#SMW Lagos 2016: The Music Industry and Women in Tech

#SMW Lagos 2016: The Music Industry and Women in Tech


The third day of Social Media Week Lagos (#SMW Lagos) focused on Women in Tech and Nigeria’s bustling music industry. Online streaming anyone? The morning session, The Connected Business Woman, hosted by The Women’s Technology Empowerment Center (W.TEC) began with some of Nigeria’s top female entrepreneurs running successful businesses. The women shared advice on growing social media platforms, including the use of social media ads and how they’re utilizing technology to expand their business reach overall.

Tips for Facebook Success:

  1. Focus on using appealing visual images. The more people click on the ads the less you pay.
  2. Invite all of your Facebook friends to your Facebook business/company page. When they like your content, it shows up in their feeds and gets in front of their followers’ eyes.
  3. Don’t push people to your website from your ad. Create a specific landing page. This way you can educate your users before they buy.

Shifting over to the afternoon sessions of Social Media Week Lagos, the focus was monetizing music. The standing-room-only session, Getting Paid in Full in the Era of Free, featured panelists working within Nigeria’s music industry, including legendary Nigerian rapper eLDee who founded PlayData, a broadcast monitoring service. When the conversation shifted to whether an artist should get compensated and whether music should be free overall, eLDee said: “If you, as a creator, give it away, you’re at liberty to do so. However, there are creators who wish to be compensated and we should respect that wish as well.”

I believe Nigerian musical acts can learn from other markets, especially in the U.S. American and mainstream artists not only license their work for films and television but also focus on generating income from live performances, sponsorships, and merchandising.

[Related] Decoded: Rihanna’s Brand is Definitely Not ‘Anti’ Profitability

Another wildly popular session was led by She Leads Africa‘s cofounder Afua Osei who shared intel on how the popular women’s empowerment platform has grown and cultivated their social media channels. She also shared She Leads Africa’s aggressive digital plans for the rest of the year, which include growing their 50,000 website subscribers to 300,000. With her passion and drive, I think they’ll hit the mark!

Afua had this to say about metrics: “I think the most important thing that we work on and encourage people to do is use data. It doesn’t make sense to create something and not learn from it. The two most important things that I look at every single hour are repeat visitors and time spent on site. I want to know that people who are coming are coming back and [that they] found value in what they’re learning and that they think it’s interesting enough to come back more often. Right now, we’re at 35%-40% in return visitors and the goal for this year is 65%. I don’t want to just keep bringing in new people and then they leave. I want to bring them in, retain, and hook them.”

[Related] Founders of She Leads Africa talk business opportunities in Africa

The day’s sessions focused on understanding social media analytics, digital tools for those working on the go, and how social media is impacting Nigerian sports.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about that Wifi, don’t because you already know the deal! Anyone want to get me an international cell phone ahead of next years event? Slide into my DM’s @savagegazelle and follow the conversation using the hashtag #BEglobal!


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