Social Media Archives - WildFlower PR and Company - Pan African Brand Communications

MoneyMaster PSB unveils Flagship Product “G-kala”

Globacom’s frontline Payment Service Bank, MoneyMaster PSB, has unveiled its market offering and flagship product, G-Kala.

The product was launched on Wednesday at a bespoke event attended by stakeholders including regulators, market and trade associations, student union representatives, trade partners, and the media press.

Speaking at the Lagos Travel Inn venue of the event, Managing Director of MoneyMaster PSB, Mr. Demola Elutilo said that G-Kala will increase financial services accessibility as well as deepen financial inclusion and create new job opportunities in the country.

He explained that ‘G-kala’ will attract a huge number of the unbanked populace into the financial system of the country, adding that the operations of MoneyMaster PSB would empower many Nigerians financially and bring, most especially, people in the rural areas, into the banking system.

The innovative features of G-kala, he noted, will equally revolutionize the Nigerian payment system and advance the cashless economy initiative of the federal government while bringing millions of people in urban and rural areas into the financial community.

According to him, “MoneyMaster PSB will bring convenience and inclusion across all our target segments of the population. With G-kala, your phone is your bank. Aside from the benefits to our customers, we are onboarding a very large number of agents for cash in and cash out, through which we are creating new jobs in our various communities, which is also a boost to the nation’s economy. This is the beginning of our journey to revolutionize the financial services landscape in the country.”

The General Manager, Business Development, at Nigeria Interbank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS), Mr. Samuel Oluyemi, lauded MoneyMaster PSB for introducing G-kala into the Nigerian financial services space. Having worked with MoneyMaster PSB from the beginning to ensure a seamless integration of its services with the countrywide banking system, he disclosed that the payment service bank is a great plus to promoting financial inclusion and widening the scope of service providers across the country.

He advised the management of MoneyMaster PSB to seize the initiative of fast deployment of services to address the needs of the critical unbanked and under-banked segment of the population, adding that there was so much expectation from the unbanked population across the country for the services of payment services banks.

MoneyMaster PSB’s ‘G-kala’, is designed to operate simpler, convenient and more reliable channels for customers to conduct financial services. It will provide an easy way for people to move money, access financial information, and make bill payments. To open an account, all the customer needs to do is dial *995# then follow the prompts from a Glo line or from any other telecommunications network as MoneyMaster PSB is provisioned to work with any network.

Guests at the event included representatives of several markets and trading centers in Lagos including Ladipo, Mile 12, Computer Vilage main markets, and student union representatives from University of Lagos (Unilag), Lagos State University (LASU), and Yaba College of Technology.

Doyin Fayemi, a student at the event reacted to the launch saying, “I like convenience because for me, it’s about doing something at my own pace and when it’s comfortable. No one wants to run around just because they want to do simple cash-in and cash-out transactions, and pay bills. With G-kala, I can accomplish all of these right now on my phone. G-kala clearly brings a lot of convenience.”

How Carbon is leading Nigeria’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ revolution

Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, it was nearly impossible to get a loan in Nigeria without going through an agent or being a salaried employee. Much like it was impossible to have a retirement savings account or get a pension plan if you weren’t attached to an employer.

As early as 2015, for example, if you wanted to get a loan from legitimate sources,

like a bank, you would have had to fill out reams of paperwork and answer questions ad nauseam, all with no guarantee you would get what you needed. But times have changed, and companies like Carbon are turning this norm on its head, making it easier and more efficient to access loans and other credit facilities.

At some point in Nigeria, the idea of owning a product, like a smartphone or smart TV, without having to pay the total amount for it was reserved for an exclusive class of people. That is no longer the case.

According to this report from Rest of World, “In a country where only 2% of the 106 million adult population have access to bank credit, credit cards are also conspicuously absent, as banks shy away from consumer lending. BNPL [Buy Now, Pay Later] is becoming a rising alternative and is set for further growth, as Nigerians embrace digital credit.” This is a far cry from what obtained a few years ago, and Carbon is at the forefront of this revolution.

Let’s take some steps back to understand where this is coming from. What was the norm? What were the challenges that came with it? What is the new reality? What are the opportunities that come with it? And what makes companies like Carbon uniquely positioned to continue solving these problems?

Historically, Nigerian banks have taken a risk-averse posture to issuing loans to individuals rather than corporations. In 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria released a report showing that just 5.4% of Nigeria’s adult population had access to credit. In 2018, that figure rose marginally to 5.5%, and in 2019, it was 6.2%.

To encourage more banks to lend to their non-corporate customers, the central bank issued a directive in September 2019 that raised banks’ Loan to Deposit Ratio to 65%. This directive required banks to give out a stipulated percentage of their total deposits as loans. This initiative aimed to stimulate the economy and encourage more cash flow. However, it also indicated how difficult it had become for the average Nigerian to access the credit they needed to improve their businesses and quality of life.

As with anything else, there’s a flip side to this. Banks weren’t risk averse because they felt like it. Instead, they were that way to protect themselves, and, in some way, that was also a reflection of reality. To properly issue loans, financial institutions need accurate data to assess an individual’s creditworthiness. Underlying infrastructural problems coupled with a lack of agility to innovate quickly meant many financial institutions could not harvest, process, and utilise the data they needed to make significant lending decisions.

But where there are gaps like this, nature always finds a way to fill them. Where some legacy financial institutions were slow to act, other innovators –– younger and more agile –– saw a chance to create solutions that could improve the lives of others and open more doors.

In June 2012, OneCredit, a company pioneering consumer lending in Nigeria, opened up shop. Its promise was simple: to make it easier for salary earners to access loans at a time when it was inconceivable to lend money without collateral. But OneCredit took the risk. In March 2016, the company evolved into Paylater, a platform providing instant loans digitally while offering payment and investment opportunities to its users. It was Nigeria’s first digital lender, another risky move in an otherwise risk-averse industry. In 2019, Paylater expanded and became what we now know as Carbon, a credit-led pan-African digital bank offering affordable loans, a deposit account, a high-yield savings account, free bill payments, free transfers, and debit cards.

By December 2021, the company generated N7.72 billion in revenue, with a gross profit of over N5.6 billion. By mid-2022, it had crossed N3.9 billion in revenue, with a gross profit of over N2.65 billion. Now, it has over 3 million customers.

In January 2021, the company launched Carbon Zero, which allows users to purchase items they want and pay in 4 instalments with no interest added. This is particularly useful with Nigeria’s inflation rate at one of its highest ever –– 21.47%, having risen steadily for ten consecutive months. Purchasing power is also at one of its lowest levels ever, much of it eroded by rising inflation rates. Products like Carbon Zero admittedly make it easier for people to purchase items with payment structures that are more pocket-friendly.

Carbon has become one of Nigeria’s major BNPL players with this product, joining America’s Affirm and PayPal, Australia’s Afterpay, Europe’s Klarna, and East Africa’s M-Kopa. According to Insider Intelligence, BNPL users grew from 50.6 million in 2021 to 79 million in 2022, and that number is estimated to reach 88.2 million in 2023 and 104.6 million in 2026. Its market size was valued at $141.8 billion in 2021, according to Global Data, and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.3% through 2026, when it will be worth $596.7 billion.

While these figures are global estimates and, in many ways, optimistic projections, they paint a picture of what could be and the many opportunities that lie ahead.

According to Zeeshan Anwar, a corporate and retail banking expert in the UK, “BNPL is an important and growing element of the payments industry. It delivers compelling benefits to consumers by expanding the payment options for low-income customers, while saving money by helping reduce the need to pay excessive credit fees. There is significant value and ethical contribution in the BNPL proposition if delivered correctly.”

Nigeria is one of the low-income countries that Anwar describes. However, it is undergoing a digital financial revolution, which is still in its early days. Ten years ago, it would have been inconceivable that the average Nigerian could access a loan or pay in instalments for a product they dearly want. But that is not the case today. A lot has changed, but there’s more work to be done, and Carbon seeks to be at the forefront of what could be.

Written by Ifeanyi. O

“Kill them with Kindness’’- Naija Brand Chick advises in Episode 11 of Mercy’s Menu Season 3!

In episode 11 of Mercy’s Menu, beautiful host Mercy Johnson Okojie is joined by Marketing strategist, business coach, entrepreneur and social media influencer, Nelly Agbogu, popularly known as Naija Brand Chick.

The duo shared interesting and insightful conversations while they prepared Seafood and Mushroom penne pasta.

Nelly shared business and brand building tips as well as spoke on family, scam, online trolls, reasons why she seeks permission from her husband before she puts certain things online and many more.

Watch the video below:

“Be Intentional about yourself”- Mizwanneka advises women in Episode 10 of Mercy’s Menu Season 3!

Mercy Johnson Okojie, host of popular kitchen talk show, ‘Mercy’s Menu’ in episode 10, features the beautiful hair boss and entrepreneur, Nwanneka Nkumah, popularly known as Mizwanneka.

In this episode, the beautiful ladies shared interesting conversations and amazing moments as they prepared Mandazi with Chocolate dip.

Mizwanneka spoke on family, motherhood, her hair business, influencing, women empowerment, and many more.

Watch the video below:

5 Ways of Improving Your Brand Image with Social Media

When you can understand how people view your brand, you can control their opinions using the appropriate medium. Image branding is the method and strategy used in creating impressions in the mind of customers about your brand.

The image of a brand is developed over time through PR and Advertising campaigns with a consistent theme validated through the customer’s experiences with the brand.

There are several factors you need to consider when it comes to image branding:

1. Identify your target audience

The first step is to know your audience. You need to specify who your audiences are as they comprise of customers, partners, industry analysts and employees.

Have an achievable goal

You have to create a feasible goal. Having an attainable goal is critical for image branding, this will let you perform tasks at your own pace.

3. Create a good brand persona

Once the key audiences have been identified and achievable goals have been set, you can now start to build your brand persona (what your brand stands for).

4. Key messaging

After defining your brand persona, it is important to document your message to appeal to your target audience.

5. Be consistent

Customers like knowing what to expect from the interactions they have with your Brand. This means you have to deliver a clear and consistent message through social media channels. Especially during your PR and advertising campaign.

4 FACTORS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVE BRAND MARKETING

This article will highlight the four key points you need to understand in building your brand with social media.

Social media can be used to achieve lots of objectives like selling products, gaining subscribers and swaying the opinions of your readers and followers but first you have to create awareness about yourself and your brand.

Here are some important tips you need to acknowledge about social media as a means of brand building:

1. Select channels that support your brand image

Facebook is one of the most popular platforms for promoting your brands with over 2 billion users. Facebook is one of the best platforms to promote almost any brand

Instagram is a social network that places focus on images and videos.

Google+, this is a platform that does not have as much users as Facebook or Instagram but is a great medium to reach users affiliated with the technology industry

Pinterest is a social network fixated on women as the dominant users as it is used to promote brands selling jewelry and clothes.

2. Create content with value

Your reputation as a brand will increase with each useful and valuable content you produce.

3. Leverage Influencers

It won’t be enough to write killer content if you have a relatively unknown brand. The fastest means to get recognition for your brand is to sway the existing influencers in the industry.

4. Drive content with social media

A lot of brands use competition based campaigns along with other social media strategy to gain visibility and exposure. Provide incentives to attractive user participants and make sure your campaign provides value for all who participate.

7 Effective Strategies for Marketing to a Nigerian Female Audience

“Pleasing a woman should be as easy as making her your top priority.” ~ Anonymous

There’s nowhere this quote should come alive than in marketing to women. In this case women in Nigeria.

A look at majority of Nigerian TV adverts of the 70s, 80s and some from the 90s gives a glimpse into the marketing considerations of brands in those eras. – An unprecedented level of patriarchal patronage.

This may not be unconnected with the then positioning of women. Coupled with the expected gender roles, majority of Nigerian women at the time were less educated, poor and politically non-existent.

Now, the wheels are gradually turning for good. There are more educated Nigerian women. Majority of women entrepreneurs. Many more politically active women now trot our sphere, and the enlightenment quotient of the Nigerian woman is on a major rise, making it an error for any brand to try the marketing tactics of the past now and expect to win.

Why give consideration to female audience in marketing?

The Nigerian woman has perceptual and behavioural modes different from that of their male-counterpart, therefore marketing to her in the same mode as her male counterpart may not result in the same favourable outcome.

Secondly, Nigerian women are more advanced in knowledge, education and financial status. They possess a broader knowledge and view of the world now unlike it was in the past.

Therefore, any marketing effort that fails to take cognizance of these changes will fail to win them over.

How then can you market to the Nigerian female audience?

#1. Understand your women

We cannot say this enough. Learn about the exact demographics of your target female audience. Everything about them. Their age, life stage and all you require to totally understand them.

Understanding those helps you in designing strategies that would effectively market and convince them to make purchasing decisions favourable to you.

#2. Balance out equations

When you have a mixed target audience comprising of males and females, even things out by incorporating contents that communicates to both genders.

If it’s possible, use a mono marketing content that speaks to all target audience at once. If not, create marketing contents that specifically speaks to your varied audience, male and female.

#3. Don’t gender-generalize

Marketing to women does not mean you should lump all women together and shoot your contents at them. Hell no!

Just like in other audience types, women come in segments by status, interest, age, and other differences that separate each one of them from the other.

So, targeting them in a lump would be an error that will yield negative marketing results.

#4. Dig their likes, use them

Freebies, kids, cute men are just some strong magnets for the Nigerian female. When appropriate, use these audience attractions in your contents while marketing to them.

One word of caution, use them in an intelligent manner.

#5. Freebies are bae

According to a study conducted at the King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, female consumers are more likely to respond to freebies regardless of their income levels. Same can be said of the Nigerian woman.

The average Nigerian female consumer, regardless of her economic status likes and looks out to maximize opportunities to purchase goods that comes with a promise of freebies.

In order to make your marketing attractive to a Nigerian female audience, dangle freebies around your offers when necessary.

#6. Beautiful colours are the new pink

It is a marketing error to presume that women love a constricted number of colours and go ahead to use them for ads and other marketing content.

Just like the men, women are attracted to a variety of colours and would react to marketing contents that speaks to their emotion no matter the colour.

Just make it beautiful and attractive.

#7. Tap into their emotions

Women are emotional beings, they’re prone to expressing their emotions and falling for emotions than the men.

All a savvy business person needs is a deliberate tap into this and win them over.

One of the best ways of doing this is by infusing storytelling and fun into your marketing content, then watch them get stuck to your brand as ants to sugar.

How to Leverage Trends for Brand Awareness on Social Media

Every business person wants their business to generate more income and grow beyond the teething stage.

They exploit every opportunity that lean towards this end and make the best of gains out of them.

Savvy business people do more. They go the extra mile to ensure things happen, including spending on marketing using social media. And adequately maintaining a successful social media account for a business comes with some handsome budgeting, but leveraging trends for your social media marketing efforts can get your business an organic viralty that can compete with its paid counterparts.

The good news is, the Nigerian society and its political arena presents on the steady, tons of trends that can be leveraged by businesses to drive massive social media awareness for their brands and save social media marketing costs.

An example is the story of the snake that swallowed 36 million naira which many businesses latched on to create conversations around their brands.

A good example leveraging a trend for social media content

Here’s how you too can do same.

#1. Understand your audience

We know that you already know your target audience, but when a trend surfaces and you wish to jump on it, there’s the need to remind yourself of those basics again.

Ask yourself, who’s my audience? Will this flow with them? How are they going to perceive this? Before you proceed.

#2. Be hyper sure it’s a trend

Trends are ongoing conversations and opinions about an issue of massive common interest. Not every noise is qualified to be a brand.

You need to be able to decipher which conversation deserves the trend crown before integrating them into your brand conversation.

The easiest way to do this is to pay attention to the trend section on Twitter, and check out for real time conversations on Twitter surrounding the identified trend.

#3. Play by audience location

Consider the location of your audience before jumping on trends.

The trend should match with your audience location. This is because trends in countries foreign to your audience will only generate snubs and no engagements. Engagement is needed to be able to drive awareness using trends.

#4. Twist narrative to suit your brand offer

When you notice a trend that suits your brand and fits in with your audience, the next thing to do is to create and weave a message that is in tandem with your brand’s offer around the trend before sharing them with your audience.

#5. Be creative, make it fun

One basic truth about marketing on social media is this, the audience wants to be either educated or entertained.

For this reason, any message with a touch of fun easily gels with online audience and sparks them into engaging with them.

So, make it fun.

Good intentions gone sour: A social media post weaved around a trend that triggered a customer’s ire.

#6. Scrutinize for offensiveness

Even when they have checked out on all the other criteria, social media content meant to leverage a trend for brand awareness still needs to be cross-checked for offensiveness.

Share the post with a friend or colleague who shares similarities with your target audience how they feel about the content before you post.

#7. Share with appropriate hashtags

This caps it all.

When you’re done with every other thing, share your post with industry hashtags that match with the topic of the content you wish to share. Then post.

Bonus

Of all the other social media platforms, trends go more viral on twitter. Consider using Twitter for posts weaved around trends.

Posting on the social media when your audience is offline may limit the performance of your post, so note when your audience is online and make your post to meet them at the point of their visit to your social media handle.

7 Reasons to Use the Social Media as a Public Relations Tool For Your Brand

Before now, the traditional media via TV, newspapers, magazines and radio, played the role of public relations tools for brands. They were regarded the real deal till the appearance of the social media to the Nigerian business scene.

Now we are all hooked and it seems the craze for this communication medium will never cease.

Even though they are part of the new craze in town, majority of Nigerian brands still do not understand why (and how) the social media could be used as a PR tool for their brands.

We’ll show you why in this article.

#1. Everybody is on social

That sounds fallacious right? We agree too, but I am sure you’ll change your mind when you read the next lines.

According to United States Census Bureau, the human population in the world is over 7 billion.

Now let’s count.

Facebook has over 2 billion active users worldwide. Twitter has over 310 million users. Pinterest has over 360 million active users. Whatsapp has over 1 billion daily users.

Over 2 billion are active on Youtube. Over 5 million on Google plus and more.

Now you see why we said everybody is on social?

Everybody being on the social media means both your customers and prospective customers are there.

Time to shoot your shot somebody?

#2. No bottlenecks

Before the coming of the social media, you’ll need to go through middle men and bottlenecks which makes it hard to get your message to the right audience quickly.

Social media makes it easy to deliver your message to your target audience without having to go through any individual.

No bottlenecks.

#3. Gather real time data

Compared to the traditional public relations media, using the social media for PR grants you access to the real time data and behavior of your audience. You get to know what is working and what isn’t. You also get a chance to tweek your PR efforts and re-launch them for greater profitability.

#4. Targeting the right Audience

Doing PR on traditional media is like, a soldier at war shooting sporadically into the air without any major target. He will waste his bullets and also kill the innocent.

Even though doing your brand’s PR on traditional media sounds “sexy”, the attendant target audience mis-firings and the financial waste cannot be overlooked.

The traditional media is good, but for this reason, social media serves you better.

#5. Affordability

Doing adverts on traditional media requires that a brand sets aside a handsome amount of money unlike running same adverts on the social media.

Running ads on social media can cost as less as NGN300 depending on what you plan to achieve for your brand.

#6. Speed of light customer communication

Social media helps you interact with your target audience in the speed of light.

You get immediate feedback from your customers about your brand, and a seamless customer to brand communications.

#7. Fast reach

Whatever content is on the social media takes miliseconds to get to the target audience anywhere around the world.

This is not same with the traditional media which can get limited by location.

We believe you now know why you should take the social media seriously for your brand’s PR efforts.

Need help with running your social media and digital assets efficiently? You can talk to us.

5 TIPS TO THRIVE IN YOUR CAREER AS A PR PRACTITIONER

Very few people can explain what people in public relations really do. A lot of people might think that Public relations is just a cute name for people who organize fancy campaigns for brands. These “PR experts” most times have no idea what Public Relations actually is about.

To succeed in the PR space, you have to be willing to ‘put your all’ into it. You must have a ‘proper understanding of the brand(s) you are managing’ and should always ‘think’ before you talk.

Public Relations is a “strategic communication process” that builds ‘mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics’

To survive in PR, please note that “PR is a Persuasion Business”. It involves convincing an audience; inside your building or town and outside your usual sphere of influence, to promote your idea, purchase your product, support your position, or recognize your accomplishments.

Most people start out and eventually get sunk in the industry. But we have 5 unique tips to keep you thriving in the PR business;

RESEARCH: This is the most important part of PR. You must perform a brand survey and audience survey to gauge the awareness and perceptions of your client and public attitudes towards it. It’s extremely important to conduct a research before launching a PR program. This will determine the strategies and tactics that will be used to run the PR campaign.

UNDERSTAND THE AUDIENCE IS IN CHARGE OF CURRENT LANDSCAPE: Whatever campaign you want to push, understand that the target audience decides if the message is worth it or not. Understand who you are talking to, to enable the message to be sent out via the right medium.

If you understand this, you will always achieve PR Goals, therefore making clients happy.

THE FOUNDATION OF PR IS MULTITASKING: The beauty and challenge of public relations is found in its broad nature of expectancies. One minute you may be designing a runway show, the next you might be media pitching to local news stations. You should Have the determination and tenacity to complete any task promptly, effectively and with a smile.

PS: Learn the skill of doing more than one thing at the same time and doing it efficiently, this will keep you in the PR business for a very long time.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: The only difference between you and the other PR guy is the idea you come up with for your clients. Do not limit your thoughts, always think out of the norm and think of breaking bounds. Try not to channel your thought towards some idea that has already been executed. Be unique and creative!

THINK ON YOUR FEET: Multitasking is a huge part of PR. You should always think on your feet. Think out of the box, save the word with your thoughts, BUT do it as fast as you can. Think on your feet. Come up with the smartest ideas without delays. Because Time is very important in PR and cannot be wasted.

To survive and thrive in public relations, it takes Effort, Persistence and a Huge Drive.

5 HANDY SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR START UPS

Authored by NimiClaret

Owning a small business and not knowing how to promote your brand could be difficult most of the time. In this new age of digital marketing, using social media to promote your brand is the best way to go. Your target audience are everywhere. You can find them on any social media platform you can think of; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. Setting up your accounts and managing them might seem difficult but here are five ways to take care of that with ease.

CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES AND PAGES FOR YOUR BRAND

The first step to growing your audience on social media is having strong profiles and pages for your social media accounts. When building your profiles and pages, always make sure you fill out every single detail, put up a bio, website link, location, phone number and email address. This will give people who click on your profile a reason to follow you.

SHARE VALUABLE CONTENT

Another way to build your audience on social media is by sharing reasonable and valuable content. Always remember to share content your target audience will enjoy and they can benefit from. For instance, if your business is a smoothie business, share content about the benefits of smoothies and health tips.

PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT

Social media is just wonderful because its reach can go worldwide. People can notice your own business with a paid promotion. You have to invest in ads and social media management tools to help promote your business. There are various ways start-ups can share and market their content; you can boost your posts on Facebook, and can promote your posts on Instagram so they can appear higher on your audience’s feed, there by increasing the chance being seen.

BUILD YOUR COMMUNITY

You can now grow your audience after setting up your social media profiles, content and strategy. All you have to do is follow other people, pages and profiles, repost content, like posts and respond to comments. Always respond to feedback and be regular on your pages. Your community will definitely expand when you engage and interact with your audience regularly.

ANALYZE SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS

Always keep in mind that you have to track, monitor and measure your social media statistics. Vital metrics will show the success of your marketing strategy and how much you have achieved in a given period of time.

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