The first and most important thing on social media is to have two accounts – one for your business and one for yourself, advised Vishen Lakhiani, Indian entrepreneur, author, speaker and activist in his keynote speech “Turning 3 million Followers into $10 Million” on the second day of the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.
Founder of Mind Valley
The founder of Mind Valley, a platform for world-class teachers, elaborated on his journey as an influencer and how he got into social media the slow way in his 40s after meeting author Jay Shetty, and how he is earning $10 million in revenue today and has 3 million followers. He remembered how he started in 2018 on Instagram with “the picture of an awful haircut by going to the wrong barber.”
He estimated that his company built on zero venture capital is close to generating a revenue of around $200 million in the coming years.
Lakhiani gave a rapt audience his formula for achieving success on social media – know your contribution, know your company values, scaling and bringing in revenue.
“You must understand what is your reason for being here and that becomes your social media,” said the influencer, who reiterated that human beings connect better with human beings than with companies and therein lies the power of storytelling. He gave the instance of a post he had created on a Nestle product that had gone viral in his country.
Lakhiani, who has working relationships with Emirates and the Government of Dubai, advised his audience not to worry about being “amateurish” in their attempts “because you learn on the go”.
Three-second rule for a video
He also gave the three-second rule for a video – if you can’t hook your audience in the first 3 seconds, your video doesn’t go viral. He pointed out that a controversial post can also go viral as it gets angry as well as curious responses.
According to Lakhiani, scaling media has become easier with ChatGPT and other AI. Leveraging social media to get a competitive edge is key to his company’s success, he concluded.
Hala Ajil: Finding your way on YouTube
“Consistency is key and you have to ensure that your content has to be made the proper way,” noted Hala Ajil, YouTube Partner Manager (MENA) in her keynote speech “How to Find Your Groove on YouTube”.
She explained how one can leverage YouTube’s multiple formats — longform, livestream, music, and shorts — to engage with one’s community and make a living out of one’s passion. She noted that YouTube tries its best to create an ecosystem of content creators, advertisers and users.
AI tools like Dream Screen, Aloud and Insights have been helping Youtubers in creating ideas and backgrounds. Choosing one’s verticals, branding, AdSense, channel settings, frequency and analytics are areas that a YouTuber must focus on, she pointed out.
Ajil advised her audience to set goals regarding revenue and growth, watch out for content that is relevant to each region and consider one’s existing brands, collaborate with other creators, and keep things efficient and sustainable.
Organised by the first digital media institution of its kind in the Middle East, New Media Academy, the UAE’s premier hub for content creation is taking place on January 10-11, 2024, at the Emirates Towers and the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
The largest event of its kind globally, the Summit brings together over 3,000 content creators, influencers and creatives from all around the globe, including 100 expert speakers, to address and inspire over 1 billion people around the world and discuss new media’s role in supporting economies and contributing to sustainable development agendas.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
