‘Social media provided platform for my business to grow’

Okeke Chika is the CEO of BuzzMedia, a company that helps brands grow their online presence.

Okeke, a digital marketer, is a graduate of Systems Engineering from the University of Lagos. In an interview with BUNMI BAILEY, he talks about how he leads a team of top class professionals brands to grow their online presence in the digital world.

Tell us about BuzzMedia

I have a team of top-class digital marketers who help brands grow their online presence by managing  and marketing them professionally online through various social media platforms. Our services include: social media marketing, advertising  and promotions across the various social media platforms, professional social media account management (Instagram, Twitter  and Facebook) for personal and business brands involving growing brand’s online presence as well as targeted followers growth. We also run online trends which involve making things go viral across the social media space.

 How did you come about the business?

 It actually started about two years ago when a friend told me that I could get people to pay to promote their business online via my Instagram platform. Before then, I had been using my Instagram page to basically interact with people as well as entertain them by dropping funny posts regularly. I gained about 10,000 followers doing just that and I hadn’t seen it as a medium of making money until this friend of mine enlightened me. I pitched the service of promoting via my page to some people and I didn’t believe when I received my first alert.  After then, my orientation about social media changed and I resolved to be more serious and professional with it. I joined Twitter, gained presence there and brands started paying me to promote their services. I also established connections with a set of serious-minded people and formed a team that specialises in rendering such services. That was how the brand, BuzzMedia, came about.

How much capital did you start with?

I basically started with my Android phone, data subscription and a laptop. That’s the beauty of social media. It’s not so capital intensive. You just need a good gadget and good internet access to start and of course knowledge of what you want to do. It was later I started investing in some professional tools to carry out tasks more effectively and professionally.

 How can you say the digital industry is performing now?

 The digital industry is evolving at a rapid rate and it is becoming quite important to keep up, especially as a digital marketer. Speaking from the social media marketing perspective, new findings, methods and innovations are made continuously. The social media platforms are also evolving with new implementations such that it is important for even business owners to keep up with the pace in order to effectively utilise the platforms to the benefit of their brand.

What are the skills or tools you need to set up your kind of business?

 The tools you need, like i mentioned earlier, are a good phone, laptop and reliable internet services. Professionally, you need digital marketing skills, more specifically social media marketing skills, and you can get those skills online.

What are the challenges that you are facing in your business?

 I believe that business would go more smoothly if there were constant power supply  and cheaper data services from our network providers. As digital marketers, we need our phones and laptops to be up and running most of the day, as well as affordable, reliable  and fast internet access via our network providers. The low supply of electricity has always been a challenge to most businesses in the country. The high cost of data services within the country is not also encouraging. I believe that once these two major challenges are properly addressed, it would go a long way in several businesses across the country.

 How can the government address these challenges?

 I believe that solar is the solution to the problem of electricity in this country. The government should invest in more solar projects and effectively regulate the existing ones. Allow smoother and cheaper importation of solar products to favour solar businesses.  As regards data services, they should pay more attention to the billing system used by these network providers. Sometimes, it seems like daylight robbery when we pay for data and don’t get the value for our money.  Data is too expensive and even when paid, we feel cheated because we are not able to enjoy it. Perhaps, collaboration between the government and the network providers to make data more affordable for its citizens can help.

Why do most start-ups fail?

 Sometimes it is not just about having sufficient capital to start a business or enough funds to keep it going. If you are not rendering a service that is in demand, you’re most likely to not pull through at the end of the day. It is important that you are meeting a need at the appropriate location, region or area where it is needed. There are several other reasons why start-ups fail irrespective of adequate funding.

 Who are your mentors?

 I just have one major mentor, and that’s God.  I believe he’s the best mentor anyone can have.

 What would you tell your younger self?

 There’s no time to waste, kid, your older self would regret it if you didn’t utilise the time you have now to start working towards your dreams and aspirations. Don’t think you have to get to a certain age to start acquiring some forms of knowledge. Don’t limit yourself; don’t be scared to try out things and fail. You can do more than you think.

How would you say your business has grown since starting?

I will say some level of growth has been attained even though I feel the journey just started. It is not just me working on my own but I now work with a team of skilled digital marketers under the BuzzMedia Brand.  We work together to achieve our goals which centre around effectively promoting and marketing brands  and businesses, events and services online. We also give a discount to our first-time clients. From a one-man team to a brand, we have promoted several top brands  who were co-sponsors of a world record events.