The gap between attention and actual impact is where everything has changed.

Going viral used to be the goal, with one video changing everything including followers, deals, and visibility. I remember when a single post crossing a million views meant you had “arrived”.

That model doesn’t have a solid hold anymore. Today, platforms are flooded with content. You’d see that video has taken over nearly all online activity, with billions of users consuming it weekly and businesses investing heavily in it. 

But more content has not led to more valuable attention. In fact, the opposite is happening, and attention is becoming thinner, faster, and harder to hold.

We now see that virality is easier to achieve, while impact is harder to sustain.

What viral used to mean and what it means now

There was a simple chain:

• Viral reach
• Followers gained
• Influence built
• Money followed

Now, that chain is broken.

A video can reach hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, and still deliver very little:

• Few profile visits
• Minimal follower growth
• No tangible business outcome

This is because most viral content today produces what I would call passive attention. People watch, scroll, and move on without commitment or memory.

Platforms changed policies without informing anyone

The biggest change is technical, as algorithms no longer reward exposure alone but prioritise behaviour:

• How long people watch
• Whether they watch again
• Whether they save or share

Retention has become the clearest signal of value. On short video platforms, strong performance usually requires 60–80% completion rates, depending on length, but that changes everything.

A video that people finish is more valuable than one that briefly explodes. A post that keeps viewers inside a platform is more important than one that simply spreads.

Even more telling, while brands are posting more short videos than ever, engagement and reach in some cases are declining. 

More content is not producing proportional returns.

The problem is attention without intent

This is where virality fails. Short-form content is highly engaging, two out of three consumers say it is the most engaging format online. But engagement is not the same as intention.

People are not necessarily looking to follow, trust, or buy. They are looking to consume quickly.

That is why:

• A video can be watched to completion
• Yet still produce no action

The viewer enjoyed it and that is all.

In practical terms, creators are getting attention without direction.

Small audiences are outperforming big ones

While viral reach struggles to convert, something else is growing: smaller, focused audiences.

Creators with modest followings are building:

• Direct relationships
• Higher trust
• Better conversion rates

It is not unusual now to see a creator with a few thousand followers generate more meaningful income than someone with hundreds of thousands who relies on occasional viral hits.

One has an audience, the other has traffic.

The money has moved

Brands are adjusting as well.

Views alone are no longer enough. The important factor now is:

• Who is watching
• How often they return
• Whether they act

Short-form video still influences buying decisions, over 80% of viewers say it affects what they purchase. But this influence works best when repeated, not when it appears once in a viral spike.

This is why many companies are moving towards:

• Niche creators
• Long-term partnerships
• Community-led marketing

The focus is now on reliability, not even longer reach.

Users have changed too

It is easy to blame algorithms, but the audience has evolved as well. People scroll faster, decide quicker and move on sooner.

In many cases, viewers decide within seconds whether a video is worth their time. 

That behaviour creates a paradox:

• Content is consumed more than ever
• But remembered less

There is also fatigue. With everyone posting, promoting, and selling, users have become more selective. They follow less, trust less but engage more privately than publicly.

As a result, visibility is high, but commitment is low.

Virality still works, but only in context

It would be wrong to say virality is useless.

It still has value when it is part of something larger:

• A clear content direction
• A defined audience
• A system that keeps people returning

Without that, it is just a moment, and a spike without structure fades quickly.

What actually works now

The creators and brands seeing real results are doing a few things differently.

They focus on consistency.
They build repeat viewers, not one-time watchers.
They design content that people save, share, and revisit.

Most importantly, they think beyond the platform:

• Email lists
• Private groups
• Direct communities

Because that is where attention becomes stable.

Hence, going viral has not disappeared, it has simply lost its power.

What’s important now is not how many people see your content once, but how many choose to come back.

Virality is an event.
Growth is a system.

And today, the system always wins.

The company announced the products on Monday at its Adobe Summit conference in Las Vegas, saying businesses now work so hard to stay visible on AI search tools, chat services and automated shopping platforms, while also improving customer experiences on their own websites.

Adobe said the new system expands its existing Adobe Experience Manager platform, which many brands already use to manage websites and digital content.

The latest update adds tools designed to help companies control approved content, permissions, governance regulations and brand information used by internal teams and AI systems.

Loni Stark, vice president of strategy and product at Adobe, said companies now need to think beyond content management.

“There is a new intermediary between brands and their customers, and unlike every one that came before it, this has the ability to reason,” said Stark. 

“For decades, brands have managed content, but now they also need to manage context to pinpoint what AI understands about their offerings and the institutional knowledge their own agents need to act, challenges that can be solved with our new solution.”

Adobe said the new package includes tools across four areas: monitoring brand visibility, creating content, reaching customers and measuring results.

One product, Adobe LLM Optimiser, is designed to show how brands appear in AI-driven search and recommendation systems. It also highlights gaps in product visibility during online shopping searches.

The company also introduced new features for Adobe Commerce, which supports online retailers. Adobe said these updates will help businesses improve product listings and customer discovery through AI shopping tools.

Another product, Adobe Brand Concierge, offers conversational shopping experiences with real-time product details and checkout options.

Adobe said brands will also be able to create experiences that run directly inside large language model platforms through a new feature called LLM Apps.

The company added several AI agents to support content teams.

These include Brand Experience Agent, which updates web pages and creates new content, Content Advisor Agent, which finds approved materials for teams, and Brand Governance Agent, which checks brand rules, permissions and asset rights.

Adobe also said companies will be able to measure recommendation share across AI platforms, response accuracy and customer engagement on their own websites.

Jennifer Manry, Divisional CIO, Corporate Systems, at Vanguard, said trust remains central as the firm adopts new technology.

“Maintaining the trust of our clients is at the centre of how we approach technology at Vanguard, especially in an AI-driven future,” said Manry. 

“As we advance our technology to give investors the best chance for investment success, we’re embedding AI into client-facing experiences in ways that are both highly personal and deeply responsible.”

Adobe is also working with Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia to ensure the tools work across multiple platforms.

The launch of Adobe AI marketing tools comes as software companies face stronger competition from fast-growing AI firms offering automation tools for business users.

At the same time, 69% worry their content could be used without permission to train those systems. That tells you everything about where we are now, with a combination of mass adoption and serious unease. 

Looking at the fact that the internet has entered a new phase, content that once took hours can now be produced in minutes. Posts, graphics, short videos, product copy, voiceovers, and even basic news summaries can be generated at speed and at low cost.

Now, let’s not focus on whether these tools work, because they clearly do. The focus should be, when everyone can make content quickly, what becomes valuable?

It is not humans versus machines. It is speed versus trust.

That is where many discussions go wrong. They describe this as a conflict between creators and software. It is not.

The split looks like this:

• Speed versus trust
• Volume versus originality
• Cheap output versus clear judgment
• Convenience versus connection

Businesses care about speed, but audiences care about value. Those are not always the same thing.

A company can produce 200 blog posts in a month. But if nobody reads them, shares them, trusts them or remembers them, what was gained?

Where automated content is already winning

Let us be honest about it. These systems are already useful, and in some areas, they are hard to beat.

Routine writing

They can draft:

• Product descriptions
• Marketing emails
• SEO pages
• Customer replies
• Captions
• Basic reports

That saves time but also reduces expenses.

Design support

They can help create:

• Ad variations
• Social media graphics
• Thumbnails
• Mock-ups
• Early concepts

Video production

They can assist with:

• Subtitles
• Dubbing
• Script drafts
• Clip editing
• Basic avatars

This is why adoption has moved so fast, with Gallup data reporting this month that half of US employees now use AI at work, with daily or weekly use reaching record highs in early 2026. 

In short, many people are no longer asking whether to use these tools. They are asking how much of their workflow to hand over.

Where human creators still come tops

Now the other side. There are things software can imitate, but not truly own.

Lived experience

A system can summarise parenting.
A parent can tell you what it felt like at 3am with a crying child.

A system can describe Lagos traffic.
Someone who sat in Third Mainland Bridge traffic for two hours can tell the truth of it.

That’s the important difference between a machine and a human being.

Trust

People still trust people with a track record.

• They trust the reviewer who bought the phone with their own money.
• They trust the journalist who went to the scene.
• They trust the analyst who has been right before.
• They trust the creator whose face and name are attached to their words.

Trust takes time, and it cannot be mass-produced.

Taste and judgement

Many tools can give ten ideas. Very few can tell you which one is wise, timely or worth publishing.

That is human work.

The problem: too much content

This is the part many miss.

When production becomes cheap, supply explodes. The internet fills with more articles, more clips, more advice, more recycled opinions.

That creates three problems:

1. Noise increases

Useful information gets buried under average material.

2. Credibility falls

Audiences become sceptical. They ask: who wrote this? Can I trust it? Is this real?

3. Attention becomes expensive

There are still only 24 hours in a day.

When content supply gets steep, attention becomes the scarce asset.

I think this is the biggest shift of all. We are moving from a world where making content was hard to one where earning attention is hard.

Why human-made work may become more valuable

We have a strange twist here.

With automated content becoming common, authentic work may become premium.

We have seen that when factory-made goods became across-the-board, handmade goods gained status. People paid more for craft, story and identity.

The same may happen online.

If feeds become crowded with generic posts, audiences may value:

• Real reporting
• Strong opinions
• Personal stories
• Original humour
• Recognisable voices
• Deep expertise

In this crowded market, difference is highly necessary.

What platforms are rewarding now

The old formula of posting endlessly is weakening.

Across platforms, stronger results come from:

• Personality-led video
• First-hand knowledge
• Audience retention
• Community interaction
• Useful, memorable content
• Original sources

An academic study published in 2025 also found creator earnings are heavily concentrated on major platforms, with algorithmic systems usually favouring top earners. That means reach alone is an unstable strategy for smaller creators. 

So the smart idea is not to simply “post more”. It is “be worth returning to”.

The winners are not rejecting the tools

The most effective creators I watch are not fighting technology but are using it carefully.

They use it for:

• Research support
• Draft structures
• Editing help
• Translation
• Repackaging content
• Admin tasks

But they keep control of:

• Their ideas
• Their standards
• Their voice
• Their judgement
• Their audience relationship

That balance is indispensable.

Because the tool may help you move faster doesn’t mean it cannot decide what you should stand for.

Who is most at risk? AI Content or Human Creators?

Not every role is equally safe.

The most exposed areas are repetitive, low-value tasks:

• Generic copywriting
• Thin SEO pages
• Template graphics
• Basic summaries
• Content farms

If your work can be described as “more of the same”, it is vulnerable.

If your work depends on trust, insight or taste, the outlook is stronger.

So, what works best?

If the goal is speed:

Automated systems are best.

If the goal is scale:

Automated systems are best.

If the goal is low-cost production:

Automated systems are best.

If the goal is loyalty:

Real creators are best.

If the goal is influence:

Real creators are best.

If the goal is long-term brand value:

Real creators still have the edge.

If the goal is overall performance:

Human creators who use tools well will likely outpace AI content.

That, to me, is the honest answer.

The internet can now generate endless content so that is no longer impressive.

What will always be rare is clarity, original thought, consistency and a real point of view.

People still follow people, and with flooded synthetic output, being real may become the strongest advantage of all.

The company confirmed the deals on Wednesday but did not disclose how much it paid.

Both businesses were started by brothers Chris and Mike Sharkey, who earlier co-founded Stayz. They will now take up leadership roles inside Canva, working across its AI and marketing technology teams.

With the acquisition, Canva is working to bring more of a team’s daily work into one place, building tools that cover everything from early ideas to running and measuring campaigns.

Simtheory focuses on AI systems that can carry out tasks. Its platform allows companies to build assistants trained on their own data, connect them to tools like email or customer systems, and assign real work. Teams can also design workflows where these assistants handle repeated tasks.

Ortto works on the marketing side, combining customer data with tools that let companies run campaigns across email, SMS, push notifications and in-app messages.

Canva says the system is already used by more than 11,000 customers across 190 countries, with features that allow data to update and trigger actions in real time.

“Simtheory accelerates our evolution from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with design and productivity tools at its core,” said Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht.

“At the same time, Ortto strengthens our ability to power the entire marketing and content lifecycle through Canva Grow, from planning and creating to publishing and optimising across every channel.”

Canva Grow is the company’s product for content creation and performance tracking. These new additions will sit alongside it.

In recent months, Canva has steadily added new companies including Doohly, which focuses on digital outdoor advertising, just weeks ago.

Earlier, it acquired Cavalry, an animation startup, and MangoAI, which works on improving advert performance. In January last year, it also picked up marketing intelligence firm MagicBrief.

The latest deals with Simtheory and Ortto push Canva further into a space long held by larger enterprise software firms. It is building tools that combine design, data and automation, instead of relying on separate systems.

The company is expected to show how all of this fits together at its Canva Create event on April 16, where it has said it will unveil what it calls its biggest product update yet.

Canva closed 2025 with about $4 billion in annualised revenue. It reported more than 265 million users and 31 million paying customers, with monthly activity up by around 20% over the year.

At the centre of that change is financial technology. Beyond payments and mobile wallets, fintech has become a growing engine for job creation, skills development, and economic inclusion.

Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem is now one of Africa’s fastest-growing. According to Financial Times Fastest Growing Fintech in Africa 2025, PalmPay was ranked the number 1 fintech in Africa.

The Dealroom 2025 Global Tech Ecosystem Report ranks Lagos among the world’s leading emerging tech hubs, while Fintech News Africa notes that the country hosts more than 430 fintech companies, a 70% increase in just one year.

Each new startup means more roles in engineering, product, customer experience, compliance, and operations.

The message is clear: fintech isn’t just building apps. It’s building careers.

How PalmPay Is Developing Talent

PalmPay is one of the companies turning this growth into an opportunity. Through its Purple Woman initiative, the company is investing directly in young Nigerians, especially women, with practical, career-ready skills.

Over the past two years, the PalmPay Purple Woman programme has trained young women in software engineering, data analysis, product management, DevOps, digital marketing, and UX/UI design.

Designed to close the gender gap in tech, the initiative combines hands-on learning with internships inside PalmPay’s teams, giving participants real workplace exposure and a pathway to employment.

This matters. Women currently represent just 17% of Nigeria’s tech workforce, according to Women in Tech Nigeria.

By focusing on access and experience, PalmPay isn’t just teaching skills, it’s opening doors.

Its graduate trainee programme follows a similar approach, helping recent graduates transition from classroom theory to real-world practice through mentorship, structured training, and performance-based employment opportunities.

Why It Matters in the fintech ecosystem 

Nigeria’s workforce is young, ambitious, and increasingly tech-savvy, yet many struggle to find jobs that match their skills. Fintech is helping close that gap.

By investing in training, internships, and graduate pathways, companies are not just hiring talent, they are actively building it.

As the sector scales, it is creating careers, strengthening skills, and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth and shared prosperity nationwide.

Meanwhile, Instagram Reels, embedded within a huge Instagram user base, now accounts for roughly 35% of all Instagram screen time, and Reels content is played hundreds of billions of times per day across Instagram and Facebook combined.

This shows that short-form video has grown from being just a trend, to being the core of brand visibility in 2025.

So if you’re a brand, creator or marketer, you need to stop thinking ‘whether’ you should use short-form, start thinking of ‘where’, Shorts or Reels, and ‘why’.

Platform Ecosystem & Purpose

YouTube Shorts

• Shorts sits inside the YouTube ecosystem, search, long-form content, recommendations. That means when you create a Short, you tap into a platform where many people already come to search, discover, learn.
• Because of this, Shorts functions as both a discovery tool and a funnel to deeper, longer-form content. A good Short can lead users to full-length videos, playlists or a brand’s channel archive.

Instagram Reels

• Reels lives in a social graph–driven ecosystem. Instagram is usually about identity, lifestyle, trends, social sharing.
• Reels feeds into what people want when they open the app for fun, quick entertainment, aesthetic content, or something trending among peers. It’s less about searching for answers and more about browsing, enjoying and consuming.

In short, YouTube Shorts aligns with search and intent-driven consumption; Instagram Reels aligns with browsing, trends and social discovery.

Algorithm & Video Lifecycle: Important Mechanics

Recommendation Logic

• Shorts leverages YouTube’s combination of search history, user behaviour, metadata (title, description) and omnipresent recommendation logic. This means a well-optimised Short can surface both in Shorts feed and also in search results, giving it potential for long-term discoverability.
• Reels is driven more by interest graphs, recency, trending behaviour, and social signals (shares, comments, likes, saves). The algorithm tends to prioritise what’s trending now, or what’s already popular.

Session Behaviour & Longevity

• Users on YouTube frequently have longer watch cycles. Shorts may draw them in, but the platform invites deeper engagement (long-form videos, channels, playlists). That gives more opportunity for connection, retention, and conversion from casual viewer to subscriber or consumer.
• On Instagram, the typical user session is fast: quick scrolls, rapid consumption, fleeting attention. That suits Reels, but it also means videos often peak within 48–72 hours, then fade.

Video Lifespan: Evergreen vs Ephemeral

• A Short, if optimised well, can keep generating views for weeks or months due to search and YouTube’s recommendation/resurfacing logic.
• A Reel tends to have a short shelf-life: high initial reach, but sharp drop-off after the initial surge unless the trend repeats or the brand re-posts.

Audience Demographics & Content Intent

Who is Watching What

• Short-form video overall is popular across demographic groups, but the intent is highly important. Many YouTube Shorts viewers come with a purpose, to learn, solve problems, discover products or ideas.
• Instagram Reels tends to attract users in a lifestyle, entertainment, visual-first mindset, people browsing for fun, inspiration or social connection.

Content Fit by Sector

Because of the difference above:

• Brands rooted in education, how-to’s, product demos, tech, finance, reviews tend to find better alignment with Shorts. The users are already primed for “search and learn.”
• Brands in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, travel, events, culture often do better with Reels, where aesthetic appeal, storytelling, vibe, and social sharing matter more.

That said, each brand should choose based on what it sells and what the audience expects.

Discoverability: Search vs Trend-Based Reach

YouTube Shorts; Search Advantage

When you optimise a Short with relevant title, description, keywords, you make it discoverable not only in Shorts feed, but via search results, recommendations and even external search engines (Google). 

For brands, that means evergreen value. The video can keep working for you long after posting.

Also, since Shorts can funnel viewers into longer-form content (playlists, tutorials, product pages), there’s a clarity from first exposure → deeper engagement → conversion.

Instagram Reels; Viral & Trend-Driven Exposure

Reels does great when it comes to riding cultural moments, audio trends, viral challenges, or aesthetic storytelling. If you hit the right trend at the right time, you can get massive exposure quickly.

But because Reels success depends heavily on timing, social sharing, and platform algorithm favour, there’s less long-term discoverability. Once the trend dies down, reach drops.

Shelf-Life Comparison

• Shorts = Long-tail value, especially for searchable, evergreen content.
• Reels = Short-term spike, ideal for hype, launches, trend-driven campaigns.

Monetisation & Creator/Brand Value

YouTube Shorts

• Shorts provides a precise path to long-term channel growth, because viewers who find Shorts can move into long-form content and become subscribers.
• For many creators and brands, that means a potential sustained audience base, rather than one-off hits.
• Because of the stable ecosystem and discoverability, Shorts can become a tool for building authority, trust, and eventually conversions or sales (especially for informational or demo-based content).

Instagram Reels

• Reels is strong for brand image, social proof, visibility, community, trend-driven engagement. It’s ideal when your goal is buzz, aesthetic branding, or social shareability.
• However, because reach tends to decay quickly, it may need constant posting, refreshing, and creative energy to maintain visibility.

Hence, Shorts favours sustained growth and depth, while Reels favours visibility and breadth.

Engagement & Conversion: Depth vs Impulse

Shorts → Intent-Driven Conversion

When someone finds your brand via Shorts, there’s usually an underlying intent, to learn, to explore, to solve a problem. That means they’re more likely to engage, watch longer, click through to other content, even make a purchase if what you offer matches their intent.

For example, a tutorial, a “how to”, a product review, this works well as Shorts because it aligns with the user’s mindset.

Reels → Impulse & Social Conversion

Reels work better for impulse, aspiration, discovery. They tap into emotion, trends, social identity. They can create brand awareness fast.

If your brand is about lifestyle, aesthetics, culture, social status, Reels can give you quick visibility. But the risk is shallow engagement, many viewers scroll fast, enjoy briefly, then move on.

What This Means for Different Kinds of Brands

• If you’re a tech brand, SaaS, educational creator, or selling products that require explanation (e.g. tutorials, how-tos, complicated features), prioritise Shorts.
• If you’re in fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle, culture, community-centric fields, Reels may serve you better.
• If you want both reach and lasting value, consider a dual strategy: use Instagram Reels for quick visibility or hype, and YouTube Shorts for evergreen value, discovery and deeper engagement.

So…

From where I stand, I’d say brands should stop thinking “one-size-fits-all.” The platforms are different tools. Use each for what it does best.

• Want long-term discoverability, stable growth, search-driven conversions → lean on Shorts.
• Want fast exposure, brand buzz, social engagement, trend-driven reach → lean on Reels.
• Best: a hybrid approach, with content targeting specifically to each platform’s strengths.

If I were building a mid-sized brand, I’d treat YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels as two distinct channels, each with its own content plan, goals, and metrics. I wouldn’t simply reupload the same video to both and hope for the best.

Choose Strategy Over Imitation

Short-form content isn’t rocket science, but success depends on understanding platform dynamics, user intent, and strategic goals.

Instagram Reels gives virality, social traction, and cultural relevance; YouTube Shorts helps with searchability, evergreen reach, and long-term value.

Pick based on what your brand needs now, but also plan for what you want in six months, a year, or even farther ahead.

If you build with strategy, not just mimicry, you stand a much better chance of turning short-form content into growth.

• Discovery: TikTok’s algorithm gives African brands viral exposure, while Instagram’s reach is flattening.
• Conversion: Instagram still converts better per customer; TikTok is on top-of-funnel reach.
• Payment Friction: TikTok’s checkout is inconsistent across African markets; Instagram relies on external sites.
• Trust & Logistics: Delivery delays and refund issues still affect trust in both, but brands report fewer challenges from Instagram-driven sales.

When it comes to eCommerce, we could say every brand is pushing, but not everyone’s cart rolls straight.

In 2025, over 500 million Africans are projected to shop online, but most of those purchases still happen through social media posts, not dedicated e-commerce stores. 

TikTok and Instagram are now the continent’s foremost markets. But let’s look beyond viral reach and revenue, which one actually closes the sale?

Nigeria specifically, has become the testing ground for social commerce. According to DataReportal, Instagram had 9.90 million users in Nigeria in early 2025, representing about 4.2% of the population. Meanwhile, TikTok had an estimated 37.4 million users aged 18+ in Nigeria early 2025, roughly 30% of adults. 

Instagram’s reach is declining in Nigeria (down ~20% year-on-year), while TikTok is expanding. That alone shows a shift in where brands might focus.

This means that platform reach is important, but sales depend on much more, including checkout flows, trust, logistics, and discovery mechanics. I set out to test five key questions:

Hypotheses

1. Which platform converts followers into paying customers more reliably in Africa?
2. Which platform delivers higher average order value (AOV) and repeat purchase rate?
3. How do discovery algorithms and content formats affect buyer intent?
4. Which platform offers less friction at checkout/payment/delivery?
5. In the African market context, which is a better target for ad spend and ROI?

Platform features & mechanics

Discovery & organic reach
TikTok’s feed mechanics (“For You Page”) prioritise virality, short videos can reach thousands of users quickly. In Kenya, for example, TikTok ad reach grew by 42.7% between 2024 and 2025. Instagram, however, is showing decline in Nigeria: a 20.2% drop in potential ad reach year-on-year.

This means TikTok gives better odds for organic discovery of a product if your content hits. Instagram still gives reach, but the ceiling is lower, particularly for newer brands.

Product catalogue, storefront & listing mechanics

Instagram Shops allow brands to tag products in posts and run a “Shop” tab as part of their profile. It is integrated with Meta’s Commerce Manager. However, Meta has announced changes to checkout flows which may impact how brands handle fulfilment. 

TikTok Shop provides in-app product pages, live shopping and creator affiliate integration. That said: in Africa the full commerce layer is patchy. For example, according to analysis, TikTok Shop in Nigeria lacks unified mobile wallet integration, in-app checkout remains inconsistent, and there are logistics challenges.

So while TikTok offers the outline for a full commerce funnel, real-world readiness in many African markets is still a limitation.

Checkout & payments (friction) 

On Instagram: many brands in Africa still redirect from Instagram to an external website, which adds steps and drop-off risk. On TikTok: the approach is seamless checkout. 

However, in Nigeria local challenges like fragmented mobile money systems, low average order values (under $20), and weak refund/charge-back infrastructure, hit TikTok.

The result is that brands on TikTok may gain discovery but still have friction converting to payment. On Instagram, the payment model may be more stable, but you trade off some discovery and virality.

Ads & promotion mechanics (paid performance)
Paid ads on Instagram are mature; brands know how to optimise them. On TikTok, ad formats are newer, creative demands are higher (video must hook fast), and scaling spend usually drops return on ad spend (ROAS). One advertiser reported ROAS dropping from 10× to below 2× when scaling TikTok spend. 

Thus: TikTok shop may give high ROAS at low spend (if content works), but scaling remains tricky; Instagram offers more predictable paid behaviour, but with less surprise upside.

Creator & influencer ecosystem
Tick any brand box and you’ll find the creator economy of Africa is booming. Many small brands turn to TikTok creators to drive sales. However brand-creator commerce models still suffer from limitations: limited payout options, regional eligibility issues, and tracking problems. 

Instagram still offers stable influencer collaborations, but at higher cost and less immediate conversion.

Logistics, delivery & returns
Logistics in many African markets is challenging. The World Bank Logistics Performance Index places Nigeria 88th globally. That means delivery delays, cost increases, and return friction. 

For commerce platforms that promise quick delivery or live-shopping impulses (like TikTok), these infrastructure gaps matter. Instagram-driven sales sometimes redirect to brands’ website or to offline pickup models, slower but more predictable.

Trust, fraud & safety
Buyer trust is essential. On platforms where checkout is embedded, buyer protection and refund policies impact how comfortable people are with purchase. 

TikTok still has service gaps in Africa on refunds/charge-backs. Instagram brands usually have to rely on external fulfilment but benefit from Meta’s brand association and existing user familiarity. 

For African brands, Instagram Shops currently provide more predictability of sales, albeit at a lower growth ceiling. TikTok Shop offers greater upside, especially if your content catches, but also greater risk, especially around payment and fulfilment.

Practical playbook for African brands

Here is what I advise based on brand size, product type and infrastructure readiness:

• Micro-brand (cash-strapped, low inventory): Use TikTok for discovery, produce highly native content, use local creators, accept low AOV but aim for volume. Ensure you have a reliable fulfilment partner or localised dispatch strategy.
• Medium brand (some inventory, higher AOV): Use Instagram Shops for steady performance; invest in paid ads + retargeting; use TikTok for top-of-funnel awareness but send conversion through Instagram or website.
• Export-focussed brand: Use TikTok to tap international viral potential, but ensure checkout/payment/fulfilment are export-ready. Use Instagram and your site to manage repeat customers and higher order value purchases.
• Way forward (90-day roadmap):
  1. Audit your checkout and fulfilment set-up (payment, shipping, returns).
  2. Run a small TikTok test campaign (budget ~5–10% of monthly marketing) tracking CAC, ROAS, AOV, repeat rate.
  3. Parallel: optimise Instagram Shop tags + retargeting ad flow.
  4. Compare metrics after 30, 60, 90 days. Make decision: focus where ROI is stronger, with platform backup.

Policy, payments & infrastructure implications

There’s a bigger story here. Meta (Instagram’s parent) announced changes to its in-app checkout policy which will impact how African brands operate Instagram Shops. For TikTok, payment rail fragmentation and logistics delays are key constraints. 

In markets like Nigeria where delivery infrastructure is weaker, impulse live-commerce still runs into friction. Brands must understand that platform mechanics are only part of the equation, external factors (payments, shipping, refunds) matter just as much.

Risks, limitations & open questions

• Platform data transparency is limited: public GMV figures for TikTok Shop in Africa are sparse.
• Rapid changes: platform policies, country-eligibility of features, and logistic networks evolve fast, data is date-sensitive.
• Infrastructure gaps: rural markets in Africa still have slower internet, higher shipping costs, which may bias results toward urban centres.

If I were to sum this up: TikTok Shop gives the bigger chance for African brands to break out and scale, especially if you’ve got creative content and basic infrastructure in place. 

But for most brands right now, Instagram Shops brings the safer path, with a more stable ecosystem, predictable performance and higher order values.

My recommendation: Do not pick one and ignore the other. Use TikTok for discovery and volume, and Instagram as your conversion engine, unless you have the logistics and payment setup to fully exploit live commerce for your online shop at scale.

For the next 90 days: test both Instagram and TikTok Shop, measure CAC, conversion, repeat purchase and scale what works. In Africa’s social commerce space of 2025, the brands who win will be the ones who combine creative reach with flawless execution.

The humanoid robot, known as Uri, made its debut last week at Harvard University, drawing massive attention as the new CMO led Series’ first campus marketing campaign. 

From taking over Harvard Square with a giant student composite banner to parading the stands during the Harvard versus Brown football game, Uri quickly became the centre of attraction. The spectacle generated more than one million views across social media within 24 hours.

Uri, powered by the Unitree G1 humanoid system, is built with 43 degrees of freedom, 3D LiDAR sensors, depth cameras, and reinforcement learning that allows it to adapt to real-time human interactions. It stands 1.2 metres tall and has been programmed to engage with users both offline and online in ways that mimic human marketers.

During the campaign, Uri didn’t just pose for photos, the robot handed out matcha drinks to students, initiated conversations, and roamed the stadium stands, a mix of spectacle and brand promotion that left many in awe.

Nathaneo Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Series, explained the logic behind the appointment. “Most CMOs cost $100k – $300k a year. Ours is a fraction of that, and it gains more attention than most celebrities do in any given room. That’s marketing.”

Series, launched as a platform to connect students and professionals, has already facilitated more than 700,000 messages exchanged with a 95% match acceptance rate. The company says that Uri is more than a novelty act, but part of a long-term strategy to enhance how technology can drive human connection.

Johnson added: “This move reflects our belief that robotics and AI will co-create the future of connection. Uri’s capabilities are far beyond novelty, which reflects the culture of constant innovation that will come to define today’s most ambitious startups.”

In placing robotics at the centre of its growth, Series is testing how far human-robot collaboration can go, not just in automating tasks, but in building strategy and public engagement. For a generation that thrives on digital-first interaction, Uri may be the next frontier of marketing leadership.

It’s a serious concern for an industry projected to process over $38 trillion in digital payments by 2030. Meaning the opportunities are huge, but so are the risks.

In this unpredictable environment, building a community that truly trusts you is like convincing Lagos traffic to move in one direction, very rare, but not impossible.

That’s where Beverly Ezebuike, a distinguished global fintech and blockchain marketing leader, comes in. Her strategies have attracted over 500,000 new community members and generated more than $50 million in profit for brands.

Beverly Ezebuike is renowned for her consistent success in spearheading and overseeing large-scale marketing operations within the tech sector, turning fintech users from sceptics into loyal advocates.  

Her outstanding and influential work in the fintech industry led her to pursue a Master’s in Digital Marketing at the University of Northampton, where she delved deeply into the transformative capabilities of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality. Tools she believes are revolutionising modern marketing. 

Beverly Ezebuike also holds certification as a Digital Marketing Professional from the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI), further demonstrating her commitment to excellence.

Over the past three years, she has made a significant and lasting impact on both the African and global tech spaces, using innovative strategies to propel fintech brands,  boost revenue, and grow creative communities that contribute to the development of the digital economy.

At Bundle Africa, a Binance-owned company, she initiated and executed top marketing campaigns that secured the brand’s first one million app downloads, delivered 5x growth in Monthly Active Users and supported the successful launch of Cashlink, a peer-to-peer payment platform that processed over $1.7 million transactions within its first year. 

As Community Manager at Kuda Bank, a pioneering fintech company dedicated to making local transactions quick and reliable for Africans, Beverly Ezebuike became the prominent face of the brand’s community and drove significant commercial impact for the brand. 

Within her first two months, her deep knowledge of Fintech products made it seamless to market the brand on digital platforms. 

One of her initiatives earned the bank 26 million weekly Impressions and helped it surpass the seven million customer milestone just five days after she executed a viral digital campaign. 

During her tenure, Kuda secured a spot among the top 250 fintech platforms worldwide in the neo-bank category, according to CNBC.

In September 2024, Beverly Ezebuike was appointed to lead Community and Partnerships initiatives at Raenest, a global payment fintech company that helps African businesses and professionals to transact and receive foreign payments around the world.

Since then, she has represented the brand in numerous tech events, one of which was a panel session during the 2025 Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. 

In this interview, Techeconomy highlights Beverly Ezebuike’s effort in the Raenest’s marketing team, contributing to the brand’s $11 million in Series A Funding, led by QED Investors. Excerpt:

TE: Let’s begin with a big picture. What does leading a digital tech community mean to you, especially in the fintech and blockchain space?

Beverly Ezebuike: Leading a digital tech community is both an art and a responsibility, demanding a deep understanding of users’ needs and an unwavering commitment to delivering genuine value. Fostering trust and loyalty is no small feat. It takes a lot of time, intentional effort, and consistency, yet it is crucial for building any thriving community. 

At its heart, the role is about serving as an essential link between brand and audience. Also, it’s about nurturing relationships, fostering vibrant engagement, and ensuring the brand’s communications genuinely resonate with the experiences of its community.

No community can survive without dedicated advocates and enthusiastic individuals passionate about the brand’s mission. A successful community requires detailed attention to members’ evolving needs and the ability to adapt as expectations shift. With more than 75% of internet users now taking part in digital communities, the impact of this area of marketing is continuously growing and redefining the marketing landscape.

Real leadership in community management stems from careful listening, forming real connections, and prioritising long-term value above short-term gain. Adopting such an approach is vital in transforming ordinary users into devoted champions who not only stay with your brand but also become proud ambassadors, happy to always recommend your services to others.

Leading communities in Blockchain and Fintech spaces are quite similar but very different. In the blockchain and Web3 sectors, the pace is relentless and volatility is high. Users join active communities, eager for premium insights and early knowledge of emerging developments. They are searching for the next promising opportunity where they can safely and confidently invest. 

The sector is structured in a way where it’s never a good idea to play alone, and that’s why most people find themselves in various blockchain communities because of the extreme value it creates for them. We see over time that community is a key priority to the success of most projects, like Binance, Vechain, and many others. 

While working at Binance, I experienced firsthand that despite having good products, you need people who will never stop supporting your brand and are always ready to recommend you to their entire network in their best interests. 

However, in the fintech space, leading a digital tech community is fundamentally about relationship building and management above all else. In a fintech community, users want reassurance that their funds are secure and that they can receive assistance whenever they need it. 

While people are not as eager to join fintech communities as they are in the blockchain space, those fintech communities that provide users with genuine value, human connection, and a clear reason to trust them will always stand out.

I am proud to have had the opportunity to lead communities in both of these sectors.

TE: You’ve built communities for high-growth brands like Binance, Kuda, and Raenest. What core strategies helped you scale those communities effectively, and did any of them surprise you?

Beverly Ezebuike: Since I began building communities for leading tech brands, it has been a journey of learning, unlearning, and implementing ideas that create value for these brands. Transitioning from building blockchain communities to now focusing on fintech, I have utilised a variety of strategies to achieve success. 

The numerous growth results stemming from various marketing initiatives, which I both led and executed, have produced significant commercial impact for these brands. They still impress me to this day.

A very notable time was in January 2024 when I was barely 2 months into my new role as the Community Manager at Kuda Bank. I was in charge of managing the brand’s two largest digital platforms, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram, which had a cumulative of about 400,000 followers.  

During that period, I  initiated a viral fintech campaign via a tweet that put Kuda on the trend table for weeks. It happened during the well-known “No gree for anybody” trend, when one of our community members tweeted about cooking for her husband at 4am and was criticised by the public for how she ran her household. Because she was victimised in this situation, people empathised with her and generously gave her cash gifts and various items. She made it known that she banks with Kuda, and encouraged people to send the money to her Kuda Bank account.

When I noticed these conversations taking place on the platform, I realised it was a perfect opportunity to position Kuda as a reliable platform for receiving money, as well as one that processes transactions swiftly.

While actively engaging in some of the conversations initiated by our community members, I decided to publish a tweet that would gain even more visibility, building trust for the brand. Altogether, this gives the public further reason to sign up for and use Kuda.

I picked up the conversation, and the rest is history. For the first time in a single week in a long time, we reached approximately 26 million channel impressions and increased our X followers by over 15,000. 

The final highlight of the campaign’s success was that after five days of continuously engaging with the trend, we hit the milestone of 7 million customer sign-ups at Kuda.

Another core strategy I have consistently employed over time to scale tech communities is the User Icebreaker sessions, designed to sustain communities and keep users engaged, thereby preventing any possibility of churn. 

I have been using this strategy since my very first community management role. When I consider my responsibilities as a community manager, I think of ownership and dedication to that community.

The User Icebreaker session is a community virtual event I organise monthly or quarterly to connect deeply with, and onboard new users who registered on the brand’s platform within a specific timeframe. During these sessions, I guide them through the entire mobile app, from signing up to performing actions such as transacting. I demonstrate how to use various product features and encourage them to complete their KYC verification.

While there are other methods to onboard users and show them how to take various actions, it is more than simply sending onboarding emails or sharing “How-To” content videos on social media for them to watch. 

These sessions foster an intimate connection with the brand. I ensure they know firsthand that they have come to the right place to receive the services they need and reassure them of the value the brand will provide. I also inform them about the platforms on which we exist and encourage them to join our official community channel.

The Icebreaker sessions also allow me to explain each of our products in a manner that is less technical than how a product or engineering team member might present it. So, it is essential to maintain up-to-date knowledge of every product. 

During the sessions, I always have representatives from the Product, Compliance, and Customer Support teams present, so that any technical questions or complaints from users can be addressed promptly.

Through these strategies, and many others, I have successfully built and scaled communities, leading to a cumulative total of over 500,000 new community members for various brands.

TE: Many assume community growth is about going viral. In your experience, what does sustainable growth actually look like?

Beverly Ezebuike: Over the years, managing communities in the tech industry has taught me that sustainable growth is about the results you continue to get after a peak moment has passed. As marketers, we understand how crucial it is to make a brand or product go viral. Gaining visibility and publicity for brands and products is at the heart of our work as marketers. Often, going viral lasts for days or weeks; if you are really lucky, then perhaps months.

However, these are short-term wins. As a community manager, you must ask yourself questions such as: How is this viral moment gained through community efforts translating into product usage? What will our brand retention rate look like going forward? Will more people trust our brand enough to continue using it after this viral moment? Are there likely to be loyal community members who will keep vouching for us beyond now? 

Let me give you a scenario. When I joined Raenest (a fintech company facilitating cross-border payments for African businesses and professionals) as the Community and Partnerships Manager, one of my main responsibilities was to bring influencers and affiliate partners into our community. 

We needed individuals who could continually keep the brand in the public eye. As they already had a large social audience, it was easy for them to secure visibility for us and introduce the brand to the type of audience we needed. 

While the visibility was valuable, part of the goal was to attract even more people into the community who could organically continue to speak positively about the brand, refer their networks to use our services, and participate in our community initiatives of their own free will.

This is what sustainable community growth truly looks like. As a community manager, this is why your role is so important in helping a brand build genuine relationships within its community, fostering long-term growth.

TE: What was your most challenging moment leading a community, and how did you scale through it as a leader?

Beverly Ezebuike: My most challenging moment leading a community occurred in 2023, when I worked at Kandle, a blockchain gaming platform, as their Community and Social Media Lead. At the time, I had just left my role as a Social Media Manager at Binance.

What made leading and managing the community particularly demanding was the fact that Kandle was an Asian start-up, with barely three months of operations in the African crypto gaming market. 

There was no existing community, and my primary responsibility was to kickstart the brand’s community and nurture its growth from zero to one, with a major focus on organic growth. 

This was especially challenging for me, as it was my first ever ‘zero to one’ role in community management, and I had to strategise how to grow it organically in 6 months, all by myself.

I came up with core growth strategies and executed activities that took the community from 0 members to 3,000 within just 4 months.

What enabled me to succeed in this lead role was, above all, my growth-driven mindset. As someone who had just left Binance, I had, of course, acquired a wealth of strategies and skills during my time there. One key strategy was the power of cross-community collaboration and relationship management. 

I had built a robust network within the crypto space, made up of people who managed their communities, so it was relatively easy to collaborate and stimulate growth within the brand’s community. It was not long before we began to see people joining, largely through word-of-mouth marketing and referrals from friends.

TE: You’ve worked across multiple platforms; TikTok, Telegram, X, etc. How do you lead with consistency while adapting to the culture of each platform?

Beverly Ezebuike: I always tell myself that if I can succeed on one platform, there’s no reason I can’t do it on another. In every marketing role I’ve taken on, I’ve had to manage at least 3 platforms at a time for each brand. It’s not easy, trust me, but there are ways to make it easier for yourself.

Two main things help me stay consistent across multiple platforms. The first is product knowledge. Working in fintech and the wider payments industry, I’ve had a hand in developing over 50 digital products for different brands. Whether I’m coming up with ideas or planning campaign strategies, having first-hand knowledge of the products is vital.

Once you understand what each product does, promoting them on digital platforms becomes much more straightforward. Not only does it help you communicate more effectively, but it also means you’ll know the best times and places to position your products online.

The second thing is understanding your Audience Demographics. I always tell my mentees and anyone who asks me for advice just how important this is. It’s something I see a lot of marketers get wrong.

Sure, you have your overall brand audience, but it’s easy to forget that every platform has its unique audience too. Figuring out how to connect and meet both groups in the middle can be the difference between simply being present and consistently achieving outstanding results across all your platforms.

TE: How do you measure success in community-building beyond just numbers? What metrics or signals matter most to you?

Beverly Ezebuike: One of the major ways I know I’ve won as a brand’s community manager is whenever I see community members genuinely referring their close circle and friends to join my community and use my brand’s products/services. I mean, there are thousands of platforms out there offering similar services to ours, yet they chose us? And, without any prompting, they went a step further and encouraged their network to join as well? That’s genuine, top-tier community loyalty.

In terms of core numbers and metrics, I keep a close eye on things like member growth, engagement rates, and how satisfied our community feels overall.

Recently, in my role as Community and Partnerships Manager at Raenest, I’ve started paying special attention to user-generated content from community members. With the creator economy booming and so many creators among our user base, it’s become a key metric I’m tracking very closely.

TE: You also wear the hat of a Partnerships Manager. How does your community leadership influence the way you build and manage strategic partnerships?

Beverly Ezebuike: I’d say it’s the perfect blend. One thing I never thought I could pull off so seamlessly.

A quick backstory about my current role at Raenest. While I was still working as the Community Manager at Kuda Bank, I kept thinking about my career progression and how I wanted to transition from community management into a different marketing role. I knew I was super good at community management, but my gut kept telling me it was time to move on to something new.

At the time, I was considering doing a Master’s in Digital Marketing in the UK, hoping it might bring me clarity on the career transition I wanted.

That was also the period when the Head of People Operations at Raenest reached out to me with an offer to be their very first Community and Partnerships Manager. I was genuinely excited when I got the message. Although the partnerships aspect was new to me, I was eager to see how my existing relationship-building skills could transfer into this role, so I accepted the offer.

Fast forward to when I joined the company on 2nd September 2024, I immediately became part of the core planning team for the brand’s first-ever community event (Geegs and Groove), targeted at their B2C audience. Mind you, this event was scheduled for the 20th of that same month. About 3 weeks after I started the role.

I was told I would give the closing speech at the event, so our users could put a face to their new Community and Partnerships Manager. While preparing for this, I kept wondering how I could quickly connect with community members to understand their pain points, build relationships, and familiarise myself with them ahead of the event.

I started brainstorming and considered all my low-hanging fruit. The idea that excited me most was to host a 24-hour-long X Space just before the event day. I had no clue exactly how I was going to pull it off, but I was determined it would happen. Thanks to my love for networking and public speaking. 

Thanks to the entire marketing team at Raenest for helping to execute this last-minute idea, it was a success. It turned out to be the perfect way to welcome the community and have pre-event conversations with them.

Now, this is me as the community manager, which is just one aspect of what I do at Raenest. I also manage Raenest’s Affiliate and Brand Partnerships, sourcing, strategising, and closing partnership deals with creators, community members and brands.

This role has shaped me in ways I never imagined. From representing the company at major tech events to being a global speaker for the brand, I use every opportunity to build strategic relationships and position Raenest in the best possible light.

One of my recent highlights as Partnerships Manager was launching the Raenest Perks program on  24th July, 2025. 

This initiative helps community members access various services like health, groceries, deliveries, solar and wellness, at exclusive discounted prices. 

We featured some of our B2B community members, like Fez Delivery and Pricepally, and closed deals with Adidas, Clafiya, ProductDive, Enyata, Blumefy, Skoolified, OneNet Servers, and many more. The program has grown significantly with 19 amazing brands onboard, and more deals in the pipeline. I’m excited to see it continue expanding.

By truly understanding our community members’ pain points, addressing their needs, and finding suitable brands to partner with, leading this project has felt natural and straightforward for me within the company.

TE:  With the digital payments industry projected to hit $38 trillion by 2030, what kind of leadership do you think brands will need to win the trust of users and Communities?

Beverly Ezebuike: Winning the trust of users and communities is becoming harder than ever, so brands need to be prepared to put in the extra work to make it happen. More frequently, we hear of payment brands suddenly halting operations, which poses huge risks to customer funds, data, and more. Situations like these take away trust in the industry, and we see them unfold all too often.

Leaders who know how to leverage their users and community to build brand trust will, without a doubt, be the ones who come out on top. One of the most effective ways to do this is by fostering a user-generated content–driven community that amplifies word-of-mouth marketing.

Imagine a scenario where a brand’s biggest cheerleaders are its users. People who willingly go the extra mile to refer friends, boost the brand’s visibility on their social media, and even vouch for it in conversations, all without being asked. Sweet, isn’t it? That’s what I think. 

TE: As a woman in a male-dominated sector, what has leadership taught you about resilience, visibility, and influence?

Beverly Ezebuike: Being a woman in a male‑dominated industry has been more motivating for me than anything else. 

Throughout my career, I’ve held several managerial roles, and the pattern has been the same: working mostly with men, with around 80% of the company’s top decision‑makers also being male.

I’ve always loved taking the lead on projects, tasks, and initiatives. But in a male‑dominated sector, your contributions can sometimes feel overlooked. 

What I’ve learned is that the easiest way to stay visible in this space is to show up every day, and to make your results impossible to ignore. Don’t let your achievements sit quietly in a Google Slides or Spreadsheet. Share them. Demonstrate their impact. 

Make sure people, both inside and outside your immediate team, know exactly how your work is driving the organisation forward.

As a leader, I’ve realised that initiating recurring company‑wide projects that involve multiple teams is a powerful way to stay both visible and influential. Create initiatives that have your name on them. 

The kind where, when someone thinks about executing it again, you’re the first person they want to call because of how well you’ve done it before.

I also encourage people to master at least two skills they’re genuinely good at. Results speak loudest, and the ability to bring measurable value to the company’s goals will set you apart every time, whether man or woman. 

So, to any woman working in a male-dominated sector, my advice is simple: keep showing up and make sure your efforts are visible to those who make the key business decisions. Don’t hide your wins. Celebrate and share them proudly!

TE: Finally, what advice would you give to someone trying to build and lead a digital community in fintech today, not just for growth, but for long-term impact?

Beverly Ezebuike: I have two key pieces of advice for anyone looking to build and lead digital communities in the fintech space.

Firstly, focus on building genuine relationships with your users and community. 

Not only will they provide invaluable feedback when needed, but they will also stand by you in times when your brand needs their support the most. This kind of connection will impact everything your brand aims to achieve.

Secondly, be intentional about the community you are creating. Take ownership and make a point of showing up regularly. Be present, visible, and most importantly, be genuinely helpful to your community. 

Partnering with an agency gives the access to specialist skills and expertise and also the industry experience to ensure that their communications efforts are aligned with business objectives.

Balancing cost with expertise: The DIY conundrum

While it is common for smaller businesses to manage their PR, marketing and social media internally in order to save on costs, they need to recognise that there are numerous elements to delivering effective PR and digital marketing.

This includes various types of content, media relations, SEO, organic and paid social media, and lead generation – which often require specialised skills.

This usually means that having a holistic strategy, with support from experienced strategists and specialists, tends to yield the best results.

For DIY efforts, advice includes:

• Define goals, messaging and audiences before tactics.
• Align your conversations with trending topics (newsjacking)
• Tailor your approach if aiming at media beyond South Africa
• Establish clear measurement criteria for spending and set realistic ROI expectations
• Allocate budget for testing to inform future strategy.
• Focus on the 1-2 most impactful activities for your specific objectives.
• Measure everything – clear metrics tied to business goals are essential to determine if your DIY efforts yield a real return

Remember, experience is built, not just purchased, and building media relationships and gaining broad exposure takes considerable time and persistence. This learning curve and relationship building are the substitutes for hiring existing expertise.

PR as an extension of business strategy

PR and digital marketing are closely intertwined with a businesses’ strategy, and cannot be carried out in isolation – especially when the intention is to strengthen brand awareness and credibility, build loyalty, and drive leads and eventually sales.

Strategy itself is a core communication service, with experienced strategists providing direction and guidance.

For tech companies, this means translating complex technical concepts into clear business and commercial value. A holistic, integrated strategy, amplifying PR with Digital marketing, is vital for best results and ROI, demanding full accountability to demonstrate real value.

PR non-negotiables for small business

Starting off, it is vital that small businesses have a brand story and consistent messaging for their key audiences.

This not only helps the brand stand out from the competition, but acts as the foundation on which to build trust and credibility.

Editorial coverage is crucial to building credibility, and brands need to ensure that they build relationships with local media and journalists, and provide high quality content – including visuals such as photos, infographics and video – that provides value for readers.

Having an online presence is also non-negotiable, especially if a brand is considering lead generation as a final step.

Being active on relevant social media platforms and forums not only extends visibility, but helps brands reach right audiences, and engage them through authentic, human stories and visuals that leave a lasting impression.

Proving value: Measurement and accountability

Ensuring value from PR means linking efforts directly to tangible business results, with consistent monitoring and measurement.

To get value:

• Know exactly what “Value” Means: Align this definition with the CEO’s view to avoid failure. Value is delivering concrete results matching business objectives, not just online activity or mentions.
• Establish measurement criteria before starting: Track contributions to lead generation, revenue growth, or brand visibility. Success depends on statistics and data.
• Focus on few things that deliver value: Value is proven when tracking shows real ROI by moving the needle on core business objectives – driving leads, revenue, and brand loyalty.

For small businesses – and even businesses in general –  a strategic, measurable, and accountable approach to PR and digital marketing is vital to ensuring success.

Aligning efforts with business goals, continuous learning, and rigorous measurement transforms PR into an engine for growth, trust, and competitive advantage.