This month marks seven years since NET News Ltd., the media and publishing arm of Ayeni Adekunle’s BHM Group was founded. Over the years, this media outfit, which started out as a first-of-its-kind entertainment weekly newspaper in November 2009, quickly became the country’s top entertainment source online after the launch of its website in 2009.
Today, Thenetng may not be the biggest or most popular news website in Nigeria, although always in the top seven of entertainment platforms; however, there’s something to be said about the brand’s growth, longevity and respect it commands with both industry practitioners and fans alike.
Here are seven simple lessons Nigerian blogs, websites, and digital platforms can learn from the story of NET.
1. Find a niche. Fill a need
When NET launched in 2009, there were no newspapers in Nigeria dedicated solely to reporting entertainment news and events for the masses to consume. This was the gap that needed to be filled, and that was exactly what NET did.
2. Be truly social
NET has always been an early adopter of digital trends and platforms. Beyond mere auto-posting and distribution of website content, one can clearly see the strategic use of social for engagement by the NET team.
A typical NET Instagram timeline for example, looks and feels like a micro-blog on its own, independent of the website. Same thing with Facebook and Twitter. Today, over 80% of NET users engage the brand via its social media channels – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
3. Don’t get hacked
A few years ago, at the height of the website’s popularity, when it was an undisputed top five in Nigeria, disaster struck! Some faceless hacker got hold of the admin email account, redirecting hosting notifications to his own mailbox, and managing to take control of the domain. The hacker later tried blackmailing the owners, offering to give control back once a certain sum is paid. The publisher refused, and that was the end of that.
READ: How cyber criminals hacked NET website
The site came back up shortly after the hack, resorting to using another domain extension that had been earlier reserved – thenet.ng – another important lesson for bloggers! Back ups can save your life. However, many users still organically go to the old url (www.thenetng.com) which leads to a strange-looking page. This whole experience led to a huge loss of traffic, one from which it took years for the site to fully recover.
4. Make babies, be fruitful and multiply
With a print newspaper (laid to rest late 2015), an entertainment website (thenet.ng), an annual entertainment industry conference (NECLive), a metro news site (newsroom.ng) in 2014, a lifestyle website (star.ng), a music streaming site (Orin.ng), and an e-commerce site (netshop.ng), Nigerian Entertainment Today is clearly putting its money where its mouth is.
This clever corporate strategy of market penetration and product development has further improved the relevance of NET in the entertainment and media industry (with practitioners and regulators), as well as allowing the business to reach a wider audience, without necessarily having to damage the appeal each product has with its own target.
5. Hire content creators, not writers
In 2016, digital publishing platforms need not just writers who can put text on paper (however brilliantly), but more importantly, highly creative ‘content creators’ who can make memes, GIFs, edit videos with iPhone apps, micro-blog news, live tweet events, build social media followers, use Facebook Live, create Buzzfeed-style quizzes and games, keep close tabs on trends, follow current events, and so on.
The ideal content creator can even be an average writer who understands storytelling and user engagement. With a bit of editorial supervision, you’ll be having an excellent team on your hands.
The bulk of Nigeria’s online audience cares very little about the ‘Wole Soyinka-ness’ of your writing, but is most likely moved more by sounds, colours, jokes, and beauty (as in fine faces) of your posts.
But of course, good writing will never get old.
6. Be professional
It’s never ‘just a blog’, so not ‘anything goes’.
I’ve seen how much artistes and entertainers respect NET, even those who might have issues with the platform over what was written about them in the past. This is partly not just due to the pedigree and reputation of the publisher and editorial team, but also the track record built up over time.
At the end of the day, the five ethics of journalism – Truth & Accuracy, Independence, Fairness & Impartiality, Humanity, and Accountability will always hold true. Consistency in all these values will stand you out from the others.
Even though over seven years, it’ll be surprising if NET hasn’t fallen short once or twice, but one can rest assured that it is not in their character to deliberately sell untruths or promote falsehoods just to pander to special interests.
The more professional a platform is, the higher the probability of getting large corporates willing to do business, even if the platform isn’t yet able to pull off Linda-level traffic.
7. The Major Key
This here is the most important of them all…
READ THE LESSONS AGAIN FROM 1-6.