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Quarantine Thoughts- A Xmas Story

When the bartender realised that we’d woken up, she rushed where we were! “Nyinyi mnajua mmeniweka hapa tangu bar ifungwe? Mmenifanyisha kazi ya u**zi!”

It’s the eve of Christmas. We are about to start the journey. This Christmas, I had decided to visit my sister to celebrate the holiday with her. But the whole plan was with my nephew to travel for a party close to 50 miles from home. This Christmas is very special to me. I have saved some money with a group of friends. We named the challenge the 52 weeks savings challenge where we have been saving from January to December- for 52 weeks.

Another friend of my nephew joins us but he asks his girlfriend to come with him. So we are four. Not a bad number to get lost in the beaches. This whole trip is planned with Port Victoria as the destination. None of us has been to this place yet. But then I remember a friend of mine-my best friend- lives on these sides. When we call her she says she will be at that beach party too and so I will have some company.

We arrive at the place around 15 minutes to three pm, the sun is scorching and everyone is moving up and down. Though a sunny day is always accompanied by rainfall this one seems like the ancestors are encouraging people to drink water. The water business is booming and some people are selling water in nylon papers. When we ask them where they have bought the papers in retail yet plastic papers were banned in Kenya, they say they have friends from Uganda who help them ship to Kenya.

Content Marketing Plan, Lingo & Roles – The Social Media Podcast

Content is King! But how do you harness the power of the king? By simply understanding how to create the content, discussing it and measuring the results. Content marketing plays a major role in lead generation and conversion in any campaign and each & every brand just have a dedicated team for content creation. I hope you find this episode insightful. For any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a message on lazarusmamai@gmail.com or here on anchor! #StaySafe and learn online. — Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/apparently-lazo/support
  1. Content Marketing Plan, Lingo & Roles
  2. Building a Marketing Campaign & Content Marketing Strategy
  3. Introducing Random Thoughts- Basics of Digital Marketing
  4. The Social Media Podcast (Trailer)

From this major town up to the beach is a walking distance but because the sun is too hot, we decide to take a motorbike. The place looks deserted from any events management company but we alight and approach this woman selling water.

We ask her about an event that will be happening tonight and that we can’t see any setup, she slaps us with the truth. The event has been postponed to the following day because the host could not make it from Nairobi in time.

But we had just landed. Should we go back home?- Yes, we should but we didn’t. Since we had some money, we went to the busy uptown to enjoy ourselves. Christmas eve is always busy. The night is charming and our table is full of drinks. To my surprise, our number has doubled and we are close to 10 people on one table. But because we are having fun, no one bothers anything. The next thing I see is my nephew sleeping next to me in a chair outside the door. 

A sharp pain cuts through my head. I try to open my eyes but I can’t because it’s painful. I move myself but then immediately I move, I fall down. It’s a damn couch! It’s too cold and my whole body is in pain. I wake my nephew up and we are sleeping inside this nightclub in the middle of a city we have never been to. The first thing that comes to my mind is my phone. I quickly check my pockets but I can’t find anything apart from a piece of paper. The paper is a receipt- last night’s bill.

  • Police Brutality- My Experience
    I have been brutalized by the police without any solid mistakes. I’ve seen my friends, teargased, maimed and some even shot!

When the bartender notes we’ve woken up, she rushes where we are! “Nyinyi mnajua mmeniweka hapa tangu bar ifungwe? Mmenifanyisha kazi ya u**zi!” At this rate, I’m lost. I don’t understand what’s going on. My nephew tries to ask why we are paying this much yet we have never been heavy drinkers. She then opens up and tells us our friends did and they said we will pay the bills. Jesus!

Who does that? The bill is 5K, we pay and leave the hotel. But we have nowhere to go, we are tired, hangovered, need sleep and need a shower! So back to the hotel. We pay again, to access the bathroom to clean and freshen up. This day has already started on a higher tone. The day is the d-day for the party and the set up is amazing. It’s also Christmas day and everywhere is decorated with celebration moods.

The following day, we left to go back home. Everyone was surprised! We just left and are now shopping up on boxing day? What might have caused that? Anyway, they keep asking those questions up to now but no one has ever answered them. You are the first one to know what happened on that christmas holiday!

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Isolation Tales; Pt1

Last summer, I promised to take myself to the sandy beaches of Mombasa to celebrate my birthday, my anniversary and my girlfriend’s birthday too. I had been saving for this trip for 8 months! In just 8 months, I had saved over 60 bucks for this vacation only! It took me some resilience, discipline and sacrifice to save every week and month.

I had not told my girlfriend about any of this trip! The initial plan was to make it a surprise! I went into the SGR website and booked two tickets! All this while, the only person who knew this was my nephew because we were staying together at that time! Even the person I was going with, didn’t know anything. She had been nagging me about birthday plans but I kept telling her I didn’t have any plans.

We had a slight argument two months before the trip- it was minor. Apparently, she had seen a flirty conversation between me and a certain lady on twitter. But it was MINOR. The arguments kept coming up now that I had mentioned there weren’t any birthday plans. For my best interest, I felt it okay to mention I had planned something and so I decided to let the cat out of the bag.

Her response was basic or what one would say mildly. That wasn’t what I had anticipated but I understood since we had had an argument the month before and we were still not in good terms with my ex-girlfriend. Imagine, I had booked two return tickets, booked a hotel room in Nyali and had spent over 39 bucks. Two weeks to the trip, she boldly says NO. She says she will be spending her birthday with her family, and that I should just cancel the trip.

To cut the story short. She didn’t come with me.

I didn’t cancel the trip either because the hotel and SGR had a no-refund policy. OMG, I was about to through 39K in the drain. As a man who was in love, I didn’t even think of looking for another lady. At the commuter train, I was weak, my sugar levels were low and I felt like crying. I had carried alcohol forgetting that shit wasn’t allowed in the commuter train. Jesus! I was taken to another room for like 15 minutes then the Askaris asked me to pay 5K so they can let me in since my train was leaving in 25 minutes. I had no option but to give them the money so they could let me go.

Tsavo is beautiful, but I didn’t enjoy a tip of what I saw, I had to pretend I was okay to the lady who was seated next to me. We talked but I don’t think I remember anything we spoke about. It was that bad! Yes! We arrived safely in Mombasa and I took a taxi to Nyali. I checked in and went directly to the bathroom. I cried hard that tears didn’t even come out! Lol, indeed a man’s tears always go to heal hidden wounds in our hearts, minds, bodies and that’s why it never comes out through the eyes.

The first night was moody. I remember that lady who was in charge of me, coming to ask if I will go downstairs for dinner. I asked if it was possible to serve me dinner in my room. I never ate the food though. She came to pick stuff in the morning and was worried that I was sick. I was feeling better in the morning though. The night washed away my sorrows and I was ready to welcome a new day.

I spent the better part of the day in the pool and the beach meditating about what I wanted. My birthday was coming up and I needed a plan. ‘I really don’t think I need a plan,’ I silently thought…maybe all I needed was just space, especially after a heartbreak?

Watch out for Part Two of this Story

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OWN Your Career Journey

I still remember when I was scrolling through my news feed perusing for scholarships. I didn’t know what I wanted and honestly speaking that was the hardest period in my university life. I was graduating from University and would soon be absorbed by the unemployment that has eaten 49% of Kenyan youths. I saw the ALX. I had never heard of African Leadership Group, and so I didn’t have the slightest idea what ALX was. However, the abbreviation was mouthwatering, so I clicked on the page. What I saw next interested me. I saw a vision; Developing and equipping Young People with the 21st Century Skills to Unlock their Potential and Solve Africa’s Grand Challenges. Unlock my potential? I couldn’t wait but apply to join the program.
The application process was rigorous as you had to unlock different locks in the different stages before attending the finalist day- the last step before being selected as an ALX Young Leader. The first month was fantastic, bonding and meeting new people. Intuitive learning, experiential and Career sessions came in handy. Coupled up by the Glamorous Karibu ceremony, the initiation into the AL Community was historic. A night of fun, dance and candle lighting played a more significant role in welcoming us into the community. Moreover, as the prominent philosopher _ says your candle never goes off when you light someone else’s.
Trust me adapting in a unique space/hub with a learning model that pushes you to think critically is the best experience I ever got — surrounded by a group of fellow young people who were always there to help and gave me the energy and psych to be the best version of myself, to unlock my Ikigai.
Continue reading “OWN Your Career Journey”

Police Brutality- My Experience

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve never had a good experience with the Popo. I remember being arrested on my birthday.

“I’d like to be a gangster!” Those were my words, 20 years ago when my dad asked me what I would like to be when I grow up. Everyone laughed, in fact, my mom laughed the hardest. No one ever bothered to ask why I wanted to be in such a bad career. Deep down, I held my reasons dear to my soul, hoping that one day, I’d get a chance to brutalisé the police the way they did to innocent civilians. But a 4-year-old boy, where had I seen these vices and completely let my mind switch to the bad side thinking it was the good side? I didn’t, it was simply the plain truth.

At that time, my dad was the only person who owned a TV in our village. It felt so good to watch movies, watch Awilo Longomba, and the football matches between Kenya & Tanzania. I could invite my friends to our home to just watch the TV. Weekends were my best days as I would prepare Simsim together with my sisters and later on watch Chuck Norris or The Passion of Christ. Those were my best days!

20 years later, I still think that my dream of being a gangster hasn’t changed, the meaning of the word might be what has changed. In fact, I want to be more than that because of my experiences with the Police force. Let’s rewind and go back to instances where I was plainly mistreated in the hands of the police. These experiences have shaped who I am right now and even some completely changed my view of the Police Force rather than the Police Service.

So how did it all start?

While in highschool, a friend of mine lured me into stealing the computer lab router. Well it wasn’t really stealing but he actually stole it and gave it to me. I was an accomplice of course for keeping a stolen item and breaching my moral values but the punishment was way more than that of an accomplice. I was in form 4 then, third term and just about to sit for my exams. I knew that immediately I completely the exams, we would then go to town and sell the router to make some extra money. Little did I know, police had been notified already and I was about to be placed under arrest. But none of that happened.

The school principal, had been meeting my mom secretly and was exploiting her day in day out; with the help of the police. In just 2 weeks, my mom had paid a total of Ksh. 17,500 for a router that costs Ksh. 3500! A friend of mine once saw my mom around the school.vicinity but wasn’t really sure if it was my mom. So apparently, my mom had been coming to the school to plead with the administration, to just let me sit for my exams without arresting me! Imagine that pain of using my exams as ransom to exploit my mom!

When I was sitting for my last exam, (computer studies practical) I saw three policemen approaching the exam room. They never left toll the time I finished the paper. When I submitted it, those guys curved me and took me to the police station. Even after my mom had paid that amount of money, they still had the guts to arrest me! I had done a mistake but did we (my mom & I) deserve such a punishment? They hurt us emotionally, went ahead to beat me up and caused physical injuries all because of that? That fueled my hate for the police department and since then I never saw them as protectors. Anytime I could see a policeman, I would wish to spit on his/her face.

University was extreme!

A few years later after joining Moi University, I finally faced the real ordeal. We had sat for exams from the first year to the second year but none of us had received our results. We approached the heads of department on different occasions but all turned into a deaf ear. Ad what did Martin Luther King say? “Rioting is the language of the unheard.” We were only left with one choice, to riot and attract the attention of the entire country. We organized a peaceful demonstration around the university premises, didn’t break a single glass from 8 am to around 10.

The vice-chancellor (Prof. Mibey- he retired) was informed that we were rioting and he immediately called the police. They filled the school with tear gas, beat us like thieves, shot some of my colleagues with live bullets, burnt some of our belongings and arrested most of us. They turned everything into a matter of life and death, something we never thought would happen. This time, I was lucky I wasn’t arrested but I had been brutally injured on my knee while trying to jump through the school fence. I hated myself for letting this happen to me. I hated the police for their inhuman acts! I hated them for turning us into training props.

Comrades started rioting again, and this time around, I didn’t want to be involved with riots.

The second time, I was unlucky. This was during campus elections. As you all know, campus elections are no different from Kenyan politics. It’s simply a reflection of one another. I have never supported tribalism because I come from a minority community. This meant I had to go against the majority because in many instances, the majority are always wrong. But things didn’t go the way we had anticipated, the guy who was clearly supposed to win, didn’t win. This was around 9:30 pm. Comrades started rioting again, and this time round, I didn’t want to be involved with riots. So I asked a friend of mine, who was also my roommate to escape this fracas and leave immediately.

We escaped and in a short while, were already in the main road heading to our crib. We had not gone far when 4 police officers stood in front of us. One stepped on my feet and I couldn’t move. Then one (who I think was their senior) shouted and said we are the ones rioting everyday and destroying the environment around the campus. I then told him, riots just broke in campus head over their and quell things. The guys slapped me. I almost lost my mind! They then curved us and asked us to go.into the boot (it was a probox).

We were taken into custody at Eldoret Central Police station. The charges were drunk and disorderly conduct. We were each slapped with a 3000 Bob fine. That night was my longest. It was a Friday and staying in police cells meant we would be released either on Monday morning or the next day only if we bribe our way out. I have never been town between compromising my moral values and getting my freedom. Nonetheless, we were released after paying Ksh. 6000.

Parting Shot…

I have been arrested on multiple occasions and all the time, I’m always on the right side of the law but I’ve never had my way. All the arrests have been forceful and the police have always managed to go away with the brutality. Who will come to our rescue? Willy his continue happening while we claim to have a government that works for us?

2020 Social Media Stats To Watch

I understand that sometimes all we need as marketers is numbers and that can only be found by using the right channel to communicate to your customers. Most businesses are registering loses because they don’t understand what is happening at the moment.

2020 has a lot in store from Instagram to TikTok. Young people- who are the highest consumers of the internet are adjusting to new life, new opportunities, chances to change lives, and, for us marketers, new campaigns to plan. 

Social media keeps getting bigger with every new year, and because of that, demographics shift with it. And, ultimately, keeping on top of important numbers before your social media campaigns can help you with Return On Investment in the long run. 

On this document, I’ve compiled the state of social media demographics by analysing and aggregating performances and click through rates, optimized with the most important data you need to know about your audience and shaping your personas for 2020.

Instagram

Facebook

  • Facebook has over 2 billion users. (We Are Social)
  • Facebook users are 74% female and 62% male.  (We Are Social) 
  • The most popular age range of Facebook users is 18–29, at 81%. (The Rainmaker Blog)
  • 75% of Facebook’s users are located in urban areas. (The Rainmaker Blog)
  • 96% of Facebook users access the site via mobile devices. (Statista)
  • 269 million of Facebook’s users are in India. (Statista)
  • College graduates make up for 77% of Facebook’s adult users. (The Rainmaker Blog)
  • The median income of most Facebook users is between $30,000-$49,000. (The Rainmaker Blog)

Snapchat

Twitter

  • Twitter has over 330Million monthly active users. (Statista) 
  • The U.S. is the country with the most Twitter users, at 48 million. (Statista) 
  • Twitter users are 24% male and 21% female. (Statista) 
  • According to Twitter’s internal data, Twitter is the #1 platform for discovery. (Twitter for Business) 
  • 32% of Twitter users have a median income of $75,000. (The Rainmaker Blog)
  • 27% of Twitter users are between 30-49. (The Rainmaker Blog)
  • There are 29% of Twitter users living in urban areas. (The Rainmaker Blog)

TikTok

  • TikTok is available in over 150 markets in 75 languages. (App Ape Lab)
  • There are 500 million monthly active TikTok users. (App Ape Lab)
  • TikTok users are 55% male and 44% female. (App Ape Lab) 
  • The most popular age group of TikTok users are teens, with 21% male teenagers and 18% female teenagers. (Business of Apps) 
  • In Asia, the #1 market for TikTok is Cambodia. (Business of Apps) 
  • Half of TikTok users are under the age of 34. (MarketingCharts)
  • 37% of adult TikTok users have a median income of over $100,000. (MarketingCharts)
  • 41% of TikTok users are teens. (Oberlo)

YouTube

  • 81% of US internet users aged 18-25 watch YouTube videos. (Statista)
  • YouTube has two billion monthly logged in videos. (Statista)
  • 15% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the U.S. (Alexa) 
  • 73% of adults watch YouTube videos. (Pew Research Center)

LinkedIn

  • LinkedIn has 660 million members. (We Are Social) 
  • The website is available in 24 different languages. (We Are Social)
  • The region with the most users is Europe, with over 206 million. (We Are Social)
  • LinkedIn has the fastest growing membership rate among 18-24-year-olds. (We Are Social)

However, social media is changing everyday with new trends being introduced into the market. But feel free to use these stats as guide when writing your editorial calendar. If you are creating a campaign, then you should definitely pay attention to details!

All the best!

Twitter is the #1 platform for discovery!

Shaping Influencer Marketing in 2020

Influencer marketing has grown from strength to strength over the last few years although it has suffered a few hiccups such as fake followers, a lack of transparency in some influencer posts, and a few clueless “influencers” without influence, but its effectiveness must surely now be beyond dispute.

But despite the challenges, influencer marketing continues to be the king in Digital Content diffusion. Influencers such as Natalie Tewa, Rono, Yummy Mummy have continued to build brands on social media.

Natalie Tewa, a social media influencer based in Nairobi Kenya.

In 2020 we are anticipating for several growth and consistency in Influencer Marketing.

Influencer Values must align with Brand Values

Brands will no longer just pick any influencer to run their campaigns, they will be very keen with who they pick and how they are vetted. In fact, many brands will cease from using celebrities as influencers because of the known reasons; scandals, inconsistency, you name them.

Firms will pick influencers with values that align with their values. An area that has tarnished influencer marketing over recent times has been when brands have become ashamed of their relationship with influencers because of poor or controversial behavior.  

Businesses now realize that there needs to be a better match between their intrinsic values and those of the influencers with whom they work.

This has happened several times with Nairobi influencers. Most of them are too careless and forget they oversee big brands and end up tarnishing the brand’s image. Therefore, brands will be selective when it comes to picking influencers who align with their values.

Lasting Relationships

In the early years of influencer marketing, most brands selected influencers on a campaign by campaign basis. The nature of this meant that relationships tended to be short-term and fleeting; although brands would sometimes return to those people whom they had built a successful relationship with in the past.

However, as the influencer marketing industry grows, brands are discovering the benefits of building longer-term relationships with their influencers.

This makes sense – and even mirrors many of the old-style celebrity marketing campaigns of the past. Influencers gain their mantle because of their authenticity and ability to build trusting relationships with their followers. Logically, it makes sense for them to also build longer relationships with brands too.

Fate of Celebrities in Influencer Marketing

Lastly, celebrities will become less relevant for influencer marketing. People always ask me who an influencer is and most of the people think a celebrity automatically qualifies to be an influencer. Well, this is true and not true at the same time because, some celebrities are celebrities because they are influencers while some influencers are influencers because they are celebrities.

As we enter 2020, it is likely that firms will better understand this. The best value for money in influencer marketing comes when you find a genuine enthusiast in your niche who has an audience that aligns perfectly with your target market. 

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