Politics and Society
Social media and the future of African media
The first edition of Social Media Week Lagos was held in 2013, making Nigeria the first African country to host the week-long event. Because Lagos is the commercial centre of the most populous African country, and with a population that is quickly embracing social media as part of its culture, it was the logical choice to host such an event. Since 2013, Social Media Week Lagos has focused on the role that technology plays in people’s lives.
Published
8 years agoon

I first attended Social Media Week Lagos last year, in 2016. That year’s event had been tagged ‘The Connected African’. There were many interesting sessions, but the most interesting ones addressed the future of media. The fact that #SMWLagos2017 had the tag ‘The future of media’ made me all the more interested.
The focus is on digital video
One of the highlights of #SMWLagos2017 was the focus on digital video. With the attention span of the average smartphone user reducing by the millisecond, media publishers have to find the best way to grab their audience’s attention quickly and to sustain that attention long enough to entertain, educate and provoke them into action.
Many platforms, Facebook especially, are prioritising video content. When you open your Facebook feed, videos are most likely the main content format there – and we are just in the early stages. On Monday, Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, gave a talk about the future of media. Cox said that videos were going to be a prominent part of media, now and in the future, and that Facebook was “implementing various forms of video across all its products to capitalise on this”.
Live videos were also a prominent topic of discussion. CNN’s Stephanie Busari moderated a panel that included Adetomiwa Aladekomo, Director of Client Service and Strategy at Ventra Media Group; Jadesola Osiberu, founder of Tribe85 Productions; and Sisi Yemmie, CEO of SisiYemmie. The panel discussed the topic “How Live Video Can Transform African Storytelling”.

The stage before a panel at SMW Lagos
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Over the next couple of months, social media users will be inundated with videos (as if they aren’t already) just as we are being inundated with text. What, then, will make any one publisher stand out? The answer is their ability to produce engaging videos. And what will be the best way for the average Internet user to survive this inundation to avoid getting sick from the constant barrage of videos? The answer is the proper curation techniques.
“With the attention span of the average smartphone user reducing by the millisecond, media publishers have to find the best way to grab their audience’s attention quickly.”
The quest for new media formats is heating up
Beyond reach and page views, engagement has become the goal of media publishers. The aim is not just to get to a wide audience, but to draw that audience in, engage them in ongoing conversations and monetise this engagement. Two of the new media formats that were talked about at #SMWLagos2017 were podcasts and content marketing.
On Tuesday, Pulse Nigeria held a session tagged ‘The Rise of Podcasts’. During that session, Pulse Nigeria’s editor-in chief, Osagie Alonge, revealed that 63% of people who listen to podcasts listen to at least five different ones. He also pointed out that the advantage that podcasts have over traditional radio is that podcasts are more niche; therefore, the people who listen to podcasts listen to them because they see the value that the podcast has for them. They are not just ‘radio surfing’ for music. Those people want to listen to talk, not music. If they wanted music, they could just log on to their music streaming apps and listen.

Panel on the rise of social media journalism
Content marketing was also a prominent topic. Brands realise that traditional advertising methods are losing the influence they once had and that people are migrating to online platforms to source the information that helps them make purchase decisions. Content marketing is all about getting brands to own their own information channels – or funnels, if you will – that will draw audiences in and lead them to make purchase decisions. A panel consisting of Teju Ajani, YouTube’s Head of Content Partnerships for Sub-Saharan Africa, as moderator, and Kelechi Amadi-Obi, photographer and publisher of Style Mania; Jadesola Osiberu, Founder of Tribe85 Productions, and Enyi Omeruo, Chigul’s manager, discussed the role of content marketing in the future of digital publishing. The panel highlighted ways in which brands can create content within their own niches and get an audience interested, with the aim of turning that audience into paying customers of their products or services.
“Beyond reach and page views, engagement has become the goal of media publishers. The aim is not just to get to a wide audience, but to draw that audience in, engage them in ongoing conversations and monetise this engagement.”
The best conversations happen offline
As interesting a concept as social media is, it is not news that it is often not the best place to have a conversation, especially conversations that are life-defining. Social media does not do much to help people pick up on the nuances that are present in statements and it is quite easy to tune someone you are supposedly conversing with when they are not physically in front of you.
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A lot of interesting conversations went on at #SMWLagos2017. There were panel sessions discussing gender equality and the role of women in tech, how to use social media to create actionable impact and the relationship between social media journalism and traditional journalism.
Taking these conversations from the Internet to a physical stage is a good first step. This teaches us that social media should not be an isolated construct; it best serves humanity when it is complementary to actual reality. The challenge from hereon for the organisers of this event is to figure out how to drive concrete, measurable change from this platform. It is obvious that people are interested – there are 13 000 yearly attendees – but interest is not enough. It has to translate into positive action.
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