African youth should utilise social media platforms in business

Lazarus Sauti

With the advent of mobile technology devices and the growth of social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs, many youths have access not only to consume media more easily and quickly but also to make media and share it.

This means young people in Africa must utilise social media platforms to boost business operations and transform lives. More so, African youths must take advantage of many opportunities presented by social media platforms and use them as avenues to network with others.

A Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 2013 states that opportunities and benefits of social media marketing take in: increased exposure; increased traffic; provided marketplace insight; developed loyal supporters; generated leads; improved search rankings; reduced marketing expenses; improved sales; and grown business partnerships.

Because of this, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Francis Nhema, believes the youth must take advantage of opportunities presented by social networking sites to effectively boost business operations through research and gathering of new innovative ideas.

“There are many opportunities that are availed by social media platforms. Thus, young people must be able to use social network sites such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter positively to grow their businesses,” says Minister Nhema.

Minister Nhema, however, warns youth to abstain from viewing useless materials on social media platforms, but rather create informative and relevant content.

“Young people should not also have their focus diverted by sites that compromise their moral values. More so, they (young people) should not be viewed as outcast by the society because they are one of the main pillars of national development.

“Therefore, our young generation should demonstrate high levels of discipline by upholding good morals so that the society gains confidence in dealing with them and supporting their businesses,” he says.

Frankly, social networking sites provide remarkable opportunities for organisations to expose their businesses.

Stephanie Ward, marketing coach for entrepreneurs, concurs and believes that social media is an amazing opportunity to market and grow businesses.

“If you are not using social media to grow your business, you are missing out a free and effective way to gain exposure, make connections, and attract new clients,” she remarks.

Ward is not a lone voice as Jennifer Shewmaker, blogger on adolescents and media, believes social networking sites and the use of wireless communication programmes allow real time conversations and builds new understandings and collaborations for young people from different cultures.

“Young people can build worldwide coalitions around everything from special interests and hobbies to activism activities,” Shewmaker explains, adding that the ease of making media provides the chance not only to make original media but also to share one’s creations with the world.

Consequently, youth today have opportunities to use media in ways that could not have even been imagined 20 years ago but commitment is key because real social marketing takes dedication. Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger and Chief Executive Officer of Copyblogger Media Serious, notes: “If you are new to social media marketing you might believe that a few blog posts, daily, random status updates, and a healthy number of “followers” and “likes” are going to magically grow your business. The truth is: this stuff takes real planning and dedication.”

Clark goes on to say there is no such thing as effective social media marketing without content. Thus, social media strategy originates from solid content marketing strategy.

“Great content gets people to share, and that sharing widens your audience to a whole new world of potential fans, friends, and customers,” says Clark, adding that social media marketing can be the most inexpensive and powerful marketing tool in an arsenal to build the trust and authority that - in the best case - helps exponentially grow your business.

Accordingly, in order to harness the power of social media, adds Clark, entrepreneurs need to incorporate a deliberate mixture of: listening to their audiences; sharing relevant messages; and enabling others to share their relevant messages.

There is, therefore, no doubt that media literacy education is a must for children and adolescents today.

With opportunities comes challenges, but when young people are provided with media literacy education, it gives them the tools to learn to use social media safely, to critically analyse the messages that are being sent to them from different sites, and to learn to construct and share media and their thoughts, skills, and knowledge on their own terms.

With these new tools and this new knowledge, young people have a wide-open world to explore, learn, and share.