Over 600 000 Namibians use social media

WINDHOEK, Feb. 22 – The Director of Sociality at Ohlthaver and List (O&L) said that 630 000 Namibians use social media, hence this makes it a formidable marketing tool. Japie Swanepoel, the Director of Sociality at O&L was the presenter at a Social Media Summit that was held in partnership with 99FM yesterday.

The Summit brought insight into listening tools, engagement techniques and content planning in a Namibian context.

Swanepoel also shared local and international case studies, best practice and actionable concepts and plans for Namibian organisations.

He said he was impressed after doing research on companies that use social media as a tool to market, sell and interact with customers and clients.

“I was impressed by some of the companies have huge number of followers on the social media pages. For instance on Facebook, R&R Importers has most number of followers with 125 566 followers on Facebook, MTC Namibia occupies the second spot with 123 808, and last but not least Vigo Namibia comes in the third place with 60 355 followers,” he said.

Japie Swanepoel, Director of Sociality at Ohlthaver & List makes a point to his audience during the 2018 Social Media Summit

Turning to Twitter, he said O &L was the most followed with 32 716 followers, followed by Nampost with 14 746, and IAM Namibia with 8 835 followers. As far as celebrities in Namibia are concerned on Instagram, Maria Nepembe was identified as the celebrity with the highest Instagram followers in Namibia.

The Social Media Specialist encouraged people to follow the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, as he usually shares some crucial ideas that can change lives. He quoted Zuckerberg in his plan for 2018 in which he stated, ‘’We are going to focus on videos that encourage meaningful social interactions. Making sure the information you see on Facebook comes from broadly trusted and high-quality sources, in order to counter misinformation and polarization.’’

Participants at the Social Media Summit 2018

It is evident that Social Media should be used by people to create meaningful social interactions and help people to share ideas that educate one another and improve life, and Swanepoel encouraged people and companies to be involved in social responsibility as this will help enhance their awareness, and to get people involved with their respective brand.

He stressed the need for people to use Social Media in a manner that educates, builds, and improve people’s daily lives.

Various stakeholders attended the Summit including students, corporate representatives, entrepreneurs and other individuals interested in Social Media. – Robert Maseka

mrobert@namibiadailynews.info