9mobile Charges Newsmen on Building Dynamic Online Communities for Enhanced Engagement

9mobile has urged newsmento build dynamic online communities for enhanced engagement and impact.

The telecommunications company,made the call at its recently held quarterly capacity-building session forjournalists in recognition of the critical role they play in shaping narrativesand promoting meaningful online and offline conversations.

The session wasfacilitated by Oluwatosin Olaseinde, Founder of Money Africa and Ladda, afinancial literacy and investment platform (Edtech and Fintech)with a communityof over 300,000 people.

This seventh edition ofthe 9mobile capacity building session with the theme “Building OnlineCommunities for Journalistic Exploits” aimed at equipping journalists with thenecessary skills to foster engagement, collaboration, and impact throughdigital platforms.

Olaseinde, in herpresentation, explained simple stepsto developonline community-buildingstrategies, online community management, audience engagement techniques,leveraging social media platforms, and sustainable community growth. She said,“It is important to recognize the potential of online communities to facilitatedialogue and collective participation between the media and their audience. Thefirst step is to identify your target audience, define community goals, andcraft engaging content that ensures vibrant discussions and interactions”.

“There is a need tocreate a niche and understand the demographic with which you are dealing. Ifthey are Gen Zs, who primarily use TikTok, or millennials and baby boomers, whoprimarily use WhatsApp, X, and Facebook, then you must design your messaging tosuit each audience, she continued.”

She also shared herpersonal experience on how her deep understanding of financial literacy droveher to create an ecosystem of financially literate individuals through herplatform. Her passion for developing a platform that provides Millennials andGen Z equal access to wealth accumulation techniques led to the creation ofMoney Africa and Ladda.

Speaking after thesession, 9mobile’s Public Relations lead, Chineze Amanfo, said, “The digitallandscape has transformed the way journalism is practiced, demanding innovativeapproaches to engage with audiences and create meaningful connections. Wecharge our media friends to apply the techniques discussed during the sessionand create and nurture online communities that transcend geographicalboundaries. We also encourage you to harness the power of digital platforms forknowledge dissemination, audience engagement, and the amplification ofimpactful stories.”

Amanfo stated that theknowledge imparted to the participants during the training willequip them withthe skills needed to establish and manage vibrant online communities tomaximize their online presence and effectively engage with their audience.