By Brian Abel
Over the past decade, social media has become one of the single most momentous technological developments the world has seen. This ever-evolving phenomenon continues to change not only how we communicate with one another but also how businesses communicate with consumers.
This is particularly true for Africa, with the exponential growth of mobile phone and internet penetration across the continent in recent years.
According to the GSMA report on the mobile economy, 495 million people (46% of the population) subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2020, an increase of nearly 20 million from 2019. The report also projects that 4G adoption in the region will double to 28% by 2025.
Furthermore, it is evident that social media users across the continent are also becoming more engaged and active online, with increased conversations occurring surrounding brands, businesses, and services, as well as involvement in social and political discourse.
In Nigeria, the number of social media users is on the rise, reaching 32.9 million users in January 2022, a vast comparison to the 18 million users registered in 2017. What’s more, with the country boasting a large and growing youth population, Twitter has emerged as one of the most significant tools for businesses, enabling them to connect with the younger generations through advertising and marketing campaigns. This increased activity and access to online communication platforms have positioned Nigeria as the ideal market for various targeted social media campaigns by corporate strategists.
Reaching a vast array of consumers
Twitter has a significantly large audience base that savvy brands and marketers are able to tap into. In fact, the social media platform reported a total of 229 million global monetizable daily active users (daily users who see ads).
Additionally, 57% of the total 104 million internet users across Nigeria, aged between 16 and 64, actively used Twitter during the third quarter of 2021. In fact, the youth of the country is now considered one of the most active users of social media around the world.
However, it is important to remember that simply having a presence in this growing marketplace does not guarantee the success of any social media marketing campaigns. To assure the effectiveness of such campaigns, brands need to ensure they’re reaching the right audience, not just ‘spraying and praying’.
In the vast and diverse African market, leaning on an experienced partner can help businesses acutely understand how the social media market behaves. By partnering with trusted industry expert Ad Dynamo by Aleph, brands will be able to take full advantage of platform capabilities, including Twitter, connecting with consumers on platforms best suited to their needs and achieving advertising goals.
Through these partnerships, brands will not only have access to dedicated support from specialists in the industry but also perform seamless cross-border transactions and be able to advertise on both a local and global level without limits.
Building brand recognition
According to Hootsuite’s Global State of Digital 2022 report, 16% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 use Twitter for brand research. By ensuring that brand messaging is consistent, stays on top of the relevant latest trends and conversations, and is being posted consistently, brands are able to build greater awareness of their business, products, services, and values with consumers.
But this is only the first step. Brand recognition is about more than knowing who a brand is or what they do. By creating a holistic image of the brand, from colours and logos to tone and messaging, brands are able to ensure that consumers can quickly recognise a brand in whatever they do or put out onto the platform.
Developing trust and establishing relationships with consumers
Building an effective social media presence and successful social media campaigns on Twitter requires more than just shouting your message into the void. By consistently and positively interacting and connecting with consumers and potential customers, brands are creating deeper relationships with customers and are building rich communities.
The latest research on perceptions of brands by Twitter found that 77% of users on the platform feel more positive about brands that are community and society-focused.
By sharing insights and messaging around the latest industry trends and news, brands project a voice of authority. By interacting with customers who are having issues with your brand, products, or services or need help, brands showcase that they value their customers. And by authentically engaging with customers, brands are able to humanise the business to their customers.
Improving customer experience
By implementing all of these tactics and strategies on the social media platform, many brands are able to deliver a better customer experience.
As customer expectations continue to evolve and consumers have access to increased choices and information at their fingertips due to the proliferation of technology, customers are no longer looking to interact with a corporation or business. Essentially, they want authentic and personalised experiences that demonstrate the value that a brand has placed on each and every customer. Social media platforms like Twitter are enabling brands to provide this to customers and meet their needs.
Generating new revenue streams
As we’ve already discussed, through Twitter, brands are reaching wider and more diverse audiences as the number of users on the platform continues to grow, particularly in Nigeria and across the African continent. But more than this, the audience that brands are able to reach on Twitter has a higher spending power than those on other social media platforms. And according to Twitter Business, 26% of people spend more time looking at ads on Twitter than on other leading platforms, while 54% of the platform’s audience is more likely to purchase new products.
It’s clear that many brands and marketers are leveraging Twitter to increase their brand awareness, build new relationships with consumers, improve customer experience, and translate all of this into measurable returns. Taking into consideration Nigeria and Africa’s growing youth population and increasing connectivity, in conjunction with Twitter’s rising popularity, now is the perfect time for brands to reach a larger, more diverse, and brand-aware audience both in the country and on the continent. So, what’s stopping you?
Brian Abel is the Twitter Team Lead Greater Africa for Ad Dynamo by Aleph