Quick reads for this week

PF highlights the quick reads for this week. Photographer: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA)

PF highlights the quick reads for this week. Photographer: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA)

Published Sep 7, 2024

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Book review: Day Trading Attention - How To Actually Build Brand Sales In The New Social Media World (Paperback). By Gary Vaynerchuk. Price: R455

IN HIS seventh business book, best-selling author, entrepreneur, and investor Gary Vaynerchuk offers fresh, in-depth advice to enhance brand development, grow sales and beat the competition using modern advertising strategies grounded in social media.

In his 2013 bestseller Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Vaynerchuk showed the world how to create winning content for under-priced attention channels. But since then, new platforms have emerged, others have become less relevant, and algorithms are incentivising new styles of content. New skills are necessary to create advertising that builds brand and sales.

In his latest book, Vaynerchuk argues that today’s fast-growing businesses, brands, content creators and influencers have one thing in common: they mastered storytelling in areas of under-priced attention, which predominantly exists across a handful of social media platforms. Informed by 20+ years of business and marketing success, he contends that the biggest transformation and opportunity is the “TikTokification of social media”. Increasingly, platforms are distributing content based on what users are interested in rather than who they follow.

Small businesses, large corporations, and creators can take advantage of this trend to develop brands and grow sales by producing relevant, strategic content, even if they don’t have an audience. But how does one make relevant content? What should advertisements look like, in this new world?

In this book, Vaynerchuk provides detailed answers to these questions and more, revealing the tactics to master modern advertising with strategies you can apply to the moment you’re currently living in.

FSCA warns the public against individuals impersonating RisCura Solutions (Pty) Ltd and its key Individual, Ms Natalie Brink

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned the public to be cautious when conducting financial services business with administrators of a Telegram group purporting to be  RisCura Solutions (Pty) Ltd (RisCura Solutions) (FSP 46638) and its Key Individual (KI), Ms Natalie Brink (Ms Brink).

The FSCA said: "It was brought to the attention of the FSCA that certain individuals are using a Telegram group to solicit funds from members of the public by claiming to be representatives of RisCura  Solutions. The individuals behind the Telegram group fraudulently used the names of RisCura  Solutions and Ms Brink to solicit investment into amongst others Bitcoin.

"Members of the public with access to the Telegram group were promised unrealistic returns (R25 000 for an investment of R5000) within a short period of time. RisCura Solutions informed the FSCA that it does not use Telegram to market its services and has denied any association or relationship with the individuals administering the Telegram group.“

According to the FSCA, the administrators of the Telegram group were not available for comment. The public was urged to act with care when investing their funds.

MTN Foundation’s R1million Women in Digital Business Challenge Empowers Women to Conquer the ICT World

THE MTN Foundation has launched the 2024 edition of its R1 million Women in Digital Business Challenge.

MTN said the launch reinforced the MTN SA Foundation’s ICT SMME accelerator programmes to encourage the participation of women in South Africa’s ICT sector.

The MTN SA Foundation’s general manager, Arthur Mukhuvha, said: “The Challenge will run for six months and offer 10 women digital pioneers an opportunity to strengthen and grow their small enterprises into sustainable businesses. Selected from women who have already participated in MTN-sponsored business development programmes, each of the 10 finalists will receive R100 000.

“The prize money will be used for working capital, business development, purchasing tangible assets, investing in business technology hardware, software or IP, and technical and soft skills training.”

To ensure that the prize money is well invested in growing businesses, winners will work with appointed business coaches and experts to identify where the money can be most effectively used. In this way, MTN believes that the women, their businesses and the communities in which they operate and serve will benefit.

Mukhuvha said: “We believe that STEM-qualified women can excel within the science and tech sectors. By supporting talented women through the Women in Digital Business Challenge, we believe that we will be empowering women to play more leading roles in the economy.

“In addition, because many of these businesses are focused on meeting community needs, women can play a vital role in helping address the skills and employment issues that our nation faces.”

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