This lecture was presented on February 1, 2020, at The Business of Content workshop. It explores how content creators can build financially successful content careers/businesses. Here's a link to the lecture notes: http://bit.ly/2SfxHyG

1. THE BUSINESS
OF CONTENT
FEB. 1, 2020
Presentation by David I. Adeleke
HOW
NIGERIANS
CONSUME
AND
PAY FOR
CONTENT

2. David I. Adeleke
COMMUNICATIONS
ANDMEDIA
EXPERIENCE
Head of Communications, Eko Atlantic City
Media and Communications Consultant
Editor, Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa
Copy Editor, Ventures Africa
Columnist, Techpoint
Editor, TechCabal.com
PRESENT
PAST

3. What you will know by the
end of this session
What type of content Nigerians
(consumers and brands) love to pay for
and why.
How Nigerians consume their content
online.
How you can tap into the market.

4. Let's define some terms
What is Content?
What are Content Formats?
What are Content Platforms/Mediums?

5. Text
Content Formats
InteractiveAudio
Video
Graphics

6. 3 CaveatsN O C O M P R E H E N S I V E D A T A
B A N K / R E S E A R C H
There is no comprehensive data bank/research that
can tell us how Nigerians consume content online. We
don’t have a Nielsen or a Pew Research Centre.
H O W E V E R , W E H A V E V A R I O U S
D A T A S I L O S A N D A N E C D O T E S
What we have are data silos and anecdotes that can
help us understand the average Nigerian’s content
consumption habits.
N O T D E F I N I T I V E , B U T
C O M P R E H E N S I V E
This lecture is by no means definitive, but it is
comprehensive enough to give you sufficient
foundational knowledge.

7. How Nigerians
Consume Media
Content
Source: BusinessDay Research &
Intelligence Unit (BRIU), 2018.

8. U S E T H E I N T E R N E T F O R S O C I A L A N D
P E R S O N A L I N T E R E S T S
78%RESPONDENTS' TOP
3 ENTERTAINMENT
ACTIVITIES
U S E T H E I N T E R N E T T O W A T C H
' T E L E V I S I O N '
( T V S H O W S , M O V I E S , A N D
S I M I L A R V I D E O C O N T E N T )
58%
U S E T H E I N T E R N E T T O L I S T E N T O
M U S I C
57%

9. C O N S U M E T H E I R C O N T E N T O N M O B I L E
84%
HOW RESPONDENTS
CONSUME VIDEO
CONTENT
C O N S U M E C O N T E N T O N T H E I R
L A P T O P S
76%
C O N S U M E T H E I R C O N T E N T O N T V
64%
W A T C H E P I S O D E S / C L I P S O F T V
S H O W S
58%
W A T C H M O V I E S
51%
W A T C H F U N N Y V I D E O S
46%

10. The Realities
of the Nigerian
Content Market

11. 1 . D A T A I S
E X P E N S I V E
People are more inclined to
spend it on things that give
them the most satisfaction
for the littlest effort.
2 . T I M E S A R E
H A R D
Because times are hard,
Nigerians are more likely to
consume escapist content.
3 . A S P I R A T I O N A L
C O N T E N T I S K I N G
Nigerians love content that
makes them aspire for more
(they want to be better,
richer people).
4 . N I G E R I A N S A R E
B I G O N V A L U E S
Marriage and cultural values
are big topics with the
Nigerian audience.
5 . A U D I O - S E X U A L
Nigerians love sex but don’t
like to talk about it publicly.
6 . N O T H I N G
S P E C I A L A B O U T
T H E N E W S M E D I A
The news media has a wide
reach and a highly engaged
audience, but is largely
undifferentiated.

12. How Brands and
Consumers Pay
for Content
You are either creating content
brands can sponsor or content
your audience is willing to pay for.

13. 3 MAJOR WAYS TO ACHIEVE
CONTENT MONETISATION
ENGAGEMENT
It refers to the
quality/quantity of
interactions your audience
has with your content
CONVERSION
It refers to the number of
purchases directly linked to
the consumption of your
content.
REACH
It is purely a numbers game,
built entirely on how many
eyeballs you can attract.

14. So, how do brands and
consumers pay for content?
Sponsorship
Paid partnerships
Subscriptions
Paid events
Crowdfunding
Paid communities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

15. Some Important Things to
Note
Brands often prioritise reach over any other metric even
though they claim to value engagement more.
Reach is a flimsy strategy. It can be easily replicated.
Create content that audiences love to consume and brands
are inclined to pay for. Follow the data.
Creating content just because you feel like it will handicap
you.
Reach + Engagement (+ Conversion) = Success.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

16. How to Tap
into the Market
How can you build a financially successful
content creation career/business?

17. 4 .
Otherwise, build a
community, almost a cult,
around your content.
3 .
To get the attention of the
big spenders, you must have
a wide reach and high
engagement numbers.
2 .
Incorporate monetisation
tactics into your content
strategy from day one.
1 .
Either build a large
enough audience or a
well-engaged community.

18. Case Study: The
Money Show
How we sold The Money Show for X million Naira

19. How We Sold
The Money Show
S T E P 1
EVALUATED MEDIA ASSETS, SURVEYED THE
TERRAIN, ANALYSED THE AUDIENCE.
S T E P 2
CREATED PILOTS WITH SPONSORS IN MIND
(PROOF OF CONCEPT).
S T E P 3
APPROACHED SPONSORS WITH
DATA AND ATTRACTIVE ADD-ONS.

20. Conclusion
Y O U A R E I N A N A T T E N T I O N W A R1 .
You are in a perpetual war for attention. Data is expensive and
convenience is key.
2 . E S C A P I S T C O N T E N T R E I G N S S U P R E M E
Nigerians love content that helps them forget about the hardship around.
3 . H E L P P E O P L E F E E L G O O D
Create content that helps people feel better about themselves and inspires
them to be more than what they are.
4 . F O C U S O N W H A T B R A N D S W A N T
Brands prioritise reach, then engagement, then conversion -- in that order.
From the beginning, have in mind target brands you can pitch to.
5 . B U I L D A C O M M U N I T Y
If you are looking to make money from your audience, build a community and
almost cult-like following around yourself or your content.

21. THANK YOU.
P R E S E N T E D A T
T H E B U S I N E S S O F C O N T E N T
F E B . 1 , 2 0 2 0 ,
T W I T T E R / I N S T A G R A M : @ D A V I D I A D E L E K E
H E L L O @ D A V I D A D E L E K E . C O M