to that plan/dream that’s make you no kobo/ cent since it’s inception 1 year ago?
BOTS
Bots are officially a Big deal.
You may probably have observed (or not) that artificial intelligence has dominated the rhetoric of most online leaders, and for good reason.
- Bots make customer engagement with your page amazingly seamless- Based on the tests we’ve been running in the past week, we have seen tremendous feedback from our messenger Bots than from our tradition message feature which before now had really thin results.
- Bot give a new meaning to Virtual Assistance- With bots, the wait-time visitors to your page usually face is a non-factor as bots instantly reply messages as they come. Take a look at our message responsive status- you’d see that we are very responsive (1-mins response time). That’s crazy fast. Imagine a potential client wanting to make a quick purchase- would he/she rather wait for x-time before getting a response or would they go with the brand that responds instantly?
Click here to check out our bot.
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Don’t tell me you are still working the kinks, you’re waiting for the perfect time, you need money to start. (looking at you with my side eye)
The market changes every time and in a moments notice. Don’t do yourself the disservice of waiting until it all comes crashing down before you switch gears (remember MMM).
In the coming months, a lot will happen to change how businesses connect and are delivered across Nigeria and the world. Are you adjusting your sails accordingly?
Well as for me and my household, we shall listen and keep listening to the market and will never be sentimental about our product offering we initiate.
It is up to you to make your dream come true. Start Listening!
Side note: Would you like to learn how to create a bot, or would like to learn how to create yours? Drop a comment below or send us a mail.
Check out our Bot HERE
