In this post, we looked at historical data and experiences from two companies. Some of our editors were early Facebook users and we saw companies that heavily advertised from Nigeria. In the companies that were huge on Facebook ad from Nigeria in the early days included Buyright. Around 2009, this company was everywhere on Facebook.
BuyRight is a subsidiary of Pragmatic Technologies Ltd, and evolved from ComputerPort and Xtaples both of which were founded in 2001 as Nigeria’s first online computer and office supplies stores respectively. BuyRight is a retail concept providing products at the “Right Price and Right Quality”. They major largely on Computer Products, Personal and Home Electronics, Fashion, Sports Equipment, Personal Health Equipment, Toys, Office Supplies and Vehicles.
Buyright.biz was one of the foremost Nigeria e-commerce companies that advertised in Facebook heavily. If we had known what they know now, our parent company, Fasmicro, might not have wasted money in advertising in Facebook.
The fact is simple – depending on your business, Facebook is not the best avenue to advertise your Nigerian products. It jacks up site visits but nothing happens. Why? The people making decisions are not on Facebook for office supplies, contracts and consultancy. In Nigeria, it is still the old hard way that works. Forget Facebook advertising if you want to move products with the governments.
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These days we do not see Buyright advertise often in Facebook. They were very heavy in 2009. Of course, it has been long since Fasmicro put an ad in Facebook for products. We continue to advertise on training and that one works out. If you sell music or news, Facebook may work, but when you are into hardware, the Nigerian crew of Facebook does not have purchasing power. It is high traffic, big fan and no sales.
So, next time they tell you how many Nigerians that are in Facebook and while you should dump your money there, be careful. It makes no sense until the main guys begin to join Facebook. College students do not buy a lot of these things and they are the core of the Facebook Nigeria.
Remember, it all depends on what your business is. It all depends on your business, we repeat. But do not throw away money to the ocean of Nigerians on Facebook expecting a miracle. Our data shows that ads in the Nigerian newspapers are more effective than the Facebook ads. If your business model is not based on traffic, use the traditional media and push your message.
