WINDHOEK – Dr Mohammed Shehu, an academic and expert on social media addressed communication professionals and students on “Agile Social” at a networking event organised by the Namibian chapter of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) on August 21 in Windhoek.
Shehu said that Agile Social was devised as a response to new possibilities offered by software and internet revolutions. It is a different way of piloting from strategy to operations and setting up multi-disciplinary teams for better coordination and effectiveness.
He explained that Agile lies at the core of cultural and organisational transformation; it is a paradigm shift that revolves around adapting to an ever-changing external business environment. Agile is about redefining your social media strategy for quicker workflow processes and adaptation to change as it happens.
He advised communication professionals to design agile social media strategies that are aligned to stakeholder needs. From targeting the right audience to crafting content that is useful and relevant, the customer is at the crux of all social media decisions. Social media should be based on a two-way communication model that requires the incorporation of feedback from the audience into the social media strategy.
“Break the silos and get information from fellow employees in finance, customer service, sales and operations in order to know what is going on in the company,” he advised.
Lastly, he advised communication professionals to boost their effectiveness through self-development and multi-skilling in areas such as copywriting, design, photography, etc. where they may lack proficiency and to save time through delegation and outsourcing.
Shehu is the youngest student of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) to be conferred a Ph.D. in Informatics at the age of 26.
PRISA is a professional body that represents public relations and communication management practitioners throughout the Southern African region. The institute has registered practitioners in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa.