There were several learning points at the successful 3rd CEO Breakfast Forum of the International Association of Business Communicators, Nigeria chapter. ExxonMobil powered the forum that featured two speakers, Mr Richard Ikiebe, Senior Fellow of the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University and Dr Sean McCoy, Chief Executive Officer of HKLM.
Our speaker from South Africa Dr Sean McCoy shared insights on social media in his presentation on “Stand out communication in the age of digital: an integrated approach”.
One is the fact that the evolving social media eco-system fits in with the African paradigm. According to McCoy, “Africa is very social, localized and networked”. Africa is grouped in communities that are highly networked, interact widely and share strong inclination for social engagement. Not surprisingly, social media uptake in Africa is very high despite challenges with broadband access and connectivity.
Of course, engagement is the key thing with social media. The Facebook nation of 1.3billion people leads in user engagement (visits per day) at 63 percent, followed by Instagram at 57 percent and Twitter at 46 percent.
Next point is mode of engagement. Do you “lean forward” or “lean back” in your engagement with social media?
Citing research, McCoy shared that user behaviour with media alternates with kinds of devices.
Lean forward users are multi-taskers, browsing the web, scanning newspapers, and zapping TV. They concentrate flittingly and experience low absorption because of low sustained attention and high attention to external activities.
On the other hand, lean back users are those involved in either reading a book, reading a magazine or watching a movie. They are relaxed, have high-sustained attention and pay little attention to external activities.
Dr McCoy submits that of existing devices the tablet best combines lean forward and lean back behaviour in user engagement. The tablet offers “curl-up” behaviour. With tablets ranging from phone handsets to dedicated tablets, he added, “we become one with our device; we hold it dear to ourselves.” This is because, “the content is ours, it is personal, and it offers more possibilities.”
For the communication industry, the implication is the recommendation to a shift in designing messages for mobile devices such as tablets as they are growing in user affinity and engagement.
McCoy’s HKLM brand and strategy consulting firm HKLM has offices in Accra, Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, and Pretoria. HKLM developed the branding for Glo, Conoil, FCMB, among others in Nigeria.
McCoy loves Nigeria and its possibilities. When I went to see and welcome him ahead of his presentation last Thursday as local chapter President, I had with me a copy of Nigeria Monthly. The back page ad, created by Paul Nwabuikwu, has as headline “Africa’s Most Formidable CV”. It lists Nigeria’s positives and affirms, “If you’re not in Nigeria, you are not in Africa”. McCoy looked at the advert and stated, “That’s the reason we must be in Nigeria and why I love this market. It is exciting and full of possibilities.”
He shared his experience of the dynamism of our market at the presentation. On arrival, Sean McCoy tweeted that he was in Nigeria. He got a follower immediately. It was from @iGrowFollowerz and he tweeted: “Grow Your Followers with Real, Active & Nigerian Followers from 1k to 30k Followers. Call 08028454883, BBM7EFDE4A7 or DM for Office Address”!
There is a further reason McCoy has deep interest in Nigeria. This former executive of Enterprise IG recalled that Nigeria provided the inspiration for their new firm, now 12-year old HKLM. It was over a bottle of Star beer, he said, and it struck he and his colleagues that there were opportunities for good work in this market. {fcomments}
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