Reasons to Adopt Media Strategies for Business Growth

10 Business-Changing Reasons Every Executive Should Tell Their Story  Have you ever wondered what the most undervalued asset in most companies really is? ✖️ It’s not the product. ✖️ It’s not the IP. ✔️ It’s the CEO’s personal story. And if you’re not telling it, you’re leaving trust, talent, and growth on the table. In today’s business world, authenticity wins over automation every time. Connection outlasts clever marketing. And your story? It can be your strongest strategic weapon. When a founder or CEO shares their journey, everything shifts. It becomes the difference between a company that’s just doing well and a movement that others want to follow. Here’s why top leaders treat storytelling as a strategy, not an afterthought: 1️⃣ People buy the why, not just the what. Your story gives your business purpose. Without it, you’re just another option. 2️⃣ Your story shapes company culture. Employees don’t rally behind job titles—they support a cause rooted in your narrative. 3️⃣ The right story filters your audience. When you share your values, you attract the customers and team members who truly get you. 4️⃣ Your origin story builds credibility. Your failures, pivots, and wins create trust more than any polished PowerPoint. 5️⃣ Humans crave real leadership. AI can clone your tone, but it can’t copy your character. Your story? That’s your human edge. 6️⃣ Media craves human interest. A breakthrough is headline news, but a leader who faced setbacks and kept going? That’s a feature. 7️⃣ Your story turns your brand into a belief system. People don’t just buy; they join. Customers become advocates if they believe in what you stand for. 8️⃣ Decision-making gets easier. When your values are clear through your story, people confidently say yes or no. 9️⃣ Silence is costly. If you don’t tell your story, you blend in and become forgettable. Someone else will shape your narrative. 🔟 Your legacy is built daily. It’s not just in the big moments. It’s in the stories you tell every day to lead and inspire. Studies show founder-led storytelling can boost brand trust by up to 70% and accelerate growth by 30-50%. ➡️ So, ask yourself—if not now, when? If you’re an entrepreneur or leader holding back, it’s time to stop asking, “Should I tell my story?” And start asking, “What’s the cost if I don’t?” Ready to start? The first step is simpler than you think. 🔵 Ask yourself: what’s your story hiding, and how can sharing it unlock your next level? The future belongs to those willing to own their past. Don’t just build a business—build a legacy.

If you're a young person creating digital content in African agriculture… You might be asking yourself: Is anyone even watching? Can social media really grow my business or attract investment? Here’s what many don’t realize: You're not just posting—you’re positioning. Let’s break it down: If Africa had just 100 people: ↳ 60 depend on agriculture for their livelihood ↳ 33 are under 30 ↳ 20 are unemployed ↳ 15 use social media daily ↳ Only 4 use it to grow a business or brand Yet, digital platforms are becoming the fastest way for entrepreneurs to build trust, attract buyers, and even pitch to investors. In today’s world, if you’re not online—you’re invisible. Now, here’s how to use digital creation to turn your agri-work into business growth: 1/ Stop Posting, Start Positioning Social media is more than entertainment—it's an ecosystem. ↳ Create content that solves problems or tells powerful stories ↳ Highlight results, not just activities ↳ Educate your audience about your value The more consistent your message, the more credible your brand. 2/ Own Your Digital Real Estate You don’t need a big following—you need an intentional one. ↳ Use platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp Business to share your work ↳ Develop a personal brand that’s connected to your enterprise ↳ Make it easy for people to find, understand, and trust you Visibility builds community—and community drives conversion. 3/ Grow Through Collaboration Your phone is a networking tool. ↳ Tag partners and customers in your stories ↳ Go live with fellow agripreneurs ↳ Share behind-the-scenes of your process When you bring others into your story, they amplify your message. 4/ Learn the Language of Business Investors, donors, and buyers want clarity. ↳ Talk numbers: yield increase, cost savings, job creation ↳ Keep a digital portfolio: before/after photos, testimonials, short case studies ↳ Share results that inspire confidence Data + storytelling = digital trust. 5/ Show Up Where It Matters Online presence is powerful, but showing up in real-life rooms builds stronger ties. ↳ Attend business forums, pitch events, and industry breakfasts ↳ Share your social content with offline networks ↳ Be seen both on-screen and on the ground Which brings me to this opportunity: I’ll be speaking at the JCI Rwanda Business Breakfast Meeting 📅 Thursday, May 29, 2025 🕗 08:00 AM – 09:30 AM 📍 Kacyiru, Kigali Alongside inspiring speakers Pamela MUDAKIKWA and Shyaka Noella, we’ll explore how to turn your online presence into offline results—by using social media to grow your business, connect with investors, and create lasting impact. This space offers: ✔ Practical strategies for digital growth ✔ Direct business matching ✔ Access to an entrepreneur masterclass ✔ Networking with forward-thinking professionals 🎟 Only 15 seats are available 💵 RWF 15,000 🔗 Register: https://lnkd.in/dBapYQsC If you’re ready to turn your phone into your most powerful business tool—start here.

Hubspot, Salesforce, and Outreach are all in on building media businesses. Here’s why every company is becoming a media company: For SaaS marketers, content marketing has historically been synonymous with blog posts. This idea was popularized by companies like Hubspot, Marketo, and others. The strategy was: • Write content optimized for search • Content would drive inbound demand • Visitors would buy products and services This is the strategy I used while working at Gainsight, Front, and Hopin and it worked wonderfully. We built our sales funnel, established thought leadership, and grew equity in the markets we were creating. But this strategy is dying. The content marketing landscape is changing. And SaaS companies are taking notice, building media operations to get ahead of the wave. • Hubspot acquired The Hustle • Salesforce announced Salesforce+ • Outreach acquired Sales Hacker SaaS companies are becoming media companies. Here’s why. --- 1. Misaligned incentives with social media companies Organic reach on social is governed by an algorithm brands can’t control. SaaS companies are waking up to this and changing their content strategies fast. They are focusing on de-platforming their audience to an email list they own. That way, they can control who views their stuff. --- 2. More content formats for consumers to engage There is a litany of content formats out there: • Short-form video • Long-form video • Live streams • Various editorial mediums Consumers have more types of content to engage with than ever before. Blog posts and SEO isn’t going to cut it for brands who want to remain competitive in the market. --- 3. Massive changes in data privacy laws In the past, companies could gather a ton of information without your consent. They’d then leverage that information to monetize via advertising. Then Congress passed the Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act. Now, social media companies have to be more transparent about the data they collect and how they use it. This impacts traditional marketing strategies that are used to retarget traffic off-property to influence qualified return visitors. --- TL;DR SaaS companies are becoming media companies. They’re pivoting to an owned media strategy that gives them control of their distribution. The reason for this pivot is threefold: 1. Misaligned incentives with social media companies 2. More content formats for consumers to engage 3. Massive changes in data privacy laws

B2B Social Strategy 101: What’s the point of a social media presence for a B2B company? If you’re thinking about launching a social media strategy for your company, there’s one question you need to have a clear answer for: What’s the point? Why even post and engage on social? Obviously, I’m biased, but social is a valuable channel for early- and growth-stage companies. Here are 3 reasons why: 1) Increased distribution. This shouldn’t be groundbreaking. Posting content to social platforms allows you to get in front of more people who may buy your product or service at some point. You can have the best sales pitch on the planet, but it’s pointless if the room you’re pitching to is empty. Social content fills the room. 2) Steal consumer mindshare from your competitors. Every time a customer sees a social post of yours, that's a touchpoint. Every time you enter an industry-related conversation, that's a touchpoint. Every time you connect with someone in the DMs, that's a touchpoint. Each one of these touchpoints strengthens your connection with your ICP. Over time, when they think of your product category, your product becomes the default in their mind. Let’s use an obvious example. Shopify. When someone thinks of starting an ecommerce brand, odds are Shopify is the first company that comes to mind. Being active on social media makes it more likely that your product is that company for your category—especially if your competitors aren’t taking social seriously. 3) Build a positive association with your brand in the consumer’s mind. This is an offshoot of the previous principle. It’s not enough to have mindshare. You need that space you occupy in the customer’s mind to be a positive one. This is why B2B companies need to depart from the sterile, corporate approach to social content that we’ve seen for too long. Publishing valuable and entertaining social content to X and L*inkedIn (I’ll do another post on platform selection soon) is a simple way to do this. The TL;DR? Publishing consistent, valuable content to social platforms keeps your product top of mind in a new audience. And a % of that audience will convert into customers at some point. Hope this helps. I’ll be expanding on this series and walking you through the exact playbook we use at my agency to grow B2B companies on social media. Follow me here if that sounds helpful. I’ll walk you through my filter for platform selection in the next one. One more thing—I’d appreciate you sharing this with your marketing team if you got value from it. Until next time 🤝

We may be witnessing the “Tiktokification” of everything, as 64% of Gen Z use TikTok as their search engine ahead of Google. In a recent study by Adobe, encompassing different generations, TikTok emerges as the favored search engine for - discovering new recipes - exploring music - obtaining DIY tips - seeking advice on fashion, beauty, and workouts. The top 10 reasons provided for using TikTok over traditional search engines include: The short-video format is more informative and digestible. “I enjoy the storytelling aspect of TikTok videos.” The content is more personalized. The information is more current. I enjoy the interactive and immersive experience. It's more integrated into my social-media browsing habits. It curates diverse perspectives and unique ideas. It offers a sense of community and interaction. It provides more user reviews and experiences. I can see products in the real world. What resonates with this is that it’s no longer business as usual. The old ways are gone. Here are some takeaways businesses can adopt from these developments: 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨u𝐫𝐬: User preferences evolve. Stay attuned to trends and be flexible in adapting to meet the needs of your target audience. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬: Let’s face it; social media is the new public square. Consider how your products can seamlessly integrate into users' daily routines and social media behaviour. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬: Experiment with formats that resonate with your audience, keeping in mind the evolving landscape of digital media consumption. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲: Personalized content is a driving factor behind TikTok's popularity. Invest in understanding your audience's preferences and tailor offerings accordingly to create a more personalized user experience. 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠: Consider incorporating storytelling into your marketing and communication strategies, creating compelling narratives that engage and resonate with your audience. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭: Users value the currency of information on TikTok. Prioritize staying current and relevant in your industry.   𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: TikTok offers a sense of interaction. Foster a community around your brand, encourage user engagement, and create a sense of belonging among your customers. 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭s: Regularly monitor the performance of different strategies, including short-format videos, and interpret the results. This data-driven approach helps startups refine their tactics based on what resonates most with their audience. While TikTok still has grounds to cover to fully challenge Google as a search engine, it has shown its abilities with the generational shift. The Tiktokification of everything beckons.

I’ve been helping media companies grow since 2017. Here are 3 reasons why I’m still bullish on the media business model today (despite AI and other disruptions): 1) Leverage Media has no marginal cost of replication. Once you’ve created the product, the cost of producing an additional unit is effectively zero. You create once and distribute/sell forever. That’s why media is the greatest form of leverage you can have. It’s a force multiplier. It’s THE way to create wealth. It’s also the only form of permission-less leverage besides code — but unlike code, it hasn’t become commoditized with AI. 2) Unit economics Again, media companies sell products with no marginal cost of replication. Advertisements, sponsorships, and digital products like subscriptions, courses, and memberships have near 100% profit margins. Yes, creating and selling a media product does have a few requirements: - A content team - Tech infrastructure - Administrative costs - A sales/marketing team But it takes about the same amount of resources to: - Create content for 100 versus 1M people. - Deliver a digital product to 100 versus 1M people. - Sell a sponsorship that reaches 100 versus 1M people. You don’t need a bigger team or more capital to scale. If you can build an audience and sell, your unit economics will be world-class. 3) Organic growth If your content is valuable, it will be discovered and shared. Your audience and business will grow without spending more on marketing. That sounds trivial, but nearly every traditional business needs to spend more money to scale. Media businesses, meanwhile, can grow organically. This allows you to build trust at scale, with thousands to millions of people consuming and enjoying your content. For an individual or a small team, this was impossible before the internet. And if a media business chooses to use paid marketing, its effects will be amplified if you’ve built an organic audience already. — This is not to say that the media business model is without its risks. There’s the risk of relying on external platforms, the risk of falling out of touch with your audience, the risk of your content getting lost in the crowd... But luckily, these can be avoided. I wrote about that in a recent issue of my newsletter, titled ‘The New Media Model’. All in all, media businesses are still incredibly valuable if done right. And with all the uncertainty around media today, there’s no better time to build than now.

High Revenue, Low Profit? Here’s why your growth strategy feels broken... You’re scaling fast, pouring money into ads, and watching revenue climb—but where are the profits? If your acquisition costs are eating into your margins, you’re stuck in the growth trap: chasing top-line revenue without seeing it translate to bottom-line profit. It’s frustratingly easy to fall into this pattern, but there’s a way out... ..A strong email & SMS strategy is the key to escaping the growth trap and maximizing profit. Instead of gambling on the future of your business by relying on new customers exclusively, diversify and re-engage the ones you already have. Retention is far more cost-effective than acquisition—optimized email flows, like post-purchase sequences or win-back campaigns, can bring customers back again and again (With increased profit for every repeat sale). This is also an indicator of long-term success! If you can engage known buyers with timely offers, personalized recommendations, and valuable content, you turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers who spend more over time. Plus! The higher the LTV, the less pressure you feel to pour money into acquiring new customers just to hit your revenue goals... As a media buyer myself, I promise you, your team will thank you, and as a result they will have the capacity to experiment more and win BIGGER. In every scenario, as your email strategy strengthens, so do your margins. So... By shifting your focus to retention, you can grow smarter, not harder—building a business that thrives beyond chasing top-line revenue.

I recently worked with a client who wanted to increase their visibility and attract high-value clients, but they were unsure how to make it happen. After analyzing their current #media presence and business objectives, I implemented a targeted media placement #strategy designed to boost their #credibility and expand their reach. Here’s what we did: Strategic Media Placements We secured features in top-tier publications that aligned with their industry and target audience. Being featured in Forbes, FastCo, CNBC and other respected outlets not only elevated their brand’s profile but also increased their authority in the market. Leveraging Content Every media placement was amplified across their digital platforms—LinkedIn, email campaigns, and even client proposals. This integrated approach helped turn media mentions into meaningful business leverage via touchpoints and SEO. Client Growth Within six months, the client saw a 30% increase in inbound leads. The combination of media visibility and the right follow-up approach led to a surge in new client sign-ups, and existing clients increased their engagement, creating a snowball effect for future growth. This success shows how, when done right, media exposure is more than just a vanity metric—it’s a business tool for driving growth. The right strategy doesn’t just get you noticed; it gets you results. 🚀 What’s your favorite media outlet, and why? #HBR #Forbes #FastCo #CNBC #Entrepreneur #startups #marketing #highgrowth

💡 What’s the secret weapon behind Silicon Valley’s global dominance? It’s not just capital. Or talent. Or government support. It’s media. Relentless. Sophisticated. Strategic. From Forbes to TechCrunch to Bloomberg — business media in the U.S. is an amplifier. 📈 They don’t just report success. They manufacture it. They shape narratives, drive valuations, and make local startups global brands. Now let’s talk about Africa. We have the talent. We have the ideas. We have the ambition. But where is our media machine? 🎙 A media machine that showcases innovators. 📡 That builds hype and confidence across borders. 📺 That makes African tech visible before it scales. Instead — We’re stuck with fragmented podcasts. Political headlines. And too few platforms dedicated to business, innovation, and impact. Here’s what I’ve learned firsthand: ✅ Without media, your growth is invisible. ✅ Without visibility, your value stays capped. ✅ Without value, investment stays local. If LinkedIn hadn’t helped me grow an audience, ARED GROUP INC would still be invisible to many of the partners and investors we now speak to. So here’s the question: When will #Africa build its own media machine you think? Not to copy the West — but to amplify our ecosystem. To create global relevance, not wait for it. To turn startups into household names. 🌍 Because without #media, no one knows what we’re building. And if no one knows — it’s like it never happened.