Social media has become a veritable platform for firms to showcase their goods and services. It has also become channel for consumers to make informed choices in their relationships with market, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN
In this modern age of information communications technology (ICT), business is supposed to be transacted at the speed of lightning. The information revolution is being accentuated by the social media. Curiously, everybody particularly in the retail industry has caught the bug from shoppers, manufactures, corporate bodies, entrepreneurs, name it.
Today, retailers are becoming more aware of what is called the “social mobile consumers,” or in other words, the increasing number of people spending time on their smartphones browsing social media, helping an array of consumers from grocery to clothing to electronics – reach products on their devices.
A keen examination of the trend in marketing initiatives will easily reveal that social media is developing as an important avenue for companies to build products and services. The rise of social media rests on three fundamental human values which are: the self-expression it engenders through product education, its ability to share information with friends and the attention it generates through the spoken word. More importantly, social media enables companies connect with customers in a way never possible.
The impact social media has on brand is huge and Ebay’s estimates that in the next two years, the value of social media for retail will be more than double £1.5billion to reach around £3.3billion.
Social media, in the last one decade has evolved into one of Nigeria’s strongest platforms through which infopreneurs showcase products and services and provide an avenue for consumers to make choices.
Instant messaging platforms such as yahoo messenger and many others are gradually being replaced by social media platforms such as Palmchat, and the likes that are more engaging, more customer friendly, more beneficial to the users, more personal and definitely more interesting. Palmchat owned by Afmobil Group has since recognised the endless possibilities of the social media in terms of its sphere of influence among others.
The current reach of Palmchat across the country is estimated to be an average of five million users in Nigeria alone and over 39 million users worldwide.
With over 80,000 new users signing up daily from different mobile devices, Palmchat is fast becoming the choice social mobile platform for users around the world.
Speaking with The Nation Shopping on the potentials of the app for startup retail businesses, Blessing Joe, who has responsibility for the company’s Brand Management said there is immense potential for retail businesses with Palmchat, particularly for startup businesses.
Joe said: “As a startup, the social media is a veritable tool for networking generally, especially with little or no cost.
”You can stay really social on Palmchat even with as little as 30MB data using the Palmchat voice messaging function. Just hold down the ‘Voice’ button, record your message following the prompt and send your voice recording to your friend or group of friends using the broadcast function.
“You can also share your cool pictures, music and recordings with your friends, getting in touch with them in private messaging. Yep, clever incentives are good motivators and in this age of social media frenzy; with loads of social platforms literally sprouting out from nowhere, cool incentives play a key role in building that reason-why-I-love-this-platform kind of loyalty.
”Palmchat is an amazing innovative mobile social app that is compactable with all mobile operating system and downloadable from all mobile app stores: Java, Windows store, Apple store, Google play, Blackberry world-among others. It has interactive and fun features: Shake-Shake and Look around with other functional capabilities like the file share, instant messaging and voice recording.
“Palmchat is a unique instant messenger which is targeted at the Nigerian youths to bring everything they need to their doorsteps, at their convenience. With its unique interface, trendy and hilarious smileys and emoticons, engaging chatrooms, Palmchat is indeed the “happening instant messaging,” she said.
“One of the most exciting and unique things about Palmchat is the “shake shake” feature. Now all you have to do to find friends around is shake your phone to select who thrills your fancy and get chatting. You might just strike a business deal or find a business proposal for your startup as an entrepreneur.”
She further said the company has a working partnership and brand affiliation with Tecno Nigeria and Tecno International, which enables perfect user interface for potential customers with smart phones.
“With its wide reach, startups are assured of improved social networking at a pocket-friendly cost unlike other product offerings out there,” she said.
Joe who said her company has been giving incentives to drive traffic towards the brand, said: “This time, Palmchat is offering a car. It works like a referral thing; after downloading Palmchat, the applicant is expected to visit the palmchat.hotreferralinc.com site and register with his/her unique Palmchat I.D. After which a referral link to invite friends to download Palmchat will be obtained, and with this link unique to a person’s ID alone, such person will earn reward points for every person referred. And even earn extra points, maybe even double points if it’s a girl referred. The person with the highest points at the end date automatically wins the car!”
Palmchat as a social networking app is also a matchmaker of some sorts with happy-ever-after stories being told by users who met online using the Look-Around feature to connect with one another on their first date. As a business networking apps, it connects people with common business interests who along the line, benefit from each other in diverse ways.
According to experts, a unique feature of Palmchat is the look-around feature that gives the users the power to avoid all the queer chatties and connect with that special one just over their shoulders. “Citing the story of Mrs. BimpeAjayi, a Human Resource Manager with a multinational company in Lagos, who met her hubby, Frederick on Palmchat, Joe recalled the couple’s love story thus: “It was a very pleasant night; the first night of our honeymoon. Frederick is such a loveable person; he always has something amusing to say, quite an accommodating gentle man and slow to anger. Some people find it hard to believe me when I tell them that I met this amazing man on Palmchat.”
“I didn’t just bump into him on Palmchat-no. I wanted him, I dreamt of that special one but I just didn’t know how, where and when I will meet him until a friend introduced me to Palmchat,” Joe recounted the lovey-dovey tale of the Ajayis.
Mr. Mounir Boukali, who manages a team of public relations specialists, managers and several high level agencies who handle TRANSSION Holdings’ brands, believes that social apps such as Palmchats have limitless possibilities when it comes to user-engagements.
He said: ”Now you wish social platforms don’t consume your data all-too-quickly. You are probably not on Palmchat-yep, you’re not a Palmchatter. On the Palmchat platform you will chat more for less…I mean 30MB data on your mobile device is just good enough.
“Nigerian ladies can join the world of hi-tech beauties on Palmchat; check out whose story is the most inspiring and whose selfie is making the buzz as Nigeria’s premiere beauty contest gets social as well as join the growing community of Palmchatters; sign up on Nigeria’s most trending mobile social platform with over 30000 daily sign ups. Be a Palmchatter.”
Rating Palmchat high, experts have said thousands of visitors to the Palmchat site engage in lively discussions on their daily experience with products and businesses. For retailers, this Platform serves as a means of reaching out to consumers.
Mrs. Folashade Randle of The Home Store in Surulere, Lagos said Palmchat provides consumers with access to content to be able to choose from. From Romance to business, from shopping to discount offers and the list goes on.
Mrs. Randle said Palmchat makes consumer awareness easier and helps with decisions consumers make on a daily basis concerning products and their personal lives.
She said: “Communication is key and Palmchat helps bridge the gap between the two opposite sex and between products and consumers.”
Richard Ugoahor, a follower of the Palmchat page, had this to say about the platform: He said: “I have tasted all the apps on Palmchat. The experiences are incomparable with others in the same category.”