Start-ups and businesses can now launch at or scale into many Africa markets by adopting technologies such as the Internet and social media however how are the odds of winning in various markets increased by ones social media strategy.
REGISTER: Social Media For Start-Ups 2.0 – Connecting With The African Markets
While I’d be doing a deep dive on this during Social Media Week, here are 5 points your strategy should focus on when it comes to exploring and scaling into new markets:
1. Location
First is to actually know where your market is. This goes past the geographical location but their virtual location, as it is very important to know what platforms they can be found on – Facebook, Websites, Mobile, Email, Instant Messengers, Apps, etc.
2. Language
Having found your market, next is to understand their language. You don’t want to land in a young French community and start speaking pidgin English to them. What’s the market tone and vocab?
3. Demography
Understanding the language of your market is not enough. Let’s say you found your market and happen to speak their language, you want to get their attention, and that’s done by knowing their interest – even if it’s not related to your product/service offer.
4. Leaders and Influencers
Every community or market often have influencers or leaders that they rally around to get validation from. When looking at new markets you want to find this people and work with them as they double the speed the effects of your marketing efforts and adoption rate.
5. Content
So you’ve got your location, understand the language, know the interest of your target market and have identified the market leaders and influencers, all that’s left is creating and promoting content to engage with that market via social media.
Now this is just the tip of the iceberg. RSVP for the deep dive at Social Media Week on Friday, February 21 from 4-6pm (Nigerian time).