Nigerian agency BHM trains 70 journalists in Lagos

The event, an initiative of foremost Nigerian PR agency BHM, was a free, one day digital training for journalists, bloggers, influencers, publishers and developers.

The invite-only masterclass, which had over 300 registrations online, aims to help media and communication professionals get the best value out of their businesses by providing tools and techniques needed to develop effective strategies, increase platform traffic, improve reach, interpret data analytics, create, distribute and monetize content, among others.

BHM’s Ayeni Adekunle introduced the masterclass, which featured five sessions facilitated by top industry experts and thought leaders including Femi Falodun, Ized Uanikhehi, Alibaba Akpobome, Tomiwa Aladekomo, Tosin Ajibade, Yemi Adamolekun, John Adewusi, Osagie Alonge, M.I Abaga, and Frank Donga.

Speaking on the training, Ayeni Adekunle said,“I am proud of what’s happening here today. We aim to do our best to train as many people as we can, as often as we can, so we can all build the future together. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that made the first ever #Social4Media possible.”

He continued by adding,

"Journalism is under economic threat globally and in Africa. Technology, which disrupted traditional media in many ways, offers an opportunity to reclaim control and innovate. The desire to have our industry understand and exploit these opportunities gave birth to Social4Media"

Femi Falodun, COO at ID Africa, one of Nigeria’s fastest growing digital communications agencies took the first session, where he spoke about Getting Started on Social - key questions content creators must ask before launching; platform selection, audience analysis, competitor mapping, goal setting and developing an overall social strategy.

Ized Uanikhehi, a digital marketing expert and social producer at CNN Africa, facilitated the second session, where she trained participants on growth hacking and fan-building techniques for digital platforms and communities.

Alibaba, a veteran stand-up comedian, actor and businessman, Tosin Ajibade, founder of Olorisupergal and convener of New Media Conference (NMC), John Adewusi, co-founder of Funny Africa, Tomiwa Aladekomo, MD at Ventra Media and Guardian Digital, and Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director of EiE Nigeria, sat on a panel discussing content distribution, monetization, online ethics and use of social for advocacy.

Editor-in-Chief at Pulse Nigeria and pop-culture enthusiast, Osagie Alonge trained during the fourth session, where he provided in-depth analysis of effective content distribution and monetization strategies, offering successful case studies from his vast digital publishing experience.

Recording artist and C.E.O. of Chocolate City Music, MI Abaga, alongside actor, comedian and filmmaker, Kunle Idowu popularly known as Frank Donga, spent time describing their extraordinary journeys to success online and offline. The two entertainers agreed on the power of social media and explained how they strategically manage their brands on social, using powerful content, engaging topics, authenticity and creativity to win over millions of fans.

According to organisers, Social4Media Masterclass which was supported by ID Africa, Plaqad and EiE Nigeria, hopes to be a system that periodically provides an opportunity for Nigerian media industry professionals to learn and share on an ongoing basis, in order to develop individual businesses and the industry’s collective growth.