07 Jul

Posted at 10:39h in Thought Leadership

3 years ago I was feature on SABC 1 – Making Moves. You can access the initial episode by clicking here. This one here is a follow up episode 3 years later.

Video Transcript

Siya: This entrepreneurship is a journey, not a sprint. From the year 2008, Making Moves has showcased over 150 young entrepreneurs across all nine provinces. [Foreign language 00:00:18] On this season, we’ll revisit some of these businesses to find out what moves that they’ve been making since out last visit. It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you keep on moving.

Making Moves, inspiring a generation of young entrepreneurs.

Today, on Making Moves, we’ll revisit three entrepreneurs who first stepped onto our corridors in Season 5 and Season 3 respectively. Walter Tau of I-Youth Technology. Business was relatively new when we first profiled him and he had a long way to grow. Today, he is a father-to-be, but his business hasn’t progressed that much.

Walter: I welcome to our class [foreign language 00:00:59] not partition [foreign language 00:01:05]

Siya: Breeze Website Designers were profiled in Season 5. Against business challenges, financial problems, and business closure, today, he has managed to turn the clock in his business and has managed to grow his employees from 3 to 11.

Why, the last time I saw you, [inaudible 00:01:23]. The team has grown [inaudible 00:01:25] 10.

Muzikayise Nkosi from Ekasi IT Solutions is an entrepreneur at heart. In Season 3 of Making Moves, we first introduced you to this young entrepreneur hailing from Soweto. Since then, his business has moved from Soweto to Johannesburg CBD. With a satellite office in Pretoria and boasting a total of 22 employees, of which 16 are permanent employees.

[foreign language 00:01:50]

Muzikayise: I mean first impressions last, so a client will walk in, they have to be impressed. So then when you sit down for your meeting, they are already sold.

Siya: They are already sold.

The South African ICT sector performance review between 2009 and 2010 was 2.8% to the GDP.

Pule: It has been a major contributor in the economy in terms of the IT spend from government and as well as from the different companies that rely on the use of IT as technology.

Man 1: Five, 10 years ago, the industry was almost dead.

Man 2: In my opinion, there’s a lot of revenues for growth in the industry especially in Africa.

Siya: Direct contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP was 94.7 billion in 2012 measured at 2.9%.

Man 3: Well, I think there can be more done by young people.

Man 2: There’s quite a few example I can mention about African children from small villages coming up with apps or any technological innovations.

Woman 1: It’s different and it’s in fashion. And a lot of people need it right now.

Man 1: You still have big players who are playing this monopolistic sort of vibe, so which brings an opportunity for young, dynamic, and innovative companies to then join the market.

Siya: 26.8 billion worth of ICT products were exported, representing 2.8% of all exports in 2012.

Man 3: There are countries in the world which are very progressive regarding ICT. I think that we should actually look into that because it doesn’t require much capital, it doesn’t require much qualifications or licensing.

Man 1: I do think that we’ll see a lot more young people entering this space.

Man 3: I think many businesses would actually require people are able to develop softwares that protect against viruses, etc. So I think it’s very profitable. I think It’s fantastic for everyone who wants to have some sort of future or money. [Inaudible 00:04:22] like I said, you don’t really need much money to that. It’s a viable business, in my opinion.

Pule: The area of growth, really, is the area of services where you provide now other applications and things that are quite relevant to what the people need.

Siya: [Foreign language 00:04:49] Bongani. [foreign language 00:04:53] company as [foreign language 00:04:53] business. [foreign language 00:05:00] business [foreign language 00:05:01]. What is your [foreign language 00:05:04] 2016 [foreign language 00:05:12] 2016 [foreign language 00:05:23]

Bongani: My name is Bongani Gosa, born and raised in Mafikeng from Majemantsho. I came to Jo’burg 2001 to study IT. At the moment, [foreign language 00:05:43] BTech IT [foreign language 00:05:45] certificate in Advance Project Management. I’m running my own advertising agency [foreign language 00:05:51] North Riding.

Siya: [Foreign Language 00:05:52]

Bongani: All right.

Siya: Lead the way.

Bongani: Okay.

Siya: There years ago, last time [foreign language 00:06:03]

Bongani: Yeah, [foreign language 00:06:10] once in a while, maybe once every two or four weeks. [foreign language 00:06:17]

I think the strong quality that I’m good at, I’m a good organizer, yeah.

Man 4: He’s not one of those guys, about pretender, you know? Like we get to a place, the booze is too expensive, there’s no way he’s gonna sit there and spend $200 and pretend he enjoys it.

Bongani: I think my weak quality is mainly, to be honest with you, is [foreign language 00:06:44] no.

Siya: I know [foreign language 00:06:45]

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:06:49]

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:06:50]

Bongani: [foreign language 00:06:51] Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:06:51]

Woman 1: Thank you.

Bongani: [foreign language 00:06:52] they just okay. I think [foreign language 00:06:58] their son is doing fairly well for himself in Gauteng, city of lights.

Siya: Yeah. [foreign language 00:07:05]

Bongani: [foreign language 00:07:07] nothing yet [foreign language 00:07:08].

Siya: [foreign language 00:07:10] headway.

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: No, not small [foreign language 00:07:14]

Bongani: Yeah, yeah. So [foreign language 00:07:16] once again. [foreign language 00:07:18] I think, not I think, [foreign language 00:07:24]. It’s about time [foreign language 00:07:26].

Siya: How do you feel, Bongani, has grown [foreign language 00:07:35]?

Bongani: I think I have grown quite a lot as a person because since then, what I’ve also started doing, get up, public speaking, so just sharing knowledge about business and stuff like that, just to educate [foreign language 00:07:50] business, because this year’s my 10th year in pushing a business. It’s been very tough and very difficult.

Woman 2: [Foreign language 00:07:58] business [foreign language 00:08:00], you know, how to [foreign language 00:08:05]

Bongani: The website is just a small part of the advertising puzzle. So now what we do is that we try to solve a business problem through advertising.

Siya: [foreign language 00:08:26]. I’m happy so see that three years later, you’re still standing [foreign language 00:08:33].

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:08:35] I want to see this growth. I’ve heard about it. Now [foreign language 00:08:39]

Bongani: All right. Let’s go.

Siya: Thank you.

Bongani: I’m founder and creative director at Breeze Website Designers, which is one of the few black advertising agencies our size. Our services are mainly vary from quite a number of things. We do animated explainer videos. We do websites. We do print. We do online advertising. We do all kinds of stuff. But our motto is very simple, “We grow when you grow.” Our business can only grow when we help our clients’ businesses grow. We can be found on www.bwdadvertising.co.za.

This is our new office. This is where we moved to.

Siya: Yes, sir. Bongani, before we go to way back and the move to that, [foreign language 00:09:51].

Bongani: That’s Chezille.

Woman 2: Hi Chezille.

Chezille: Hi, nice to meet you.

Bongani: She’s a graphic designer.

Woman 2: Okay. Interesting work.

Bongani: That’s Eddie.

Woman 2: Eddie, hi.

Bongani: Eddie’s a website designer, graphic designer as well.

Woman 2: Wonderful. So you guys are enjoying what you’re doing here.

Siya: Why, the last time I saw you, [foreign language 00:10:11]. The team has grown [foreign language 00:10:14] 10. How did the expansion come about? [foreign language 00:10:18]

Bongani: The expansion maybe came…had been like gradually, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly. In essence, what we have done is that we started off with, like I said, it was only three of us, then we needed more capacity for more designers then we hired an extra designer. Then over time, we realized that, you know what, we need someone in-house that can do video animations, then we hired an animator.

Siya: [foreign language 00:10:44] three years ago.

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:10:47] website and then [foreign language 00:10:51] advertising. [foreign language 00:10:56]

Bongani: A website is just a small part of the advertising puzzle. So now what we do is that we try to solve a business problem through advertising, in a sense, through storytelling. So that’s where this advertising part comes through. Because now you notice, we have kind of different people doing different things which all talk to kind of the same thing. So we’d have like a copywriter that writes out like stories about whatever needs to happen. We’d have like a graphic designer that can be the visual communicate, whatever you want to communicate. We’ve got animators that can make your pictures move and do fancy things. So we do quite a lot of stuff. So that’s why now, we’ve just evolved into an advertising agency, as opposed to just concentrating on a small part of advertising, which was websites. We still do websites.

Siya: Do you still remember some of the tasks that the judges and the mentor gave you on Making Moves?

Bongani: Yes.

Siya: The last time you were there.

Bongani: Yes, I do. One of them was to get a printed business profile.

Woman 2: You have an excellent team. I want you guys to put your head together, come up with something that’s wow. [foreign language 00:12:05]. I need you to come up with something that [foreign language 00:12:13]

Bongani: I’ve got a few there in my office.

Siya: Now you have [foreign language 00:12:16]

Bongani: Yes, we print like a thousand of them.

Siya: So that was the first time [foreign language 00:12:21]. The second one is do you remember that one?

Woman 2: He [foreign language 00:12:27] financial [foreign language 00:12:28]

Bongani: Yeah.

Woman 2: [foreign language 00:12:30] you know, [foreign language 00:12:31]

Bongani: The other one was not using the company’s [foreign language 00:12:46] I mean pizza.

Siya: [foreign language 00:12:50]

Bongani: No. What I’ve done now is I made sure that I get a salary so that I can use my personal card to buy whatever that I want as opposed to swiping [foreign language 00:13:01].

Lesedi: What I love most about it is the interaction with different people on a daily basis. You get to run into different sorts of people, people in different industries. You don’t come to work and meet the same people over and over again. So I quite enjoy that variation. He’s a cool boss. He’s reasonable, but obviously, within the bounds of what’s professional.

Siya: Pule Ganyane boasts of over 10 years’ experience in the IT industry. Over the years, he has built experience in various aspects ranging from account, project management to directorship. Pule Ganyane is a pioneer and a game changer in the IT industry.

Bongani: This is my office. Yeah, at least now, I’ve got a bit of privacy, so I can do quite a lot of things. And the nice thing is that I can also just look at the staff through this window. But at least I’ve got an office now, unlike three years ago, where we shared like space. Pretty much, there was no privacy to do anything.

Siya: [foreign language 00:14:13]

Bongani: Now the challenge [foreign language 00:14:18]. Our biggest challenge, it’s mainly sales and business development. At that time, we were targeting a particular type of client. But over time, now, we’re no more a just a website design company. We’re an advertising agency. So we’re taking a different type of client.

Pule: Getting more business is what we all want. If there’s a magic wand that one can do and get business, then you can do that. Getting sales people, getting feet on the streets and selling your product is a very key ingredient of business. Because if your produce things in your house but never get to sell them, you are like the light underneath the table.

Siya: [foreign language 00:15:10]

Bongani: Well, the growth plan is to become one of the biggest advertising agencies in South Africa. At the moment, we’ve got those big agencies around, but the bulk of them are foreign-owned. So over time, or within 10 years, our aim is to be the biggest advertising agency in SA.

Pule: Growth is an important part of a business, of any business for that matter. You don’t want to remain the same size. You want to be able to look back and say, “I was a this size 10 years ago, this is how we’ve incrementally grown.”

Bongani: And like I said, in the last episode, the issue was that we don’t have takeaway brochures. [inaudible 00:15:56] brochures.

Siya: This is what Tumi was talking about.

Bongani: Yeah.

Siya: Yes.

Bongani: And over and above that, we even take it further. Of course, we got featured on this publication which is Entrepreneurship. We also give this to clients because we bought 300 copies of this. So everyone that comes to our office or everyone that we interact with, we give them this and this as well.

Siya: [foreign language 00:16:16] 10,000 times.

Woman 3: Based on your pitch today, because this was what the investment was for, the judges were not convinced that they should give you the money, because you didn’t convince them properly in terms of how effective you’re going to use the money for. But all the best, you’ve got potential. Take all advise and make use of it and you will succeed.

Siya: [foreign language 00:16:46] Do you still share the same sentiments?

Bongani: Yes, I still share those exact same sentiments, because you’ll notice that I implemented all the advice that was given by the mentor at the time. Because at the time, like I said, she said, “You’re in the marketing, I mean, you do marketing but…”

Siya: No one knows about the business you market.

Bongani: Yeah, no one knows what I do.

Woman 2: [foreign language 00:17:15] you know, [foreign language 00:17:22]

Siya: [foreign language 00:17:25]

Bongani: I’d like to thank Making Moves for giving us the opportunity to showcase our growth, and most importantly, to show other entrepreneurs that if Bongani can do it, so can you.

Siya: 2013, the last time [foreign language 00:17:46]

Walter: Yeah, [foreign language 00:17:48]

Siya: No, [foreign language 00:17:53], I see a few changes. [foreign language 00:17:55]

Pule: It is important that a small company, so we should not do things just for the sake of doing them.

Siya: [foreign language 00:18:22] IT training center [foreign language 00:18:33] I last saw him three years ago and his business [foreign language 00:18:38]

Walter: I’m Walter Tau, born in Limpopo, qualified IT software developer, and owner of I-Youth Technology.

Siya: It’s been a long time since [foreign language 00:19:10] 2013.

Walter: 2013 [foreign language 00:19:13].

Siya: Speaking of which, [foreign language 00:19:15] congratulations are in order. [foreign language 00:19:17] Congrats.

Walter: Thank you. Yes, [foreign language 00:19:23]

Siya: So soon, [foreign language 00:19:35] will have a little bundle of joy.

Walter: June.

Siya: Will you be ready [foreign language 00:19:40]. Are you ready for fatherhood?

Walter: Yeah, ready [foreign language 00:19:47] because [foreign language 00:19:51] mistake, in terms of [foreign language 00:19:55].

Siya: If [foreign language 00:20:03] business [foreign language 00:20:05] what do you enjoy doing these days [foreign language 00:20:08]?

Walter: Yeah. [foreign language 00:20:09] sport. If I [foreign language 00:20:12] business, I like [foreign language 00:20:15] Sixteen Valve.

Siya: [foreign language 00:20:25] Sixteen Valve, maybe you [foreign language 00:20:27] Sixteen V so [foreign language 00:20:29].

Man 5: [foreign language 00:20:34]

Walter: [foreign language 00:20:37] It was a small team, so [foreign language 00:20:42]. I was one of the best player at that time because [foreign language 00:20:47] Doctor [foreign language 00:20:50]

Siya: [foreign language 00:20:52] the last time [foreign language 00:20:53]

Walter: Yeah, [foreign language 00:20:56].

Siya: No, [foreign language 00:21:00] a few changes. [foreign language 00:21:03]

Walter: Internet services, we help the university student with their assignments. We help them. We teach the end user computer, or the community. I’m the owner of I-Youth Technology. I-Youth Technology provide the following services. We provide website design. We provide telecommunication networks. And we also provide training. If you want more about our services, you can go to our website. Our website is www.iyouth.co.za. If you wanna visit our offices, you can find us at this address: 2555 Teresa Street, Mayibuye.

Siya: [foreign language 00:21:49] Take me through.

Walter: Reception [foreign language 00:22:00] privacy class so [foreign language 00:22:03] privacy [foreign language 00:22:06] office [foreign language 00:22:07] internet café [foreign language 00:22:09]

Siya: Nice.

Walter: You’re welcome.

Siya: So the changes that you’ve done [foreign language 00:22:19] business [foreign language 00:22:19], you wanna impact your business in what way? And how will they help the business to grow?

Walter: [foreign language 00:22:24] one of our lady [foreign language 00:22:27] filing [foreign language 00:22:27] filing and PA, sort of. And then [foreign language 00:22:36] assist, facilitate my student. Some of the changes [foreign language 00:22:43] internet café is [foreign language 00:22:52] class [foreign language 00:22:55] core business [foreign language 00:22:56] website [foreign language 00:23:00] two clients so far. And then telecommunications [foreign language 00:23:06] provide the landlines and we store the networks.

Welcome to our class [foreign language 00:23:13] 2013, there is no partition. [foreign language 00:23:18] desk [foreign language 00:23:20] control the student [foreign language 00:23:24]. So that’s why I decided to put a partition, so that there is privacy for the student.

Lethabo: [foreign language 00:23:30] Excel, PowerPoint. [foreign language 00:23:37] apply [foreign language 00:23:42] assignment [foreign language 00:23:46]

Siya: So how do I [foreign language 00:23:49] First thing, [foreign language 00:23:54] partitioned, [foreign language 00:23:56] privacy, but the space is limited.

Woman 2: Here, so this is where you are.

Walter: This is a center.

Woman 2: Right.

Walter: [foreign language 00:24:03] those are computers for the school and then [foreign language 00:24:03] the office.

Woman 2: Okay, very quaint.

Walter: Our office at the same time, it’s everything. All in one.

Woman 2: Right, right, okay.

Siya: So how many students do you see in a day.

Walter: Okay, [foreign language 00:24:19], every three months, my students is 15. Every time a student actually still [foreign language 00:24:26] classes are two a day. Another class [foreign language 00:24:32] student [foreign language 00:24:35] around 12 [foreign language 00:24:41], around five. So [foreign language 00:24:50] three [foreign language 00:24:52] seven, seven, another day, another five or six.

Siya: So what exactly [foreign language 00:24:59] do because now it’s [foreign language 00:25:00]

Walter: [foreign language 00:25:01] manager [foreign language 00:25:01] every day management.

[foreign language 00:25:09] processing [foreign language 00:25:11].

Woman 2: What’s taking long?

Walter: They need some documents, because it’s an application by area [foreign language 00:25:17].

Woman 2: [foreign language 00:25:18] corporation?

Walter: It’s a company, it’s a private company.

Woman 2: Pty?

Walter: Pty Ltd.

Woman: He’s all over the place when it comes to planning and prioritizing. When you open the business, you cannot operate if your documents are not already in order.

Pule: You must understand that the fundamentals of marketing talk about the 4 Ps of marketing. And you’re talking about price, you’re talking about the place, you’re talking about promotion, and they’re talking about the product.

Walter: The only problem [foreign language 00:25:47]

Siya: So Walter, I know accreditation [foreign language 00:26:14]

Walter: Yes.

Siya: So now what happens after the students [foreign language 00:26:17]?

Walter: So [foreign language 00:26:23] partnership with Siyafunda. Partnership with Siyafunda train the student, after we train the student, [foreign language 00:26:32] Siyafunda. Siyafunda [foreign language 00:26:41] issue the certificate, and [foreign language 00:26:48] graduations.

Aamed: Walter really engaged with us a few years back. In terms of our relationship with partners, the important thing is credibility, integrity, trust. That’s how relationships are built, and we’ve seen those qualities in Walter. He also had passion about community development, which we quite…is one of our key values that we look in terms of our partners and Walter had those qualities as well. Hence, we agreed that we’ll have a partnership with him.

Siya: [foreign language 00:27:19] R900 [foreign language 00:27:26]. Is it enough to make sure [foreign language 00:27:31] you have enough to cover the costs?

Walter: Yeah, enough to cover the costs. The only problem [foreign language 00:27:40] sustain a business [foreign language 00:27:49].

Pule: While it’s a good thing that people are paying for the training courses that you’re offering, because that shows appreciation that people are willing to pay for what they receive, you must understand that the fundamentals of marketing talk about the 4 Ps of marketing. And you’re talking about price, you’re talking about the place, you’re talking about promotion, and they’re talking about the product. In this case, the product is training, the price is R900. The people appreciate and pay for that price. And they see that there is value in paying for that price.

If you take it higher and there is a dwindle in the people that are coming, it could be that it is out of their price range at the moment. It may be that you need to have a strategy of looking at your price and your competitiveness and the offering of what you’re putting in front of the people. All of that has to be taken in a balance. You’ve got to say, “In this environment, what can I charge?” And it’s based on what you could do marker research on and find out if there’s a need and appreciation to pay that amount.

Siya: [foreign language 00:29:05]. So Walter, last time [foreign language 00:29:12] was 2013. It’s been three years since [foreign language 00:29:15]. It’s a long time in business, [foreign language 00:29:17]. But it feels like [foreign language 00:29:22] from where we were the last time [foreign language 00:29:24].

Walter: No, [foreign language 00:29:26]. As I said, maybe [foreign language 00:29:31] same place. [foreign language 00:29:35] experience [foreign language 00:29:38] today [foreign language 00:29:38] business. The income [foreign language 00:29:42].

Pule: While I do understand the pressure that Walter might be having in terms of space, it is important that as small companies, we should not do things just for the sake of doing them. One is to be mindful of how it’s going to impact on the other resources that you have, like your financial resources. If you move, for instance, from an area where you can comfortably have a production line on a low rental and things like that, you gotta consider that. You got to maintain that. I started my company in my house. For more than a year, we were in a little room in my house. There was three of us. I mean, the place was so small you had to go outside to change your mind.

But the point is that when the time is right, you got to move. And sometimes, it’s better to go into a place where there’s similar or complimentary business like yours. And when you do that, you’ll be able to go into an area where you can share resources. We did that. We moved into an area which we call a township in Midrand where we shared resources. There was about 10 companies, and we had 1 boardroom. But all those resources were shared equally among the companies. And we realized that in so doing, we could save so much more, and we could stretch the rand, as it were, a bit much farther. So I think those are things that you need to consider before you can move.

Siya: What would you say right now are your real challenges [foreign language 00:31:22]? What are some of those real, real challenges that you need help with, [foreign language 00:31:29] your business and take it further?

Walter: Our real challenge is [foreign language 00:31:33] space [foreign language 00:31:35] office container [foreign language 00:31:40] building. [foreign language 00:31:42] challenge, the real challenge so far.

Siya: [foreign language 00:31:47] business. One thing I’m impressed about is [foreign language 00:31:50] standing [foreign language 00:31:52]. You’ve made a few changes [foreign language 00:31:55]. Hopefully next time I [foreign language 00:31:58], you’ll be in a bigger space. [foreign language 00:32:01]

Walter: That’s our plans, for sure.

Siya: [foreign language 00:32:05]

Walter: [foreign language 00:32:08]

Siya: [foreign language 00:32:11] I hope will become more [foreign language 00:32:13]

Walter: [foreign language 00:32:14]

Siya: Thank you very much for your time [foreign language 00:32:17]

Walter: Thank you very much. Okay.

This program here profiled [foreign language 00:32:25] and [foreign language 00:32:29] because of this program, and hopefully, after this one, I believe that we’ll get our own space and accreditation and then run a professional business. Thank you, guys. Thank you very much.

Siya: This is [foreign language 00:32:51] since the last time he was here on the show. [foreign language 00:32:56] Ekasi IT Solutions. [foreign language 00:33:00] Dube. Things have changed. His business has improved [foreign language 00:33:04] in Johannesburg CBD and [foreign language 00:33:07] brance at Pretoria. [foreign language 00:33:09] improvements [foreign language 00:33:12] since the last time we saw him.

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:33:20] Muzikayise Nkosi, the founder and CEO of Ekasi IT Solutions.

Siya: I last time [foreign language 00:33:29] 2009.

Muzikayise: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:33:32]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:33:34] yeah, [foreign language 00:33:35].

Siya: [foreign language 00:33:39]

Muzikayise: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:33:40] how old [foreign language 00:33:42]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:33:43] is 13 years and then [foreign language 00:33:45] is 7 years.

Siya: Seven years.

Muzikayise: Yeah. [foreign language 00:33:48]

Siya: Yeah. No, no, no, you [foreign language 00:33:52]

Muzikayise: Well, at this moment, I’m just fixed with this company because we [foreign language 00:34:12] building up. And [foreign language 00:34:13] We are about to open another branch.

Siya: [foreign language 00:34:17]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:34:17], yes. That one will be in Bryanston. We finalized everything. [foreign language 00:34:22] So because of that business, I don’t really get time to [foreign language 00:34:28] the only time [foreign language 00:34:29] family for a holiday. That’s the only I really got time. But therefore [foreign language 00:34:34], no. That one is just [foreign language 00:34:38] for now.

Siya: Last time [foreign language 00:34:40]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:34:44] before, he’s still my driving force.

Siya: [foreign language 00:34:52]

Man 6: [foreign language 00:34:58]

Siya: [foreign language 00:35:17]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:35:18]

Siya: [foreign language 00:35:20]

Muzikayise: I mean first impressions last. So the client mother will walk in, they have to be impressed. So then when you sit down for your meeting, they are already sold.

Emily: The only thing [foreign language 00:35:29] difficult because I need to report and report [foreign language 00:35:36], but every time [foreign language 00:35:38].

Muzikayise: I am the founder and CEO of Ekasi IT Solutions which specializes in three areas of business in ICT. Software development which we do school learner management system like this one, which is based on E-Learning systems in South Africa. We also develop mobile applications. And we also do learnerships based on the accreditation with MICT SETA, with ICB, and also Microsoft. We also do ICT support for businesses — small, medium, and also government. We are based in two offices, in Pretoria, Arcadia, and also based in Johannesburg central in Marshalltown. We can be found on www.ekasiit.com

Welcome to Ekasi IT Solutions.

Siya: Wow, impressive. No, no, no, no, no. I’m impressed. [foreign language 00:36:50]

Muzikayise: No [foreign language 00:36:51]

Siya: [foreign language 00:36:52]

Muzikayise: I mean first impressions last. When a client mother will walk in, they have to be impressed. So then when you sit down for your meeting, they are already sold.

Siya: They are already sold.

Muzikayise: That’s the whole plan.

Siya: [foreign language 00:37:02] Take me around. Take me around this building. [foreign language ]

Muzikayise: This is [foreign language 00:37:08].

Siya: [foreign language 00:37:10]

Edmond: Not so long, I started to work for Ekasi in 2014. But you’d be surprised that when I joined Ekasi, I was only an assessor. Then I rose through the ranks from an assessor to a training manager, training director, now, managing director. One thing I think from him is that he does reward performing employees. And not only performing employees, but I’ve come to realize that he makes sure that right people are in the right position in terms of qualifications, experience, and all that. And I think that could be the reason why I rose so quickly in a short field of time.

Siya: [foreign language 00:37:54] basic computer [foreign language 00:38:02]

Muzikayise: Yeah, [foreign language 00:38:16] we had to change our business strategy. So we wanted to align ourselves with the e-training environment of South Africa. So we had to register that this is a training provider. Even though we were registered at the time, [foreign language 00:38:30] extension of scope. Now no longer we were doing end user computing which is basic computing. But now we are also accredited to do technical support. We’re accredited to do system support, systems development, and we are accredited by MICT SETA, which is a body that regulates trainings which is a must-skills development in South Africa. That is one part of the business. But we are also a software developing company. We’ve hired top-end gurus in terms of software development. We’ve developed amazing softwares up to date. There’s a software that we are trying to introduce for the E-Learning, as you know, government wants to go paperless, so we have a software for that, but we are trying to push it is and see what the government can actually buy into.

Emily: [foreign language 00:39:16] find it difficult [foreign language 00:39:18] because of mainly I enjoy because of everything we do together. We travel together. Every time, we’re together, lunch together, so it wasn’t that difficult. Even now, we still do the same things, it’s not that difficult. But the only thing [foreign language 00:39:34] difficult because I need to report and report [foreign language 00:39:41] but every time [foreign language 00:39:43] pay a revenge.

Siya: [foreign language 00:39:48]. You know, I certainly looked at this thing, the language. To me, it doesn’t sound as if [foreign language 00:40:05] if you are a black person, [foreign language 00:40:06]. But we have to have those skills, so that otherwise [foreign language 00:40:10] those business skills. So basically [foreign language 00:40:13] Once [foreign language 00:40:18] a certain client, that client always refer us to other people, of which I think that’s the biggest marketing tool that you can ever have – word of mouth marketing or referrals. You can put out your grow channels and flyers television, but the biggest marketing tools, for other person to tell somebody personally that that company does a good job.

Vivette: The atmosphere in this place, it’s a little bit different than all the other campus, because you know, when I started, I thought it would hard because normal campus [inaudible 00:40:54] exams and it’s tense and you only get one chance. And you know facilitators don’t really teach you as they’re supposed to teach you. But it’s here, it’s different, you understand. They make sure that you pass. And it’s very…you feel at home.

Siya: I [foreign language 00:41:11]

Muzikayise: Yeah. [foreign language 00:41:23] class, because [foreign language 00:41:29] and as they come [foreign language 00:41:33] requirements are different.

Siya: Yes, sir. [foreign language 00:41:34] in total?

Muzikayise: In total, in Johannesburg, it’s like five classes.

Siya: Five classes.

Muzikayise: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:41:39]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:41:40] building, taken the whole 14th floor of the building [foreign language 00:41:44] and yeah, we’re covered in space.

Siya: [foreign language 00:41:47] from humble beginnings to [foreign language 00:41:47]

Muzikayise: Humble beginnings.

Siya: [foreign language 00:41:51]

Muzikayise: Okay.

Siya: [foreign language 00:42:02] challenges [foreign language 00:42:03]

Muzikayise: There’s a couple [foreign language 00:42:08] but the ones that stand alone [foreign language 00:42:10] late payments. You know, as a small business, because [foreign language 00:42:14] a liquid cash flow, it becomes difficult to keep afloat if clients are not paying us on time, not only government, but also on corporate. So our appeal to more businesses, [inaudible 00:42:25] they must pay us on time so that we can keep afloat and run and sustain ourselves.

Pule: Yeah, that’s a big problem. I think it’s one of the biggest contributors to eroding a lot of the SMME market. Most of the companies have gone down as a result of that, the late payment, especially from government. It is important that people should be able to pay for your services and pay, because you’ve got creditors as well that you need to pay. With the lack of cashflow, your company can go down. I wish I could give you sound advice on this, but this is what we all battle about. There’s structures that has been set-up where you can report such things in provincial and in local governments and in national government.

Siya: Ekasi IT, Ekasi IT, it catered for [foreign language 00:43:19]. Are we talking private sector, government, [foreign language 00:43:24] or students?

Muzikayise: Well, we cater for two major clients, in fact, [foreign language 00:43:30] industries. We cater for government, and we also cater for corporate. Now, [foreign language 00:43:36] they come in a partnership between the government, private sector, and us as training providers. That’s how learners come in, because we don’t do I’m a walk-in individual clients. We only deal with groups when it comes to corporate. When it comes to government, we then deal then with learnerships.

Siya: [foreign language 00:43:52]

Muzikayise: I was literally happy because we got recognition through Making Moves the first time, when we were featured. Because now, people will now recognize the company, the company name. They will recognize the face, which makes it easier when doing marketing. This will actually make it easier for us to actually go a step forward more than the way we had today.

Siya: [foreign language 00:44:16]

Muzikayise: Yeah, now we have a total of 20 people that are permanently employed with our company. [foreign language 00:44:28] Johannesburg, people who are residing there are 11, and then in Pretoria, it’s 9.

Siya: In Pretoria 9, Johannesburg 11.

Muzikayise: We obviously looking for growth [foreign language 00:44:36] Bryanston, we will need more people. [foreign language 00:44:39]

Siya: [foreign language 00:44:40] Bryanston [foreign language 00:44:43]

Pule: Expansion, by itself, is a good idea. But you don’t want to grow too fast and stretch your resources, and not be able to effectively utilize the resources that you have on hand. If you go out of the country, you got to make sure that you have actually consolidated before you leave the shores of South Africa. I think rushing ahead before you are ready can be a problem.

Muzikayise: Through the software development department, we’ve been travelling almost throughout Africa trying to build relationships with African states. That’s where we see ourselves now. We want to break the borders and not only operate in South Africa. But obviously, we’re also looking at having offices all around the provinces in South Africa. But our biggest wish, especially in [foreign language 00:45:37] as the head office is to have our own building.

Siya: I’m impressed about what I see. [foreign language 00:45:41] occupy [foreign language 00:45:45]. It’s so impressive [foreign language 00:45:50]

Pule: I think Ekasi IT is going places, because the company has the right mind frame, they are looking at expansion, they are thinking well beyond the shores of South Africa. They are thinking about the JSE and listing. They have E-Learning solutions which are well-sounded and which they want to implement. I think that they are on sound footing at it is at the moment. And I think that with just a little bit of hard work, we can see this company in a few more years coming through very well. There’s not much more advice one can give, but all the blessings to them, because they are in the right track, and they are moving in the right direction.

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:33]

Muzikayise: Yeah.

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:34]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:46:37] anywhere [foreign language 00:46:38], but they’ve decided [foreign language 00:46:40].

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:43]

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:46:48] office [foreign language 00:46:49].

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:50]

Muzikayise: Yeah. But [foreign language 00:46:51]

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:55]

Muzikayise: So yeah, this is where I sit.

Siya: [foreign language 00:46:57]. From jeans and shirts [foreign language 00:47:03]. We haven’t done too bad. No, we haven’t done too bad.

Muzikayise: [foreign language 00:47:08].

Siya: Thank you for your time.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

28 Jun

Posted at 15:05h in Digital Marketing

shutterstock_196838036In today’s digitally dominated environment, establishing an online presence benefits both blue-chip companies, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) alike. A study published by the National Retail Federation reported that the most effective way for gaining new customers in 2014 was through search engines. The effectiveness of search engine doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of diminishing. Online audiences are increasingly reliant on search engine to make it easier for them to find what they are looking for in an information overloaded ‘wild, wild web’.

According to Net Market Share, Google Search ranks as the leading search engine in the world. In 2015 Google accounted for 93% of the search engine market share in South Africa. It is imperative that brands understand how to write for search engines (specifically Google) if they are going to stay ahead of the proverbial pack and remain relevant in an increasingly competitive search marketing arena.

Online copy

Writing for digital is not like writing for traditional media. The volume of information on the internet is vast, making the digital realm a lot more competitive. The quality of content is thus more important. You have to compete with others to ensure that your message is received by your target audience. Writing for online is a skilful act of ‘juggling many balls’ – trying to meet numerous objectives at the same time. Online copy must deliver useful information to visitors, keep them engaged, sway them to take desired actions, whilst communicating the brand ethos.

Writing for online

Step 1: Know your audience

In writing for digital, you should research your audience. Understanding your audience and what they want and expect is essential in guiding you to develop your content strategy, determining what topics to focus on and how to organise information in a way that makes sense.

Step 2: Communicate effectively

The reason we have content is to communicate something. Regardless of whether you decide that the best format to communicate with your specific identified audience is long or short copy, your message should be effectively communicated – should not only be received but should be understood.

Step 3: Consider HTML formatting

When writing for digital, it is important to consider the use of basic HyperText Markup Language (HTML) – the foundation of documents on the internet. It should be easy for a reader to skim and skip the copy as they please, thus the importance of HTML in the layout of the copy. Basic HTML is not difficult to grasp and some basic tags include:

<b> to make letter bold;

<u> to underline and;

<a href= “page url”> for inserting links.

HTML tags are also used by search engines to recognise the layout on of content on the page.

Get to grips with SEO

The reason for search engines to exists is to help audiences find what they are looking for. To guarantee that they list the best results (most relevant to the searcher) at the top of a page, they consider signals of: Page popularity; authority; search relevance; trust; and importance.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) involves optimising a website to appear as high as possible on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Sometimes referred to as organic/ natural optimisation, SEO involves optimising websites to achieve ideal rankings on search engines for identified key phrases.  In determining relevance and ranking for a webpage, Google uses over 200 different factors in their algorithm. One of the more popular algorithms they rely on is PageRank. It is used to determine the order of webpages appearing on the search engine results page (SERP). To get an estimate of a website’s importance, the algorithm counts the number and quality of links on the webpage.

SEO can be a very effective way to generate new business for your website. Augmenting your copy so that search engines can understand it is imported because the audience you are targeting will most probably use a search engine to search for services and products you may be offering. Keywords and phrases are key in optimising your content for search – informing Google which content you are publishing.

Optimise for Google and expand brand reach

When writing for Google (or any search engine), a major difference with writing for print is that you are not only writing for a human audience only but also the search engine itself. Your primary focus should be writing for an audience but you should always keep in mind that the copy you create speaks the search engine’s language. Key phrases are effective for both long and short copy online. It is vital that you have a comprehensive understanding of SEO and ways to integrate this into your copy.

  • Design a more user friendly website

All technical barriers must be removed to ensure easy accessibility to your content.

 

  • Compile a list of well researched key phrases

When researching your key phrases, there are four main factors to consider in choosing your key phrases:

o   What is the search volume for the phrase for users looking for what they want?

o   How many of your competitors are using that phrase to target audiences?

o   For each prospect attracted by the keyword, what average value do they have?

o   What is the propensity that the user using that key phrase with go on to your site?

 

  • Create relevant content aimed at targeting identified key phrases

The content you create for your website should target your selected key phrases and be relevant to your target audience.

 

  • Gain popularity for your links

Links are very good means of authenticating the relevance of your website and signalling that it is important for search engine spiders to find it. When another website links to your page, they are casting a vote to vouch for your webpage. This once again highlights the importance of ensuring that you have valuable content on your site.

 

  • Build brand awareness from user insights

Search engine promote sites that are relevant and provide value for audiences. In optimising your site for search engines, you need to ensure that:

o   It has valuable content that ‘naturally attracts’ visitors and links;

o   It is able to retain users and have them return;

o   It is able to convert users.

The two major strategies involved in SEO

  1. On-page optimisation – aims to make a website more accessible for search engines, and extensions (ensuring users find it easier) through changing the HTML code, structure and content of the site.
  2. Off-page optimisation – aims to build links to the website, focusing on activities like social media and digital PR.

Search marketing has firmly established its role and influence in promoting a business and its product/service offering. It has the potential to significantly impact your brand equity. Ensuring that your website is optimised for search engine is an investment that could see your brand reach new heights on the web – a dominion of infinite opportunities for marketing.

21 Jun

Posted at 14:46h in Advertising, Social Media

youtubemusic

Today’s consumer need to stay informed about your product offering and what the benefits of purchasing those products are. You need to find consumers where they are and progressively this is the digital realm – online. Your business might have already adopted digital tools to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive market environment. This article outlines ways in which your business should be using YouTube videos to drive consumers to purchase your product.


YouTube – a global video sharing website – was founded in 2005. According to ebizmba it has fast become the 2nd most popular and most used social media network. YouTube has become the go to site where people want to gain valuable information about a number of different topics.

So how can businesses use YouTube videos to drive consumers to make a purchase on their product? There are 9 tips which can help you do this.

1. Short & simple videos

Keeping the attention of your audience is important; having long videos that are not interesting is going to get the “click next” button. Having short, simple and intriguing videos will ultimately capture the attention of your audience. The trick is to get to the point across as soon as possible. However, it is also important to state the reason for the video in the introduction. This will ultimately be the reason your target audience will continue watching.

2. The benefit of your product

If prospective consumers are not convinced that they need the product you are offering or that it has any value for them, watching a video is not going to help. The video needs to tell the consumer what the ultimate benefit is for purchasing your product

3. Add interactivity to your videos

By including interactivity into your YouTube video you are more likely to keep the attention of your audience. Being able to interact with the audience will keep them engaged for longer and they are more likely to think about purchasing your product. You can do this by adding annotations to your video. By using the spotlight feature it allows you to make a button on the video which then creates a link to a page such as your website in which the viewer can click on. Using annotation also allows you to add text or speech bubbles which can be used for placing your businesses call to action.

4. Advertise with AdWords

Using AdWords for your YouTube videos will ensure that your video is placed where people are searching for – with related or similar content that viewers are looking for. What AdWords essentially does is make sure that your video gets a place in search. In terms of paying for AdWords you only pay when a viewer clicks and watches your video. The benefit of using AdWords is that your views for the videos will increase and can generate more traffic to your channel. However, you need to understand your audience and use words that will grab their attention. Using AdWords could also mean that your product offering gets more attention.

5. Call to action

Once you have the attention of your target audience on the video, you need to have an effective call to action which will guide the viewer to your landing page, which may display your products. Being able to direct the viewer to your website or to any of the social media pages is important as it means the viewer is interested in the product and they will potentially want to contact you. Which leads to the next point; your contact page needs to be direct and easy to access. It is advisable that in the video description you add where the consumer can find out more information that they may be seeking.

6. Video descriptions

Including a description about the production or content of your video is important as it can also act as a selling point in which the viewer may read first before watching the video. The video description needs to convince the audience that they need your product – it needs to grab the attention of the viewer. This can be achieved by using tags and categories for your video and using keywords as tags.

7. Invest in YouTube SEO

When writing your description, it is important to use keywords in your description as it will improve your SEO, however do not over use keywords. You need to make use of keywords that land up with YouTube results on SERP (search engine results page). Using Google keyword planner can help you identify the best keywords to use. Creating playlists for your videos using keywords will also help improve your SEO. You need to go further and include at least 10 tags for your video to show up on a SERP.

8. Promote inside & outside of YouTube

Your business is most likely to generate more sales through the YouTube video if you promote it inside and outside of YouTube. Promoting your video outside of YouTube can be achieved by sharing your video on various social media platforms that your business has such as, Twitter and Facebook. In order to share your video beyond social platforms contact industry related outlets and share your video with them. There are niche community forums where your YouTube video can be posted on as well. Promoting your video within YouTube can be achieved through, branding your channel by using your business colours and images. You can also ask your audience to subscribe to your channel at the end or beginning of your video.

9. Solve Problems

Consumers shop for things that will solve the problems they have and make their lives simpler. Your video needs to offer solutions to the consumer. If the consumer cannot take something away from your video, the video is not going to be effective and the consumer probably won’t even finish watching the video. If your video can solve the problem the consumer is faced with then they will finish your video and they will want to engage with your business. You’re role and focus should be delivering solutions. The best way to do this is to keep announcing the benefit of the product and how it will enhance the consumer’s life.

Using these 9 tips will drive traffic to your businesses website, which could mean, more sales generated. Your videos need to ultimately serve a purpose for the consumer and offer them a solution. These 9 tips will help you to help the consumer.

20 Jun

Posted at 11:57h in Advertising

smartphone-590105_1920

Take a moment to consider the number of times you’ve instinctively turned to your smartphone when you need something immediately – the definition to a word; the specs of an electronic you are considering; or simply checking the news headlines in your notifications. Google conceived the term ‘micro-moments’ to describe these intent-loaded moments when consumers expect immediate delivery of what they are looking for in the moment they need it. There are three fundamental pillars of micro moments (defined by Google): intent, context and immediacy.

Intrepid frontrunners in the progressively competitive market space will be the brands that create unique experiences and provide valuable information in the moments that matter most. Google advises that creating unique experiences and providing valuable information in the moments that matter (as opposed to seizing the opportunity to deliver a sales pitch), has more impact and benefits both the audience and the brand

Customers might discover some of your major linear customer touch points along their journey however, they may do so in an order of their own choosing; one micro-moment sized portion at a time. It might be time to consider updating your mobile marketing strategies with a few small adjustments that might give you the advantage.

The (micro) moment of truth.

1. Identify and analyse. Know what questions your target consumers are asking. Have your digital marketing team or agency partners study common questions that begin with words like ‘’what’’, ‘’where’’, and ‘’how’’ – for your specific brand or industry. These questions are an opportunity for you to be there for the consumer when it matters.

2. Guide customers on their journey with SEO-optimised content. Your focus should be delivering a customer-centric user experience that is authentic, relevant and feels personal by delivering location-based, real-time content. In a Google study, it was found that 82% of smartphone carriers turn to their mobile devices while they are standing in a store deciding which product to buy – 1 in 10 customers decide on a different product based on quick mobile research.

3. Become the locus of information when online audiences need assistance and questions answered. Consumers demand online experiences that feel personal and address their unique needs in real-time. You have to be the source of information audiences consider when they are about to take on a task, for example. Google notes that 73% of consumers believe that when it comes to choosing between brands, a brand’s consistency in communicating useful information is the most important factor.

4. Optimise for mobile. Your brand experience should be maintained across touchpoints and channels. A seamless journey across screens will cover various points in the conversion funnel. Google revealed that, 69% of smartphone users who travel for leisure search for travel ideas during spare moments. However, if a website is not optimised for mobile, only 23% go on to make a booking through the site.

5. Seize your (micro) moment. If you are a bricks and mortar business, invest in local search marketing to serve micro-moments at optimal moments, when they happen. An estimated 80% of “Near Me” searches are now done on mobile devices.

Rekindle your digital marketing efforts with micro-moments

We may be spending less time on a website overall (because we have clear intent in mind when we go online), however, these micro moment visits can have significant short-term and long-term impact on the performance of your brand. Between 2009 and 2016, the share of mobile website traffic worldwide went up by 9.7% – mobile web traffic currently accounts for 38.6% of web page visits – yet the average time spent per website visit has decreased by 18%. Google highlights three strategies that you should take into account if you are going to win micro-moments:

Be there

This means anticipating the micro-moments for users in your industry and then committing to offering assistance when the moments do occur.

Be useful

Keep in mind that you have to be relevant and link people to the answers they are searching for.

Be quick

People who use mobile devices to search for something are looking for instantaneous result. They want to know, go or make a purchase in the moment -right here, fight now. You have to ensure a user experience that is quick and frictionless.

According to Google there are four moments where your brand can make an impact and have significance:

I-want-to-know moments

I-want-to-do moments

I-want-to-buy moments

I-want-to-go moments

Daily online sessions have become less predictable. People find small gaps throughout the day to check something specific on the web – increasingly this happens on mobile devices such as smartphones. We go online more frequently but these interactions happen erratically. It is during these short bursts of attention where decisions are made and brand preferences are formed.

South Africa is a mobile country, points out Stuart Thomas – senior reporter at Memeburn There are now more sim cards than there are people. In 2014, the country underwent a mobile penetration that was estimated at 128%, according to a survey by Effective measure. The results of the survey revealed that of all the people who access the internet, over 80% use smartphones to go online

Become a victor in the battle for micro-moments and build brand preference

The advent of mobile has presented marketers with greater avenues to connect with consumers. Producing useful content that engages consumers in a meaningful way and ensuring the best possible user experience could be your answer to building brand preference and winning audience’s attention. Connect with the right design and technology partners to guarantee that you remain a formidable contender in the battle of brand preference and audience’s attention.

09 Jun

Posted at 08:25h in Advertising

Regardless of whether you are a TwiHeart, Hunger Games tribute or mad for ShowMax, the majority of consumers seem to get sucked into the allure of episodic content. Information delivered in episodes skilfully exploits the incessant desire to know more by leaving loose ends untied. However, reaching beyond the realm of entertainment, the episodic format has been hyped-up as the next big leap in content marketing. This is a winning format and the numbers are proof of that: Content Standard by Skyword reported that the average page views for articles in a series are 124.3% higher than those that are not.

Episode 1: The Art of Storytelling

To remain competitive and successful, brands in today’s digital age require a comprehensive understanding of the current market trends. Informed marketers understand that traditional marketing has become less effective in recent years, and this is why they are turning to new ways of building customer relationships to stay ahead of the proverbial pack.

Brands have been using the art of storytelling to capture consumer attention and sustain long-term relationships for many years. This is known as content marketing, which is defined by Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, as:

“…a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Episode 2: Consider Episodic Content to Drive Marketing Campaigns

The skill behind content marketing is to communicate with potential/current consumers without trying to sell them something. It is considered a non-interruptive marketing tactic that delivers information that enlightens consumers without pitching a product or service.

Episodic content marketing functions in the same manner, except it has the added objective to have audience members return to the brand. Every time they return, the brand is presented with the opportunity to strengthen its credibility and foster brand loyalty.

Another reason for releasing content in stages is to better guarantee that information remains at the front of mind until the next instalment. The key is to produce consumable portions of information with each instalment that have an on-going central theme.

A great example of this is when the lifestyle brand, Vans, released a twelve-episode series called #LivingOffTheWall. The movement enlisted individuals to share stories that illustrated originality and creative self-expression through the use of words, images and video. The aim was to share aesthetics that represent that brand without direct mention of the brand.

Episode 3: Deploying Episodic Strategy on the Advertising Battlefield

Here are some tricks of the trade for creating your very own episodic content campaign that will attract a loyal audience:

  1. Streamline the plot

As with any other content campaign, your first step will be deciding what message you want to put across and how you will do so. After you have developed the characters and you have a storyline, it is time to map out each piece of content and decide on the number of episodes and the optimal timing for publishing each.

  1. Craft enticing cliff-hangers

Audiences are driven to action by stories that seem to never have an ending, which is why most series watchers can’t resist a ShowMax or Netflix binge. You have to create anticipation that will be a great way to capture audience attention and encourage desired action, such as obtaining the next instalment.

  1. Maintain consistency

It is important to make certain that the content you publish is consistent and allows for the audience to grow comfortable with your style. Your brand should strive for equilibrium, where the audience is comforted in knowing what to expect from the brand but remain captivated by new perspectives and ideas.

Episode 4: The Future of Content Marketing

Episodic content marketing has the capacity to give your current content a great deal of marketing leverage and also help attract future brand followers. This trend could also give your brand a focus, a clear vision, and allow you to address topics that would otherwise be neglected in traditional marketing.

 

 

 

08 Jun

Posted at 11:43h in Advertising, Video Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7vTzcKg05E

Overall Look & Feel:  We decided to revise our BWD Marketing Podcast’s look & feel with a fresh modern design. We chose to keep it out of the box with our stunning 3D intro and then keeping it clean with our choice of minimalist lower thirds. We also took the opportunity to keep our viewers up to date with whats happening at bwd by dropping interesting links throughout the video.

Description: We interview our super talented design specialist Gugulethu Ndzimbomvu to find out what she does at BWD.

 

Credits

Video Editor: Shivesh Boodhram
Director Of Photography: Sibusiso Radebe
Camera Men: Venus Bambisa, Sibusiso Radebe

 

Video Transcript

Phila: Good day everybody, and welcome BWD’s marketing podcast. My name is Phila, and today we are joined by Gugu who will be telling us a bit about what she does. Hi, Gugu, how are you doing?

Gugu: Hi, Phila. I’m good and you?

Phila: I’m good, thanks. So tell us a bit about yourself?

Gugu: I’m a young creative. I work at BWD as a designer. I’m fun. I love to laugh, take selfies. Young person, so I’m hip with the squad.

Phila: Okay. So you mentioned that you work at BWD. Could you tell us what it is that you do at BWD?

Gugu: Well, I’m a designer at BWD. So my main focus is around web design and other designs as well. I do CI, corporate identities, web design. I do branding as well, and all other designs which are needed.

Phila: Okay, so what does a typical day entail for you?

Gugu: Typical day is quite interesting. It’s fun. I get up very early. I’m not really a morning person, but you’ll find when you’re early… Typical day, I first look at my emails, get down to business once I’ve responded to a lot of the emails. I just start doing design work. I love listening to music while I work, so it keeps me concentrated on what I’m doing, yeah.

Phila: Okay, that’s great. And just your process from starting a campaign or project to executing it. How do you go about that?

Gugu: First, the most important thing would be having a brief. So we usually get a brief from the client, which tells us what the client wants, and what they need, and everything, yeah. So from there, I do some research, get some images. Then just do a design basically. From there, we get the client to approve…well, we approve it internally and make sure that all the work is fantastic, obviously. And then we give it to the client for review.

Phila: Okay, and then what happens after the review?

Gugu: The internal review or the…

Phila: The client review, sorry.

Gugu: The client review, afterwards, it depends on whether…they usually most of the time like it. So…

Phila: Great, that’s great.

Gugu: It comes back to us and then we end up doing majority, bulk of the work would be the rest of the information that’s needed. So the first part is just creating the look and feel, and how this website or something would look.

And then the second part after they’ve approved the look and feel is just content loading and all of the stuff, the rest of the stuff that the client needs.

Phila: Okay, so you talk about look and feel. Just explain to everybody what that is.

Gugu: Look and feel is how your website would look. So it’s like just creating the look, the colors, using your logo as well, and the feel of the website. If you want a corporate website, we create a more corporatey, you just see it more corporate. And then, yeah, then we send it to you to see if you like how it looks before we carry on with the website.

Phila: Okay, it sounds, wow. It sounds really, really hectic.

So what has been the biggest project or campaign that you’ve ever worked on to date?

Gugu: Biggest project I’ve worked on would be [inaudible 00:04:06]. They, it was a long ongoing project. So they would come with changes and all of that because it’s a conference, so the conference website needed to be on for that long period of time for people to register on the conference and all that. So we basically do content loading. Every week something new would come up. There are new speakers and all of that so we’d load some stuff there, fix things if there were anything to be fixed, and all of that.

Phila: And how long does that usually take, from the research up until the end product?

Gugu: Depends on the company and the client themselves. So some projects take a while because they are very complex. So if you need like an e-commerce site, which is more complex, it takes longer than an average site which needs just information of the company, pictures, and all of that. So the shortest I’ve worked on one website would probably be around one, two weeks. Obviously, the longest one was an ongoing, so it was a few months, yeah.

Phila: So have you ever worked with any difficult or impossible clients?

Gugu: Yeah, yeah, I have worked with some difficult clients. Usually, the difficulty comes in when people don’t know what they want exactly, so usually the brief would tell us exactly what they want. But sometimes, it doesn’t work that way. Once they’ve seen what they wanted, they kind of change their minds and say, “No, it’s not really what we wanted.” But I wouldn’t say it’s been that hectic, so yeah.

Phila: And where would you have to go and study to actually be a designer?

Gugu: You can go to a lot of universities, colleges. From my experience, I went to a college so it was more close and smaller. So they concentrate on design. It’s a college for design. So yeah, I basically did that. But you can also do it at universities as well. It’s just bigger, bigger space.

Phila: And how long does that take? How long should you study for to be qualified to be a designer?

Gugu: I would say three or four years. It depends on the university. Some curriculums extend it to four years. The curriculum I did was three years, but I studied for four because I took an extra year to just learn more about design before I actually went into it.

Phila: And any challenges that you’ve come across while on your journey to being a designer?

Gugu: Yeah, yeah, there are challenges, and while you have to climb a few ladders and stuff, but the challenge mainly for me was figuring out where exactly I would go into. Because I was interested in everything. I looked at it like a bowl of sweets. I wanted it all. So eventually I went into design, and just that was very interesting. I want to do that. It’s challenging, comes with a challenge, so challenges are always good. You learn things.

Phila: And what advice do you have for someone who wants to get into the industry?

Gugu: Work hard, research. I’d say if you are not sure, but you think you’re creative, you think you want to get into it, be sure about your research. You don’t want to get into something that you might not enjoy. So you research everything fully. You research what goes into being a designer, what goes into being a creative. If you see that is your field, from my experience, I did a whole lot of research. I went to a lot of universities and colleges, and I did courses. It wasn’t necessarily a course. Each college has a week course where they just show you what happens in the college. So I did about three or four before I realized, okay, this is what I want to do.

So for those weeks where I learned what goes into being creative, you kind of learn that with all the stress and pressure that happens, will you be able to handle the working industry?

Phila: How do you, I know in the industry, it’s very important to have a portfolio. How do you go about creating that portfolio?

Gugu: I would say when you create your portfolio, you start off in college, or when you are studying. In order for you to get a proper portfolio, you would need to do some internships of a few companies while you’re studying. It doesn’t have to be the whole year. You can choose three months out of the year to do this internship. You could sacrifice your holidays to do it just to learn more things. Just to learn more things and just build your portfolio, and to build your experience because experience is basically what your portfolio is showing. It’s showing all the work you’ve done, what you can do, and what you’re capable of.

Phila: How competitive is this line of work?

Gugu: It’s pretty competitive. I mean, you’re competing against a whole lot of other creatives, because this generation now is more…everyone’s becoming more creative. Creativity is like the in thing I would say, you know. So you’re competing against a lot of people who are just like you. Obviously someone who’s obviously better than you, someone else isn’t. But in my mind, you work hard to be the best.

Phila: Well, there you have it. Work hard to be the best. Advice given from Gugu, a young creative working at BWD. Thank you so much for catching this podcast. We’ll see you guys later.

 

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

08 Jun

Posted at 09:39h in Thought Leadership

South Africa’s alarming unemployment rate is both a reality and a crisis.

In facts according to a report released in May by StatsSA, employment declined by 2,2% in the first quarter of 2016, combined with an increase in the number of unemployed people, this has resulted in an unemployment rate of 26,7%, which is 2,2 percentage higher compared to that reported in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The reality is that this is a national crisis that does not only require intervention from Government.

Mahikeng_MailRead The Mahikeng_Mail Artice

31 May

Posted at 12:08h in Advertising, BWD

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Good morning,

 

 

Today, we would like you to know that… ‘We heard you. Loud and clear.’

 

We realised that to meet the demand of clients like you, two things are key. Firstly, we need to be absolutely relentless in our pursuit of new ways – to promote growth for your business. Secondly, we have to remain in an ever state of evolution – to constantly reach new heights of creativity.

 

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BWD has evolved from a website design company to a digital advertising agency and then to again to a full service advertising agency. All over a period of just ten years.

 

Right now, we’re bursting with excitement about the latest developments. So here it is… to offer a turnkey service on any scale, yet make sure that we always maintain that essence of a boutique agency – we’ve decided to create specialist divisions for each of these services. We invite you to take a look:

 

BWD Advertising (Full service advertising agency):
– http://www.bwdadvertising.co.za/
Breeze Website Designers (Digital Agency):
– https://www.bwd.co.za/
BWD PR (Public Relations Agency):
– http://www.bwdpublicrelations.co.za/
BWD IQ (Marketing Research Agency):
– http://www.columinate.com/ and http://www.foshizi.co.za/
BWD Activations (Township Marketing):
– http://www.yourselfmanagement.co.za/

BWD-ORGANOGRAM_01b-02

[dt_button size=”medium” style=”default” animation=”none” color_mode=”default” icon=”” icon_align=”left” color=”” link=”http://www.bwdadvertising.co.za” target_blank=”true”]Visit BWD Advertising[/dt_button]

 

We don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all solution for all business; for this reason we’ve created different packages for small, medium and large companies for periods of 6, 12 and 24 months. If you’re keen on high impact and measurable marketing activities to achieve rapid growth, do get in touch with us.

 

These new divisions require extra resources, so a couple of weeks ago we tore down our reception area to make space for more creatives. We’ve also been lucky enough to join hands with true award-winning gems in the industry to deliver work of the highest quality.

 

The media has once again taken interest in the on-goings at BWD and we’ve been featured in Drum and Entrepreneur Magazines. I was also privileged enough to share knowledge with other businesses, as I was invited to speak at the Future-Ready Marketing Conference.

 

Most importantly, we’ve managed to finally articulate what we actually knew about BWD all along: ‘we grow, when you grow.’ Subsequently, we’ve adopted it as our slogan – to keep us aligned to our true north. We would like to thank you for your contribution to BWD’s growth to date – and we look forward to continue to help you grow.

 

Bongani Gosa
Creative Director
Email: bongani@bwdadvertising.co.za
Phone: 011 321 0193

09 May

Posted at 15:57h in Copywriting

shutterstock_255468403 (1)If you are reading this, the above headline obviously worked.

This may seem like a small feat, but if you consider the vast amount of information people are exposed to daily, enticing a reader to read more than just a headline is quite an achievement.

As a consumer living in the information era, you are exposed to a daunting amount of content clutter. According to A Day in the Internet, 2 million blog posts, 400 million tweets, 294 billion emails, and 864 000 hours of video are created every day. It has therefore become an impossible task to read everything we are exposed to on the very wide world web. A simple yet essential that method users unconsciously exercise to separate the newsworthy from the noise, is to use headlines as a filter.

On average, 80% of readers never read past the headline. Even more noteworthy is that the viral content platform, Upworthy, stated that their statistics show traffic can vary by up to 500% based simply on the headline.

The trick is to get people to click – and that is why the headline is so important.

The headline is the hook

Co-founder of Upworthy, Peter Koechley, says that the media landscape has “more of a demand problem than a supply problem – how do you get people to care about important stuff amidst the avalanche of content we all face each day?” Over and above the endless amount of online content, potential readers also have limited time and an even more limited attention span.

Copywriting legends, such as David Ogilvy, understood this. This is why Mr. Ogivly would apparently spend half of his time on an advertising campaign creating the headline – for a Rolls Royce advertisement, he reportedly rewrote the headline 104 times before he was satisfied.

Why?

Because an article’s headline is its hook. And in an online environment, it not only determines the amount of readers you catch and reel in, but also the social shares it will get.

Beware of the bait

One way to lure your readers into clicking on your article is what is known as click-bait. In an article by Wired, Ben Smith from Buzzfeed defines this tactic as “an article that doesn’t deliver on its headline’s promise.” Some may say that this is mild way of defining it – that click-bait is nothing else but false advertising, because the headline misleads a reader into clicking through to an article that doesn’t deliver on the promise the headline gave.

Unfortunately, click-bait is still around because of its effectiveness.

According to a recent study, Wired continues, click-bait works because firstly, emotion plays a significant role during your intuitive judgements, and….due to the laziness of your brain. To explain this more clearly, here is a typical example of an existing click-bait headline:

I Left My Husband & Daughter At Home And THIS Happened! I Can’t Believe It!

The headline actually has nothing to do with the video, which is of a father and his daughter singing ‘Tonight you belong to me’. Despite this, this YouTube video has almost 15 million views.

Tricks to get clicks

For copywriters who aim for more than mere click-throughs, and actually want to convey a message through the article they write, click-bait is not a solution. You don’t want to fool your audience into reading the article.

Yet, it cannot be debated that some of the tricks these click-baiters use are effective. The challenge is to find a balance between enticing a reader to click on your headline, while avoiding a spam-like approach.

Here are my five suggestions:

  • It’s a numbers game

If you don’t believe me, simply have a look at Buzzfeed’s homepage. Almost every headline has a number in it. In a research study by Conductor, statistics showed that a headline with a number in resonated with 36% of the audience (out of only 5 categories). One shouldn’t force a number in a headline if it doesn’t fit with the style or content, but by using a number, readers have a good idea of what to expect from the article. It also tends to come across as an advisory piece, which people respond to emotionally.

 

  • Take your time

As mentioned before, the headline is almost the most crucial part of an article. If it doesn’t grab a potential reader’s attention, all the time spent on the article’s body was in vain. Learn from the industry leaders, such as David Ogilvy, and spend more time crafting your headline.

 

  • The here-you-go headline

The New Yorker suggests following Jerod Morris’ advice, a writer on CopyBlogger. “Use your headline to tell people exactly what problem you’re going to solve or exactly what solution you’re going to provide…” This ties in with the guideline to use numbers – the two usually complement each other and makes it clear to readers that they will be receiving advice. Another tactic would be to start with ‘How to’ or phrase your headline as a question.

 

  • Stick with straightforward

Readers don’t like playing hard-to-get when it comes to headlines. The clearer your headline, the more it will resonate with the right audience. Mashable’s website is a good example of keeping it interesting without any ambiguity.

 

  • Would you click?

I’ve given this advice before because it is so crucial to put yourself in the reader’s seat. Yet many copywriters tend to get so focused on the task at hand that they forget to write something in a way that would be of interest to them. Make sure your article gives a unique perspective, provides valuable information, or shares a thought-provoking opinion.
Simply put: Write something you would want to read.

08 May

Posted at 07:49h in Video Animation

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You are a business owner who would like to take your company to a whole new level. This could mean increasing sales, increasing the number of clients you acquire every month or you would simply like for people to know what your company can do for them. An explainer video could be the best choice for your business. You can describe your company and the service/product it offers in no more than a few seconds.

There are 10 factors you need to understand if you want to ensure that you produce an explainer video that not only looks great but describes your company favourably.

1. A Clear objective

Both the client and the animators need to have a clear understanding of what the objectives of having an explainer video are. As a client you need to know what you want from the animated explainer. An example could be that you would like the explainer to describe a particular product offering. This makes it easier for the animators to create assets, such as a storyboards and/or scripts that would best describe your product. The animators also need to understand the client’s objectives and where they fit in the client’s objectives.second-image

2. The Script

In order for the animator to have a clear understanding of their course of action and what needs to be done, a script is required. A script is like the spine in a human body, without it things will begin to fall apart and quickly. A script refers to content that describes what will be animated and can include what the voice-over will say. Getting the script right is the only way that the animator can turn words into imagery. With a clear understanding of the script the animators and illustrators can create the artwork needed for the animated explainer.

3. The Storyboard

Once the script has been approved by the client, the animators can begin to create storyboard. The storyboard is essential for laying out how things will look. The storyboard can be as complex or as simple as it needs to be, as long as the animators can understand what needs to be animated and how.

4. The Voice-over

A voice-over refers to the voice that an audience hears when they view an animated explainer video over the Internet or even on television. Usually the animator will try to match the animation sequences with the voice-over. To ensure that the animated explainer has impact, the voice-over must sound similar to the target audience –  it must be a voice-over that an average person can relate with.

5. Designs and Illustrations

The animated explainer needs to be consistent in terms of color and style. Illustrators use the company’s corporate identity colours in their designs – for instance, the logo, business cards amongst other items. Animators needs to be clear about what illustration style is going to be used. Having two different animation styles would make it hard for the animation to make sense or be fluid. Fluid describes how the animation transitions from one scene to another. It also refers to the relationship between the elements, whether in the foreground or the background.second-image-02

6. The Animation

Animating is a process but it can also be enjoyable. Making illustrations and different elements move along with a piece of music or voice-over is a lot simpler when all the above processes have been adhered to. One must understand that animation requires consideration of multiple different factors such as:

  • Timing of the illustration and elements. Animators need to consider how long an artwork is kept on screen, how fast they enter into the screen and remember to sync the animation to the voice-over if there is one
  • Elements on screen. How things are organized on the screen must be taken into account. One must make sure the elements don’t clash with each other.
  • Hierarchy. This means deciding on which element is more important in the composition.

7. The Timing

An animated explainer video doesn’t need to describe every single product you offer in one video; people will tend to lose interest if the video is too long or not interesting. An animated explainer can be (and should be) between 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. In extreme cases they can be shorter or longer depending on the strength and type of message.

Animated explainers that are longer than 2 minutes are usually for an animated explainer that describes the company as a whole – some companies can be very complex and it may be a challenge to explain in a short amount of time.

  • 8. Sound Effects

Sound effects are the “cherry on a cupcake” that brings the whole animation together. Well placed sound effects can enrich your visuals and pull the viewer into that moment. Be subtle about the sound effects. Overpowering sound effects will stick out like a sore thumb and will make the animation seem less organized, but on the other hand, if the sound is not clearly audible, the visuals will lose impact.second-image-03

9. Share the explainer

Once you are happy with the animated explainer you need to share it. The animated explainer needs to be on the home page as well as on social media. There are many ways to share the animation – “boosting” on Facebook is one of the many options. Sharing the animated explainer on social media and other platforms allows for more people to view it and learn about your company

10. General knowledge

Speed up your design process and ensure that no time is wasted sorting through work files. Here is a list of overlooked considerations for creating artwork (be it animated explainer, website design, etc.)

  • Keep your files organized
  • Name correctly
  • Work efficiently, animation requires a lot of focus so you need to get rid of anything that may distract you.
  • Finally, make sure your files are organized from the beginning to the end. 

In conclusion, having good organization skills helps simplify a complicated process. Time wasted searching for misplaced files or files that have not been named, is time which could have been used making the storyboard or animation stronger. The more time you have to animate the better the animation will be.