It is no easy job to be a part of a social media management team. Ranging from tasks, such creating content, coming up with strategies, and to actually executing them, it can be a handful.
To dive more into social media marketing, we have Janet Machuka with us. She is a top skilled social media marketer with vast experience in digital marketing. Undoubtedly, her expertise in digital marketing is simply commendable. Janet is a founder at African Tweet Chat, a digital institution for digital marketing courses where you can learn quickly from industry experts.
We are glad to have Janet with us; let’s find out what she has in store for us.
This is all she has to say!
Fahad: Hi Janet, thanks for being a part of our #ChampsLifeSeries. Please share when did you discover the world of Social Media Marketing? How did you know it was the right thing for you?
Janet: I was first introduced to the world of Social media in my first year of University, I was an intern in one of the National media stations and I got to interact with social media for the first time when I started writing in one of the publications and managing their social media, I soon became accustomed to that and started my own pages, the rest is history as they say.
Fahad: What were the struggles you faced at the start of your journey, and how did you overcome them?
Janet: Struggles were there more so how to deal with “strangers” and trolls online, I couldn’t understand why they could come at me with such vile but later I learnt to deal with them by not responding back as this only fuels them.
Another major struggle was convincing people that Social media would change the world and that it was a job like any other. A lot of people didn’t believe that I was leaving a ‘lucrative’ job of being in the media (I have a degree in media science) to venture in the unknown.
Lastly, I couldn’t find community or groups with the same vision as I had and so I opted to walk alone, you can imagine how lonely it can be.
Fahad: You are the Founder of Africa Tweet Chat, what’s it about?
Janet: Africa Tweet Chat is a weekly tweetchat where we host experts from different parts of the world, started 3 years ago from a small WhatsApp group where we would share insights, industry trends and knowledge among ourselves. We later decided to share the community with the world and that’s how we landed on Twitter, 400+ guests, 80M audience in 3 continents later, here we are.
Fahad: You have recently been listed as top 100 influencers to follow in content marketing by SEMRUSH, how do you feel about this amazing recognition?
Janet: Recognitions like these validate the work I put in. Before SEMRUSH, I had received two more from renowned brands (Hubspot and Talkwalker) and all these inspire me to continue on the same path.
Fahad: As an expert Social Media marketer, what would be your advice for new businesses who are just starting?
Janet: To be successful in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business with the idea of making money by turning on a computer or opening a door, but they find that making money from their business is much more difficult than they think.
My advice would be: providing good service to your customers is crucial to gaining their loyalty and retaining their business, don’t do it for you, do it for them and lastly, build your brand on social media, it’s the best place to meet your customers and sweep them off their feet.
Fahad: In your professional opinion what key factors can businesses leverage for Social Media? How important is personal branding for business on Social Media?
Janet: Social media marketing is an excellent way for companies to tell their brand story, engage their fans, and educate consumers on new products or industry trends.
Also, building a solid strategy that works. Having a social media plan or strategy is what is going to help you get from point A to point B. It’s important to know your goal and how you are going to get there. Lastly, create value – To develop quality content for your audience, you have to deliver valuable content.
Your audience should gain something from following your page. Be careful not too off-putting with overly promotional posts but also make it fairly easy for your customers to buy. Most of all, focus on quality over quantity when it comes to posts.
Personal branding helps to build the trust of the customers. It allows people/customers to get to know who an individual really is and how much value they bring to the business. Personal branding also helps people feel like they know the individual, especially before spending money on their business or products.
Fahad: Who is your inspiration, both personally and professionally?
Janet: Personally, my mum, such a strong woman, raised us single-handedly when my dad passed on while we were still young. Professionally, I look up to a lot of great people who inspire me by what they’ve achieved and how they continue to give valuable lessons in their different field, they include Madalyn Sklar, Gary Vee, Maria Elena Duron etc.
Fahad: Stepping aside from work, how do you spend your free time? Any particular activity that will fascinate our audience?
Janet: I love cooking, I try new recipes all the time and just marvel at the thought of creating the best meals.
Fahad: It’s time for rapid-fire!
Rapid Fire Round
| Fahad | Janet |
|---|---|
| What’s your one favorite social media platform? | Twitter of course |
| Your favorite travel destination? | Mauritius |
| Social media or Social Networking? | A bit of both worlds. |
| Tea or Coffee | Tea anytime. |
Fahad: Our audience would love to know, what are your plans for the future?
Janet: Keep an eye on ATC Digital Academy, an EdTech Startup for online and self-paced learning with certified courses with in-depth and practical lessons in over 100 subjects.
Thank you so much, Janet, for your precious time. Looking forward to serving you. Good Luck!
