GOCOP 2021: Role Of Communication, Due Diligence In Online Patronage Stressed
Principal Consultant/CEO of Cattigan Communications Limited, publishers of NATIONAL ACCORD, Mr. Tom Chiahemen, has stressed the roles of effective business communication and due diligence in attracting online advertisements and corporate media partnership patronage, especially for a successful online mediaprenership.
In a presentation to the business session of the 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) held at the Sheraton Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Chiahemen said, “effective business communication and due diligence have roles to play in spurring online advertisements and media partnership patronages.”
Citing an instance with seeking advertisement and media partnership with corporate bodies and organisations, he said these entail that as a media entity, publishers should aim to attract adverts to be placed on their online platforms, noting that gone are the days when advert placement on newspapers were on account of the circulation and reach as well as canvassers known as marketing executives.
He pointed out that nowadays, what works better include adverts that were created and proposed to targeted organisations, sponsored by the likes of Google and by barter arrangements with hotels, auto companies, electronic dealers as well as sponsorship of story links.
Chiahemen gave some tips which he listed as useful approaches to securing online adverts to include knowing the difference between online adverts and media partnership; identifying/targeting organisations and institutions for online adverts; Identifying or targeting organisations and institutions for media partnership; understanding the work of the organization namely the full address, website location, year of establishment, the Act establishing the organization or institution, mandate, mission and vision, objectives, board and management, achievements, constraints and future plans, specific programmes, products and services of the organization.
In addition, he said that by identifying the image makers such as heads of Public Relations (PR) managers, Press Secretaries, Public Affairs, Corporate Communication among other titles, go a long way in successful online patronage.
“Getting ready with the capability profile of yourself and your platform – indicating background; your platform’s niche/unique selling points; the reach of your platform; performance on social media; rating/ranking on ATR (Alexa Traffic Rank) and the various Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, Baidu, to name a few as well as previous jobs handled,” are boosters to attracting online advertisements.
Chiahemen pointed out the importance of online medium having registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) without losing sight of tax details such as Tax Identification Number (TIN), Value Added Tax (VAT) and Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) are vital for who seek contracts with Federal Government Institutions otherwise known as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” he said.
He further noted that registration with the Bureau Of Public Procurement (BPP)and compliance certificates with National Pension Commission (Pencom), Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), bank details (which must be a corporate account), were other documents to get ready with before approaching corporate entities for business.
Classifying organizations into two folds, namely the public and private sectors, Chiahemen said that fundamentals of business communication involve preparation of proposal, covering letter as pertains to business letter, addressing the cover letter appropriately with title, heading upto introduction, while the body includes the proposal on offer and justification thereof as well as conclusion.
He reminded participants not to forget to attach relevant documents by reviewing the checklist before submitting with acknowledgement copies as may be relevant.
“Follow-up through phone calls, WhatsApp or Short Messaging Service (SMS), electronic mails (emails) or personal visits,” he advised.
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