The Art of Content Marketing in relation to campus influencing (Influencers and Small Entrepreneurs)
When folks (especially student influencers) ask me what they can do to achieve their brand goals (the next big thing on campus), I tell them CONTENT MARKETING.
What is content marketing?
In my own words (summarily), content marketing is placing yourself strategically to your target audience using content.
The typical advice from top campus influencer is to create content around your business/brand, be loud, be everywhere, be super active, jump on trends, chase clout/controversy, and the list goes on. But they are never specific because most of them don’t understand how they are who they are at the moment.
In my years of introducing brands to student communities (mine inclusive), I have discovered that the starting point plays an important role in brand building.
How you start your brand: If you choose to start as a brand or as a business.
What you start your brand with: If you choose to start by chasing clout or providing value for your target audience.
The experience: If they temporarily enjoy what you offer or they convert to being loyal customers.
A personal case study
When I got into University of Ibadan (UI), I decided to continue my career in influencing. I used to be a Twitter influencer and worked on various Twitter trends which shaped how I see content.
I decided to pursue WhatsApp influencing (it was trending on campus and a lot of folks were jumping on it “making cool cash”) but there was a problem…
A lot of folks were into it/jumping into it. So my first question was:
How do I penetrate the system?
As I was rambling on social media, I asked myself a couple of questions (I can’t remember most of it,) and the first most important was;
My answer at that starting stage was “Entrepreneurs and Creatives”.
So, the next question was “ What does my target audience want?”
It was simple. Gathering from what was currently trending, everyone wanted to be “popular”.
So I got an idea to create profile images for people for FREE and in return, I get to increase my contacts.
I ended up creating over 150 free profiles before I monetized them to reduce the requests. I also created unique designs for fees.
I got really popular at that time because, people told their friends to add me up so they could get their own, and that’s how I kick-started my career on campus. (I ended up being sought after by individuals and brands)
3–4 years down the line and my starting stage has influenced my decisions in creating unique ways to sell what I need to sell to folks (they tend to consume my content more because they believe it will be unique and out of the box)
For my entry campaign, I ended up spending 0 naira (in cash) to build my contact list from 50 to 250 active users. And, If you are going to ask about the design, I simply used CANVA.
Summary
1. I started as a brand (offering a mini value for what I plan on offering)
2. I identified my target audience and my entry point
3. I gave experience by ensuring that folks pushed themselves in a unique way and also pushed my brand name alongside.
4. I monetized my brand and included the business part of it.
Pro bono
1. Understand your USP and sell it
2. Understand your affiliation and how they affect or impact your brand
3. Tell a story with your approach and let your audience be involved in sharing the story with others.
4. Activate your monetization plan
5. Work on community development and maintenance
