The Cotonou Times had a conversion on digital marketing with a Canada based female entrepreneur of Benin descent who gave us the honor to respond to our questions.
The Cotonou Times: Can you please introduce yourself?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: My name is Adetola Fagbemi. I live in Montreal, Canada. I am an Entrepreneur, a digital marketing strategist, a public speaker, and a mentor for entrepreneurs. In the last twenty years I have assisted thousands of businesses across the world to become successful online and in 2016; I decided to start my own business. A Montreal based Digital Marketing Agency, which helps brands and businesses to become memorable online. I also work as a mentor for many organizations in Canada where I have the opportunity to share my expertise and my knowledge to many entrepreneurs.
The Cotonou Times: Can you indicate the benefits of Digital Marketing for an African company
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: Well there are many advantages and I would share three of them. I would say that the first one is brand awareness. For a company to be sustainable, it needs visibility. Visibility to attract clients, so brand awareness is essential. I would also say new market. For a business to grow, it needs to attract a “new market” domestically as well as internationally. So that’s why it’s a good opportunity for a business to conquer new markets. And the last advantage is, brand image. Being visible online is a great opportunity to build a strong brand identity and when one has a good brand image, it builds trust and trust create sales and attracts more clients. Brand awareness, New Markets and Brand Image are the three advantages for Digital Marketing.
The Cotonou Times: What are the benefits of Digital Marketing for an African Company, and which type of business activity must a digital marketing strategy be adopted for?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: First of all I would say that if a company needs to hire qualified employees it’s good to have a very good website and be able to introduce the company and the advantages of working for that company. If you want to have skilled individuals in your team it’s good for PR. So that’s the first activity. The second one says sales for sure, having a good digital marketing strategy is a good way to stimulate sales and also for marketing and especially when it’s about gaining exposure. So marketing, sales,HR and also customer service because if you sell abroad and you need to be in contact with your customers, being online, giving feedbacks, or responding to comments or questions. It’s good for customer service, so yes I will say customer service as well.
The Cotonou Times: Which social media platform do you recommend for a newly formed company with a tight budget who wants to promote its brand?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: Definitely for a new business I would recommend Facebook, because Facebook is the mostly used social media platform in West Africa. So meaning, there’s a good opportunity to attract clients, it’s a good opportunity to sell a product or a service so Facebook. But also there’s a very popular social media platforms, especially when you want to target younger audiences such as Tiktok, so yes I would say that depending on your target market and also your creativity and especially when it comes to creating content Facebook, Tiktok is good and also WhatsApp because it very very easy to use and also very popular the Continent. So depending on how familiar you are with Facebook, Tiktok or WhatsApp I would recommend one of the three social media platforms to start and grow from there.
The Cotonou Times: Can you explain why some videos on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or Tiktok quickly reach a large audience?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: Well, first of all there is a formula to follow especially when you want to create viral content. So I would say, being controversial, it always work. Create visually appealing content, having a very catchy title to grab the attention, tap into what’s going on in the world and also create content that triggers emotion in your audience. If you integrate all those elements in your content, you will create viral content on any platform. I would recommend that you follow those steps and I will assure you that your content will be viral.
The Cotonou Times: Can a sole individual earn a living by only relying on social media?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: Yes, of course. Even when you start with one single Facebook page, and as an example I am thinking of Beninese entrepreneur who now lives now in Abidjan, Ivory Coast who is the woman behind the brand Nalawax. When she started more than ten years ago, she started with a Facebook page called Les Pagnes de chez moi. When she wanted to start a business, she was selling Ankara fabric, clothing for women and she became very successful because she had a very strong image. So, I was telling you that having a strong image is a good factor to be successful online. So she started with one single Facebook page and then she built from there and now she’s a millionaire, you know with a company named Nanawax. She has boutiques across West Africa, in Benin, Cotonou, Abidjan, in Senegal. You can be successful as long as you have a good brand image, a very clear vision, and also you know how to communicate online to a specific target market.
The Cotonou Times: Do you have any last word for our readers?
Adétọ́lá Fágbémì: You need to have a clear vision on what you really want to do with your business and have faith and trust in what you do because with faith and trust you can achieve whatever you want. So, you know don’t never give up and stay focused on what you do.
For questions or comments about this article please email us at newsdesk@cotonoutimes.com
