Top 5 technical and practical skills you need to land a job in the Communications Industry
Because I know how to write convincingly, speak in a clear, concise and catchy manner and make pretty lifestyle aesthetics— I made £800.00 one week in one of Africa’s poorest capital cities — Freetown, Sierra Leone. As long as capitalism reigns free— the comms industry will always be hiring! The word “communications”, is a broad umbrella term for many specific roles and jobs that all revolve around conveying information. If you like to talk a lot, love pretty looking things, and a fast-paced lifestyle— this sector is for you! It’s the digital golden era, and many African millennial women are turning to this sector. This is an industry that underpins the side hustle of many resourceful sisters with a side hustle. From selling home-blended essential oils on ‘the gram’ to vlogging about sexual and reproductive health. According to Biz Community Africa, trends in advertising across the continent show an increase in market competition across African markets. Nigeria, Kenya and Ivory Coast have joined South Africa as large regional advertising hubs. And though the rise of middle classes across the continent remains contested, the market strategy has been heavily sought after in the telecommunications, financial, FMCG and transportation industries. Despite literacy and digital literacy rates varying greatly across the continent— the comms industry is on the rise! The communications industry spans a wide range of sectors including television, film, radio, media and digital design, marketing, advertising, branding, public relations, and promotions, publishing, journalism, consulting and more recently social media. There are broad communications skills that every communications professional should have to be successful in each of these sectors. And, there are also specific technical and practical skills that will set you apart from others when applying for jobs in specialized departments at corporations, consultancy firms, creative agencies, government ministries, NGOs and all other organizations that have a communications department. Here are five skills, I’ve found essential for a comms professional in Africa— specifically if looking to focus on marketing, branding, and advertising. Market analysis and strategy If you can evidence this on your LinkedIn and CV then you’ll get an interview. Companies want to know that you understand that the main reason they even have a communications unit— is to sell things! You are essentially the new fancy term for a marketer! Since door-to-door sales do not work anymore, you need to find out what does! Market analysis means knowing your target market, analyzing their consumer behavior and their psyches, and then developing strategies to make them believe they need to buy into the lifestyle and ethos (the brand) of the company. If you can throw around the term ‘customer psychographics’ and actually know what you’re talking about, then your interviewer will hire you! To develop this skill you can take an introduction to marketing class on Coursera. No funds? No problem! I once took a class for free on Coursera by applying for their course scholarships. All you have to do is fill out a form that states you’re “kinda broke right now, that’s why you need courses and a job”, and through this form, you’ll be applying to take a course on Coursera for free. Good luck. The ultimate wordsmith A comms professional is ultimately someone who can convince men to buy tampons, using three words. If it’s in marketing, publishing or PR— you’ve got to be able to create and/or spot powerful work that will have your desired impact on audiences. Basic rules for writing include: know your medium (are you writing for TV, radio, social media, an advertisement, a sales pitch, a newspaper?), know your audience, and lastly— be clear, concise and striking. There are a million ways to write a million things, that fit into the right boxes for the right type of comms. When you decide what your niche of comms is— take the correct writing class for it! Whether you are pitching, writing or selling— your job is to tell a story. So tell the best damn story there is! Basic media design skills Today everything is digital. Everything is visual and everything is about aesthetic. Design is key, especially with the rise of social media. When starting off as a comms officer, assistant or freelance consultant, you will not have the budget nor the authority to outsource to a creative agency. This is not relevant for working in PR, nor radio— but in the world of advertising and branding, you will first have to make various media content yourself. Basic free online software like Canva and Mavis should be good enough to start with. Of course, you will need a decent enough camera, but luckily these days everyone has a smartphone! Most smartphones today have cameras that can substitute for a DSLR and can download multiple media editing apps. Wipe your camera lenses, download a bunch of apps, gather a wealth of media content of the specific things needed for your industry (e.g. a bunch of foodie pics, or the hottest tourist spots in your city, or natural landscapes)— and develop a website (use Wix) or some social media platforms— may be even a podcast! You can submit this with your CV to work in the following roles: the communications officer for the ministry of tourism in your country, the contributor of an online art and culture journal, or the strategic communications assistant at a company/creative agency. For those looking to go into something highly specialized like graphic design, you might want to take an online or university course on Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Companies and creative agencies are always looking to hire graphic designers (freelance or in the house) and this is usually a fun and exciting job. Creativity and originality Know your country, know your industry, know your market— then do and be different within context! Remember you can be a comms professional within any other industry from agriculture to mining, financial/banking, government, or retail. The industry you’re in will most likely have an institutionalized way of reaching
Mahlodi Legodi: I manage the business, God owns it
Public relations is basically free advertising. The thing is, it is important to be able to relate with the people on which your business relies. It is those relationships that will make people support your vision by choosing your product or services over your competitors. As a client I’d want some transparency, I mean who supports a vision they don’t understand? Mahlodi Legodi will help you with that. With 5 years experience in Public Relations, Mahlodi has managed and improved the media relations and reputation for prominent African and international brands. Notable among these are Carlson Rezidor (Radisson Blu Hotel group), LG Electronics, Bosch power tools, Ask Afrika and Subinite. With this extensive clientele base spanning corporate, consumer and retail sectors, Mahlodi has overseen and executed successful internal and external campaigns, exhibitions, product and service launches, media roundtables, internal and external communication strategies. SLA content fellow Rumbie had the opportunity to interview Mahlodi Legodi and this is what the PR guru had to share… Mahlodi Legodi, some of the readers would want to know what the few months before starting up your company were like. Starting a company isn’t an easy process! The first few months before I decided to embark on this entrepreneurship journey I spent in prayer, research, planning and preparation for the birth of FR Communications Pty Ltd. It is very important to gather as much information about your business venture. Speak with a few industry players about what worked for them and what didn’t in order to position yourself well in the industry. From the outset what was your mission? Our mission is to create and deliver award-winning services to our clients by providing modern strategic and creative ideas that are tailored to clients’ business objectives. We aim to be crucial creative partners to the brands that require effective and professionally executed PR and Communications solutions. Did you ever consider letting go and probably getting yourself a 9 -5? No, I have never considered getting another 9 to 5. The beauty of venturing into business for me came with the assurance that I had nothing to worry or stress about for greater is He that is in me (1 John 4:4) than he (challenges or struggles) that is in the world. I manage the business but God owns it! What gets you out of bed every morning? What gets me up in the morning is the reminder that my clients trusted me enough with their brands (dreams, aspirations and livelihood) accompanied with the love and passion for what I do. [bctt tweet=”When you lead your industry through communication, ensure it’s not just pretty but right” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] ‘FR Communications believes in the importance of not just having a great idea but to have the “right idea”.’ How do you know your idea is the right idea? We are committed to setting brands apart in a crowded marketplace by offering unique, innovative and media savvy PR services that don’t only focus on creating great ideas but delivering the right ideas. Ideas which produce proven results that have a direct and positive impact on our clients brands. The right idea is more than just something you’re excited about —it is an idea that is actually viable to ensure the overall success of the clients business and communication needs. The right idea will always solve a business problem and set your brand apart in the industry in a memorable way. It is extremely hard to consistently create content that’s truly unique and new. So when you do have the chance to lead your industry through your communication, you have to take it and ensure it’s not just great (pretty looking, sounds amazing) but it’s right (viable, educational, factual, and speaks to your target audience) It is extremely hard to consistently create content that’s truly unique and new. So when you do have the chance to lead your industry through your communication, you have to take it and ensure it’s not just great (pretty looking, sounds amazing) but it’s right (viable, educational, factual, and speaks to your target audience) What is the most gratifying part of your position as owner and senior consultant? In this role, I learned that if God puts authority and credibility in your life, the title (owner and senior consultant) is irrelevant. I do everything from filling, writing, recons, mentoring, and media monitoring. What does it take to be a co-owner of a company? Who do you need to be connected to and what does one need to bring to the table as a cofounder/ coowner? Being a co-founder of a company means that you are part of a team that came together to compliment each other and validate the plans concerning the company before implementing them. When you decide to get into partnership with someone in business (being a co-owner/co-founder), it is very important to have a mutual understanding and vision of the products and services that you want to provide to the market and how you will ensure the company continues to grow. A partnership agreement should contain the following: It needs to define who contributes what: You need to discuss with your business partner what you both will be bringing to the table in terms of labour, cash, clients, property etc. Who plans on working on the business full-time, part-time or just act as a silent partner? It is very important to define who gets paid what: This consists of an outline of how profits will be distributed. Will each partner be paid a salary for his or her role in the business? If so, how much? And what about any extra profits for the year? You need to be able to define how decisions get made: What type of decisions require unanimous votes, and what type of daily decisions can be made by a single partner? Discussing these matters upfront and deciding what decision-making structure will let your business run the most effectively is important in a joint venture. If a co-founder doesn’t come to their part