What It's Like Doing Social & Digital in the film industry
Featuring an interview with Opeyemi Ewumi, Digital Media Manager at NdaniTV.
As you might have guessed by the subtitle of this newsletter, today’s interview is with Opeyemi Ewumi! She's currently a Digital Media Manager at NdaniTV, home to some of the biggest web series out of Africa, including Skinny Girl in Transit, Gidi Up, Rumour Has It, and more.
Opeyemi has been at NdaniTV for over 7 years, and her role has evolved considerably—beyond just pressing "post". She also doubles as a production coordinator at NdaniTV.
We talk about her journey in Digital and Social, tips for explaining to your boss who might be wondering why engagement is in the red, how she takes care of her mental health in a role like this, tips for industry babies, how she stays inspired, her thoughts on NFTs, and more.
Opeyemi, let's start from the beginning. How did you get into Digital and Social?
If I'm being honest, I got into digital and social basically out of trying to survive. I studied history at the University of Lagos. But right out of school, I started as a blogger for an education-based blog, 9jEducation. This Internship was a watershed moment that set my career path away from history and toward marketing.
At 9jEducation, I was creating blogs and linking articles I'd written to their Facebook page. I'd reply to queries, comments and monitor engagement, learning as I went along. Off the back of this, I managed to get gigs from small business owners managing social and digital ads, which went pretty well.
I kept up the blogging, picked up Facebook Blueprint quickly, did the Adwords certifications and this combo of skills got me in the door at NdaniTV.
That's where I still am today, and my role has evolved considerably over time. Been quite a fun ride and the last part is only just getting started.
Sweet. Can you give us a quick rundown of your role now?
I'm currently a Digital Media Manager at NdaniTV. In my role, I oversee community management, content strategy, and creation across Ndani's social channels. I also move content through approvals and monitor the performance of our social media content to see how it measures against our KPIs. I also double as a production coordinator at NdaniTV.
Outside my 9-5, I freelance.
You've been at this for how many years?
8yrs, If I were to include my previous experience before NdaniTV.
8 years!!! You probably know how to do branded digital and social better than most ever will. What’s your favourite post, campaign, etc. you’ve done on NdaniTV social? Why?
I've been on a couple of projects. Skinny Girl in Transit, Rumour Has It, Ayinla, Sugar Rush, Ponzi, Love Like This, Isoken, etc.
All these projects are unique. And they came with different lessons and challenges. But I'm particularly proud of working on Love Like This. This isn't only because I was in charge of Digital and Social Marketing for the film, I was involved in creating the original soundtrack for it. It's my favourite.
I've seen Ponzi, Ayinla, and Sugar Rush. I love them all. Most especially Ayinla—I'm a fan of Omowura's sound. So what do you love most about your job?
I think what I love the most about my job is that it has never felt like a job. It feels like a part of my life. My enjoyment of campaigns has turned into an important pillar of my life, happiness, and my largest consistent source of income.
What's the worst?
Bureaucracy. The only time my job begins to feel like a job is when I've to deal with minor challenges related to bureaucracy. It can kill creativity and it’s the worst part of my job - sometimes.
When you were just getting into social and digital as a career, what is one thing you wish you had?
I think the one thing I wish I had was a personal computer and internet modem to learn more about the skill even while at home.
Interesting! As a social manager, when your engagement is down (especially when you haven't made any huge changes to your strategy) it can feel confusing and upsetting. Do you have any tips or advice for explaining to your boss who might be wondering why engagement is in the red without knowing the ins and outs of what's happening on social media?
A valuable tip is to always monitor your growth and stay atop trends in social media. I can say however that I'm yet to work on any project that lacks engagement.
I should add though that there will be times when your “best engagement” may not be enough for your employer. In such instances, the best you can do is arm yourself with your numbers, gain a perfect understanding of your growth and ensure you are in tune with the behavioural changes of the audience - which most times affects these metrics.
That’s a great place to start.
I have spoken with social professionals in the past who have worked in social, and they had to deal a lot with trolls and just horrible comments. I've seen a junior cry because of a horrible comment. How do you take care of your mental health in a role like this?
A particular period comes to mind with this question. There was one time a show got cancelled and the comments were so terrible. It was such a terrible place to be as the social media manager. I had to make a conscious effort to tune out completely for my sanity because I had been very invested in that project.
Sometimes your audience/users/subscribers, whatever you may call them, forget the social media pages are managed by human beings and some of the comments you will read would test every aspect of your perseverance.
NFT, NFT, NFT. I'm sure you've been seeing this all over the internet if you're not using it already. How do you feel about NFTs, the metaverse, and what all of that means for your work?
Hmm, so I’ve been feeling left behind in the entire NFT/Metaverse conversation. The other day I tried to read up on it, just so I get a hang of the concept and so far I’d say it’s quite an ambitious thing since the 4th industrial revolution and the internet of things. If anything, I have learned never to underrate technology, so I am trying to learn as much as I can about the Metaverse so that I can rise to the occasion when it becomes mainstream for my work.
Nice. You've done a lot of work within the film industry, is there a reason you gravitated towards this industry?
Ah well NDANITV is the reason I gravitated towards the film industry. I spent a lot of time on film sets and being part of the creative process, so it only made sense that I’d want to carve a niche in the film marketing business. I saw it as an opportunity to show that Nigerian films could be promoted at the same standards as Hollywood films through a combination of digital and traditional methods.
The burnout from working in social and digital is real, how do you stay inspired?
I love working on new projects - this keeps me inspired. Of course, there are days when I want to fling my devices out the window, but a new project always gets me excited.
Name two products you can’t do without and tell me why.
Lol, my phone and deodorant.
What do you tell hopefuls looking to carve out their path in this industry?
Stay the course.
Build yourself.
Don’t be afraid to learn new things along the way because you cannot know everything.
Finally, practice makes perfect.
Before I remove the shackles, tell me where people can find you online.
Now, that's a wrap. Thanks for your time, Opeyemi. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and hope that the readers did as well.
If you read every word I salute you. Appreciate your reading and sharing. Please let me know your thoughts on this interview.
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