You don’t want to miss this thoroughly informative episode. We are caught just before Level 3 Lockdown is announced, Episode two of Digital Dyans takes on Digital Agency Life(amongst an array of topics), kicking off with the lads looking at a viral video of an American citizen caught in a row with protesters while carrying a bow and arrow. Well, that’s one place to start.
Are We Influencers or Are We Chancers?
Sanele responds to Wasanga’s question of the difference between, Influencer Marketing vs Celebrities and what the best value proposition is for brands. In his response we hear how intertwined some of the worlds are and mostly how important it is to make sure there is brand affinity and alignment between influencers, celebrities and brands.
Black Lives Matter and Brand Communication
Wasanga: If you were to advise your brand and social media team, what would you tell them at present and what strategy would you choose?
Sanele: “I think it is a difficult situation to navigate, it is more about your community management approach and whether or not your brand is aligned to those values and fundamentals and values that people are having an issue.
Because the dangerous thing is that as a brand, if you’re going to say something, or if you’re going to share your opinion, because you are a brand essentially and not a human being, you have to offer real value to the issue.
Just tweeting or saying ‘we don’t think this is is right’, you have to actually add value; donate money, or donate something to the cause, or do something that affects how your business is run, based on what is happening because token gestures are superficial.
Siya: “There must be tangible things that you do that shows that you care about something and the way you go about things has to be based on what your brands strategy is, and what your brand positioning is.
Wasanga ducks away from the political discussion, and Sanele gently coaxes him back to remind him about how Nike is one of the few brands that can speak on causes without tangibly saying anything. Powerful imagery, messaging and wording – tug on heart strings which contradicts some of the realities their workers are offered.
Digital Agency Life and Experiences
Each digital agency is unique and this is what makes their work unique and valuable, Sanele gets into the nitty gritty:
- How do you operate?
- How does your traffic work?
- How does your client service interpret briefs?
- Sense-checking and reviews
Sanele goes on to speak about work which has gone out which wasn’t sense-checked and the importance of diversity and representation in decision-making position.
Sanele speaks about the importance of being able to fight for good concepts in a digital agency enviroment and insure that stereotypes and assumptions do not limit the essence of effective, relevant and contextual creative work. Brand passion points: You know that as a brand you have credibility in speaking about it because you have built that platform for your brand over years.
Sanele goes on to discuss Content Types:
- Campaign Content
- Always on Content
- Brand Tonality
- Audience-specific content
Wake Up and Smell The Coffee
Siya shares his experience and opportunity to work with some very good creatives to push out the Nescafe Grind advert. The advert takes us through the day-to-day life of an entrepreneur who works multiple jobs.
Show Me The Money
The importance of paperwork, Service Level Agreements and contracts to manage expectations and insure alignment is discussed from a brand and influencer perspective.
“You must always cover your own bases, don’t let the knife fall on you if an unrealistic expectation is not met.” – Siya
Siya goes on to reiterate that there are quite a few resources when it comes to invoice templates and rate cards. This is important for agencies and influencers. He also mentions the importance of transparency and communication.
Sanele shares the importance of usage right clause, exclusivity contracts and brand/influencer partnerships and competitor brands.
Social Media Toolkits and Features
Siya speaks about Facebook Canvas and how he has found it very useful.
“I wish there were more ways in which brands could talk to us in meaningful ways and those ways are opening up”
TikTok initially blocked #blacklivesmatter hashtag and the ones surrounding it, since then they have allowed it back.
Social Platforms
Sanele: “Everyone needs to understand the rules of engagement on any platform, we all understand the type of platform Twitter is and how volatile it can be from time to time, and I think as a brand you should enter that space fully understanding what you stand for and don’t feel the need to be apologetic about it, because that is when people start poking into inconsistencies. Which is why even a brand like Nando’s has a level of consistency, they don’t veer off into spaces that don’t serve them or align to what their strategy is.
Data Analytics and API
“In terms of the API’s that Twitter has, it allows us a deep-dive into what the conversations on Twitter are about. It is almost impossible to get proper conversational share of voice metrics, Twitter gives you that information, the data that you are allowed to gain from Twitter is a lot more thorough and deeper than most other platforms”- Siya
