VODCASTS

Why vodcasts are every African marketer’s flexible friend

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2024

Repurposing marketing and social media content is a smart way to maximise digital spend. This flexibility is why vodcasts are taking off in Africa.

Photo: Special Effects Media

What is a vodcast other than a fancy podcast that incorporates video elements or visual techniques like image carousels, slides or still photographs? 

 

Danilo Acquisto, co-founder and CEO of social video specialist, Special Effects Media, admits the definition is still rather sketchy.  

 

“It’s video and podcasts smashed together, but industry bodies need to start thinking about how we define these terms better,” he says. “For marketers, it does get confusing. Does a radio show that is being filmed and cut down become a vodcast? Or a radio snippet?”  

 

Another question that is frequently asked is: Must a vodcast have a visible microphone with a set question-and-answer format? Or can an existing podcaster film a conversation, stick it on YouTube, and then call it a vodcast? 

 

While the concept remains broad and still slightly ambiguous, so is the reach of this video-driven format. 

 

“Best practice [on social media posts] is 15 seconds or less, so it’s difficult to cram brand messages or unpack very complex brand needs and customer journeys into such a short-form piece of content,” Acquisto emphasises. 

 

As a result, marketers have developed a fondness for podcasting. This more informal format gives them the opportunity to “unpack at length, and in conversation with people, topics they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do in the short-form space”, he says. 

 

Acquisto believes that vodcasts fall into the same conversational category as podcasts, except they offer even greater potential for repurposing quality content across multiple platforms.  

 

A multi-touchpoint approach 

 

Moses Kemibaro, CEO of Kenyan digital business agency, Dotsavvy, affirms that “TikTok, YouTube and Instagram Reels have become an important aspect of the content mix when any brand is communicating” to an African audience.  

 

In addition to Dotsavvy, he has built a strong personal following thanks to his Pure Digital Passion podcast and his understanding of Africa’s digital media ecosystem. 

 

Kemibaro shifted into podcasting early on, and continued to create content during Covid using the Zoom communications platform. In most cases he opted for audio without video. But after using a professional film studio, he had an epiphany: “It hit me that when you do a video podcast, you end up with a number of assets.”  

 

Today, Kemibaro repurposes video content across LinkedIn, Instagram, his website and podcast. The secret, he says, is to use multiple platforms and multiple formats, but to craft the content in such a way that all the pieces work together. That, he emphasises, leads to significant aggregated reach and engagement.  

 

Find out about vodcasting in Africa, and much more, in the latest Strategic Marketing for Africa – the voice of African marketing and the official publication of the African Marketing Confederation (AMC). Read it online or download it here.  

 

A Print Edition of the magazine is also available. 

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    Dr Kin Kariisa

    Group CEO - Next Media

    Dr. Kin Kariisa is an extraordinary force at the helm of Next Media Services, a conglomerate encompassing NBS TV, Nile Post, Sanyuka TV, Next Radio, Salam TV, Next Communication, Next Productions, and an array of other influential enterprises. His dynamic role as Chief Executive Officer exemplifies his unwavering commitment to shaping media, business, and community landscapes.
    With an esteemed academic journey, Dr. Kariisa’s accolades include an Honorary PhD in exemplary community service from the United Graduate College inTexas, an MBA from United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Huazong University in China, and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Makerere University.
    Dr. Kariisa pursued PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. As a dynamic educator, he has shared his expertise as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at both Makerere University and Radboud University.

    Dr Kin did his PhD research in Computer Security and Identity Management at Security of Systems Group, Radbond University in Nigmegen, Netherlands. He previously served as a lecturer of e-Government and Information Security at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Radbond University in Netherlands.

    Dr Kin did his postgraduate courses in Strategic Business Management, Strategic Leadership Communication and Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives at Harvard University, Boston USA.

    • Other current and previous roles played by Dr Kin Kariisa:
    • Lecturer of e-Government and Information Security to graduate students at Makerere University, Kampala and Radbond University in the Netherlands
    • Director of Eco Bank Uganda Limited, one of the largest banks in Africa
    • Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters, an umbrella industry association for all Television, Radio and online broadcasters in Uganda.
    • Chairman of Board of Directors of Nile Hotel International, that owns the leading hotel in Uganda, Kampala Serena Hotel.
    • Chairman of Board of Directors of Soliton Telmec Uganda, the leading telecom company in Optic fibre business managing over 80% of optic fibre in Uganda.