My Mother's Daughter, My Inspiration

Getting adoration and reverence from the person whom you yourself consider an inspiration does not only have a humbling effect, but it also gives one the impetus and serves as a cardinal direction in you taking the correct path to greatness . This (striving for greatness) you do as if you are looking to dispel any doubts from any pessimist out there as to your worthiness of such adoration. My sister Zinhle Nkosi or PA (as I jokingly refer to her, because she worries and follows up on my career goals like she is being paid to do so) is one person who believes in and respects my intellect and believes in my ability to accomplish all that I set my mind to. Being the macho man that  I am and not wanting to show or out pour any emotion means that  she doesn't know that I reciprocate her admiration, in fact I think she and not myself is the one more deserving of  the Kudos, not just from me but from everyone girl  out there , who in their eyes the future looks bleak unless you Gambol with some wealthy man . 

She Inspires me every day because unlike most girls her age who approach life in a facetious manner; she is amiable, pragmatic and  does not only value  education  but also recognizes its power in liberating one from the shackles of poverty. Every day I work hard in order to provide her with the necessary resources or support  to see her through her last year as a journalism student at Rhodes University. Nelson Mandela once said “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” I therefore can equivocally say that my sister inspires me to inspire her to the greatness and freedom that awaits her as soon as she finishes her degree.

The blind leading the blind?

Amcu’s and the lonmin workers’ demand for a 100% wage hike is unreasonable. This is because never in the history of mining or union bargaining has a worker’s union achieved this record high demand; also a pay hike of this magnitude would just lead to mine closures and  job losses.

  Amcu had erred by misleading and setting unrealistic expectations in the minds of its members and this could work to their demise. This is because as a mining union  that is for and represents the needs of its members, Amcu should have been upfront , honest and created an understanding of the illogicality of their the demands and the improbability that those demands  will be met-ever.

Therefore as a union that is well versed and boasts years' negotiation experience Amcu is in a better position to lead from the front and hammer home the fact that higher salaries will lead to the industry’s demand for higher competency and higher competency will mean that either the productivity gets higher or mines will have to shed jobs.

How to effectively manage you Online Brand Reputation

It does not take a genius to understand that negative online brand perception and dialogues can be damaging to a brand. And not all brands can take negative feedback.  Although negative online brand perception can put a dent on a brand’s image, there are ways to handle it effectively so as to turn negative perceptions into positive ones.

Firstly no brand is beyond reproach and therefore no brand should think it is invincible to online attack. Humility on the part of brands is key as it will ensure that a brand expects attack on the web. Anticipating brand attack does not mean short selling one’s brand, but means the brand can be able to recover should it be under siege. When a brand accepts the possibility of online attack, that brand will do anything in its power in ensuring a good online reputation.

However a good online reputation cannot be maintained if brands fail to acknowledge how consumer complaints have evolved. More and more consumers are doing away with traditional complaint channels and are expressing their dissatisfaction online. It is therefore imperative that brands use the online space to their benefit. Brands should watch what their consumers are saying about them; listen to the consumer generated content, so as to have their hands on the pulse.

Listening to complaints about a brand is not enough, after listening action has to be taken and taken promptly. A brand that listens and reacts immediately is able to build a solid reputation for itself and consumers will certainly take it seriously as they are always monitoring reaction to their complaints. Not reacting to complaints may simply mean that you do not take your consumers’ complaints into consideration or you basically do not have a clue about what is being said about your brand. None reaction therefore kills brands.  It is also important that a brand does not overreact by launching an attack on it’s complainants as this will lead to more customer dissatisfaction and possibly loss of any respect left for the brand.

On the other hand it is always advisable that a brand reacts consciously to complaints by acknowledging such and reacting accordingly.

Not all online brand attacks are correct and therefore if it happens that the attacks on a brand are unfounded ; a good reaction would be to relay the correct facts about the brand, factually highlight to the consumer that they are incorrect, lodge a request that they retract their statement and also give them surety as to you giving them future brand news. The trick here is to refrain from fighting fire with fire. On the other hand if complaints about your brand prove to be true, telling your side of the story and taking the issue offline, always proves viable. This may lead to the complainant taking of their comment or blog or simply stating something good about your brand.

Lastly it is important that brands generally show care for their customers by engaging in conversations when negative aspects of their brand are concerned by doing this you’ll be showing respect to your customers and also giving good service. With all this said it is always advisable and remains of utmost importance that brands stay prepared for any online brand attack by formulating strategies that will aid in responding effectively to a crisis. Online credibility always comes in handy when a brand is under attack.

Why innovation/ creativity in social media marketing is necessary!

Social media is a great way of influencing action from your audience as well as informing them about the happenings in your business or industry as a whole.  With so much clutter and consumers seeing hundreds if not thousands of targeted messages, everyday; It imperative to stand out from the crowd, indulge in your creative juices and employ a bit of innovation in your social media communication.

One of the most recent and viable ways of standing out is the usage of and mixing up of images, in the background or main area of your social media space. While on this you may want to shift focus to the most important stakeholders of your business, let your business thrive on their creativity, for example acknowledge and share the pictures they put on your wall. By doing this your business will not only be increasing loyalty, but it will also be retaining customers.

Additionally and as mentioned above, an innovative social media marketing plan ensures that it sways and involves its customers. Thus the importance of generating content from the people for whom your content is intended (your customers) cannot be stressed enough. A look at customer generated content like case studies helps to spread the word around about your brand. A focus on customer case studies on your blog enchants the customer to tell people within their circles about your mention of them, therefore directing traffic to the place you want them the most, your brand/site/blog/ social media page.

It also should be mentioned that social media communication/ marketing  is a dual duty, therefore brands should not rest on their laurels by assuming that only they can be innovative. You can never go wrong with picking the creative bone of your audience. An effective way of doing this is by challenging your audience to try and beat you at a blog post/ comment / drawing. Most audiences are always looking to be inspired and by challenging them you will learn that your brand will earn a new accolade, that of being an “inspiring” brand.

Lastly although we may need them to effectively carry out our marketing plan, a shift from public social networks cannot damage one’s brand at all. In fact more and more brands are embracing the idea and ability to create their own online communities, an example is social examiner with their Networking clubs online community. Once you have invited you customers into your online community you can rest assured as to having brandvocates (brand advocates) who will spend most of their time on your brand.