Japheth Omojuwa is one of the most influential Nigerians on the social media. He uses the social media for advocacy and social commentary. He is also an entrepreneur, writer, blogger and socio-economic and political commentator. This online influencer with huge followers on Twitter has been dubbed “The King of Click.’’ He is the editor of AfricanLiberty.org, one of Africa’s fastest rising economic platforms. He spoke with Sunday Trust.
How did you get into the social media? What was your motive?
It all started with Omojuwa.com five years ago. I always wanted to have a space on the world-wide-web, but it never happened until my friend suggested that I put the things I often said on the internet. I took the cue and we started Omojuwa.com on February 14, 2009. Of course I had joined Facebook long before then, so Facebook was never part of my Omojuwa.com strategy. It, however, became one when I realised that I was getting more readers on my Facebook notes than I was getting on my blog. I started to align the two. It worked but it was not enough. By this time I had joined Twitter as @alphareach, but I just didn’t get it. It was as though I was talking to myself. We then decided it would be better to use a different twitter name instead of the one we were using. I created a new Twitter account, @omojuwa and the rest of the story continues to be written.
Facebook was the biggest social media platform I joined. I never really got into Hi 5 and Myspace well enough. A friend of mine studying in the United States of America had sent the links to both sites. She was used to sending links to social media platforms. I guessed she needed every avenue to keep in touch. There was no strategy; it was just about curiosity and fun. It was later that a strategy was built around the social media and my web platforms.
I am active on the social media because I want to reach out to many people and in the cheapest way, so the central motive is to be able to influence many people and raise as many issues as possible per time.
It all started with Omojuwa.com five years ago. I always wanted to have a space on the world-wide-web, but it never happened until my friend suggested that I put the things I often said on the internet. I took the cue and we started Omojuwa.com on February 14, 2009. Of course I had joined Facebook long before then, so Facebook was never part of my Omojuwa.com strategy. It, however, became one when I realised that I was getting more readers on my Facebook notes than I was getting on my blog. I started to align the two. It worked but it was not enough. By this time I had joined Twitter as @alphareach, but I just didn’t get it. It was as though I was talking to myself. We then decided it would be better to use a different twitter name instead of the one we were using. I created a new Twitter account, @omojuwa and the rest of the story continues to be written.
Facebook was the biggest social media platform I joined. I never really got into Hi 5 and Myspace well enough. A friend of mine studying in the United States of America had sent the links to both sites. She was used to sending links to social media platforms. I guessed she needed every avenue to keep in touch. There was no strategy; it was just about curiosity and fun. It was later that a strategy was built around the social media and my web platforms.
I am active on the social media because I want to reach out to many people and in the cheapest way, so the central motive is to be able to influence many people and raise as many issues as possible per time.
How do you stay up-to-date on changes, news, research and methodologies on the social media?
I strive to stay ahead of the trend. Staying up-to-date on trends is good, and creating your own trends sounds better. We redefined the art of publicising events on the social media. We changed the game with Twitter interviews and made more sense of how it is.
We started using the social media as a feed-in to our sites and blogs, but today, we have social media accounts that are more powerful in their own right than even some popular blogs. We have social media accounts that are monetised in their own rights. We made an Awards Night strictly out of Twitter, and those who participated wouldn’t say it wasn’t fun. The idea is to see what didn’t work in the past and ask why it didn’t work and see if tweaking it or re-working it would make it work, etc.
Your Twitter has more than 47,000 followers, your Facebook pages have more than 27,000 fans. How did you get such popularity? What strategies did you use?
Our platforms are original and refreshing. They continue to add value to people’s lives. Our growth is a natural effect of our efforts to ensure that people get enough value for following our platforms. Our central strategy is to care about the audience and the things that bother and interest them. We respect them and always make them see the reason why they are on our platforms.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve experienced in implementing your social media initiatives? How did you overcome these challenges?
You will always get a few people who will knock your efforts. Success comes with challenges. You cannot have a huge number of followers without having a few antagonistic ones. We’ve managed them over the years though. People antagonise for different reasons, so it is in your best interest to listen to them.
We love to take challenges and use them to help ourselves get better.
Tell us about a campaign you executed from beginning to the end.
I have never started a campaign and finished it all by myself. I have always had help. I often get recruited by others along the line.
You have executed so many campaigns via your Twitter handle.Which was the most interesting so far?
The most interesting campaign was the Occupy Nigeria protests. That definitely stands out from the lot.
Has your great presence on the social media really paid off for you? What is the volume of inquiries you receive on a monthly basis?
It is paying off, especially in terms of being internationally recognised as a social media expert. We get to turn many inquiries down because, while we need to make some money to do the things we do, we also intend to choose who we do business with. However, we are still far from where we want to be.
What do you think about politicians who campaign and draw up followers through the social media?
Politics is about change, and change is about numbers, so a smart politician will always go to where the numbers are. The social media will continue to offer platforms for politicians to campaign.
Some people who have been actively involved in the social media got “burned out’’ quickly. How do you keep it interesting?
We all have different strengths. The social media is my forte, so keeping it interesting comes naturally and with self-improvement. I know people that got burned earlier but came back and are having fun now. Sometimes, the idea is to sip it in bits. Don’t swallow it all at a time.
What are the advantages of the social media?
It amplifies issues and brings the voices of previously unheard people to the fore. It provides jobs and income for many. It increases participation on socio-economic and political issues. It has also helped to keep service providers on their toes. It is the public’s eye. Above all, it helps you relax because it comes with so much fun and laughter.
How do you deal with criticisms on the social media?
It depends on who is serving the criticism and how it is served. I use it, bin it or just recycle it and re-serve in a much more caustic form to the source. Most of the time, I just ignore. The loudness of my silence is sometimes more effective than my most amplified messages.
How much time do you dedicate to the social media per day?
I use the social media to get my mind off serious mental work, so I use it during mental breaks. I also dedicate about four hours cumulatively to it per day, but I have staff members that keep my platforms updated, even in my absence.
I strive to stay ahead of the trend. Staying up-to-date on trends is good, and creating your own trends sounds better. We redefined the art of publicising events on the social media. We changed the game with Twitter interviews and made more sense of how it is.
We started using the social media as a feed-in to our sites and blogs, but today, we have social media accounts that are more powerful in their own right than even some popular blogs. We have social media accounts that are monetised in their own rights. We made an Awards Night strictly out of Twitter, and those who participated wouldn’t say it wasn’t fun. The idea is to see what didn’t work in the past and ask why it didn’t work and see if tweaking it or re-working it would make it work, etc.
Your Twitter has more than 47,000 followers, your Facebook pages have more than 27,000 fans. How did you get such popularity? What strategies did you use?
Our platforms are original and refreshing. They continue to add value to people’s lives. Our growth is a natural effect of our efforts to ensure that people get enough value for following our platforms. Our central strategy is to care about the audience and the things that bother and interest them. We respect them and always make them see the reason why they are on our platforms.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve experienced in implementing your social media initiatives? How did you overcome these challenges?
You will always get a few people who will knock your efforts. Success comes with challenges. You cannot have a huge number of followers without having a few antagonistic ones. We’ve managed them over the years though. People antagonise for different reasons, so it is in your best interest to listen to them.
We love to take challenges and use them to help ourselves get better.
Tell us about a campaign you executed from beginning to the end.
I have never started a campaign and finished it all by myself. I have always had help. I often get recruited by others along the line.
You have executed so many campaigns via your Twitter handle.Which was the most interesting so far?
The most interesting campaign was the Occupy Nigeria protests. That definitely stands out from the lot.
Has your great presence on the social media really paid off for you? What is the volume of inquiries you receive on a monthly basis?
It is paying off, especially in terms of being internationally recognised as a social media expert. We get to turn many inquiries down because, while we need to make some money to do the things we do, we also intend to choose who we do business with. However, we are still far from where we want to be.
What do you think about politicians who campaign and draw up followers through the social media?
Politics is about change, and change is about numbers, so a smart politician will always go to where the numbers are. The social media will continue to offer platforms for politicians to campaign.
Some people who have been actively involved in the social media got “burned out’’ quickly. How do you keep it interesting?
We all have different strengths. The social media is my forte, so keeping it interesting comes naturally and with self-improvement. I know people that got burned earlier but came back and are having fun now. Sometimes, the idea is to sip it in bits. Don’t swallow it all at a time.
What are the advantages of the social media?
It amplifies issues and brings the voices of previously unheard people to the fore. It provides jobs and income for many. It increases participation on socio-economic and political issues. It has also helped to keep service providers on their toes. It is the public’s eye. Above all, it helps you relax because it comes with so much fun and laughter.
How do you deal with criticisms on the social media?
It depends on who is serving the criticism and how it is served. I use it, bin it or just recycle it and re-serve in a much more caustic form to the source. Most of the time, I just ignore. The loudness of my silence is sometimes more effective than my most amplified messages.
How much time do you dedicate to the social media per day?
I use the social media to get my mind off serious mental work, so I use it during mental breaks. I also dedicate about four hours cumulatively to it per day, but I have staff members that keep my platforms updated, even in my absence.
Aside blogging and twittering, what other things do you do?
I am a lecturer at Berlin’s FreieUniversitat. I am a well sought after public speaker in Africa, Europe and the United States. I have great friends, I hang out. I am on a journey that sees me travelling around the world. It’s interesting and revealing.
I am a lecturer at Berlin’s FreieUniversitat. I am a well sought after public speaker in Africa, Europe and the United States. I have great friends, I hang out. I am on a journey that sees me travelling around the world. It’s interesting and revealing.
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