top 30 most influential women.
‘Misadventures of Awkward Black
Girl’ was also published into a book
in 2015 after the immense success
of the Web Series, a proper reverse
strategy.
YouTube can well be used as a very
effective launching pad for musicians,
celebrities and creatives. WillyPaul,
Elani and Caroline Mutoko are some
of the personalities with the largest
number of YouTube subscribers in
Kenya.
TV shows such as Churchill Live
and Real housewives of Kawangware
have a huge following online and to
some extent this also translates to
good TV ratings. Other initiatives
such as the David Sheldrick trust for
conservation of elephants and Jim
Nduruchi of the anti Jigger campaign
are also high up on the number of
subscribers and YouTube views.
In the area of beauty, Duchess
Gabrielle and Bellesa Africa are on
the forefront recording high numbers
on their channels which focus on hair
and makeup respectively.
TV and Film aside, a good number
of people use YouTube for kicks and
fun, they pour out their everyday
hobbies and likes then share them
with whoever bothers to click.
Interestingly they have a following
who consider what they put up as
interesting and viable content.
Question is, is there money on
‘‘Yet others wake up, rub their eyes and
post something very random. Like voodoo
it becomes an instant hit, goes viral and hey
presto they stumble upon easy money.’’
YouTube for any entrepreneur?
The rule of supply and demand still
reigns, where in the case of Ndani
TV, a consistent churning of content
has kept viewers glued and coming
back.
Does content solve problems? That’s
a no-brainer, from entertainment
needs to How-to videos. In this
day and age when you are stuck
with household issues or electrical
problems, the quickest fix is Mr.
YouTube. The list of problems solved
is endless. Suffice to say, when
done well and consistently some of
this content can easily meet basic
business parameters that translate to
money.
Kangai Mwiti runs Bellesa Africa,
one of Kenya’s thriving YouTube
pages for any single individual. She
has over ninety thousand subscribers
and five million plus views. She
posts make-up tutorials on a biweekly basis and it goes without
saying that her earnings are probably
quite solid.
On why she started the channel, she
says that “… I wanted to fill a gap
in the market in terms of content
for women of colour, featuring
different skin tones and textures…”
Like any good thing; one needs to
invest time, effort and resources. “...
In order to release a really good
video, it can take an entire day for
shooting and editing…” Kangai says
of her investment into the YouTube
Channel.
Keen entrepreneurs have seen the
potential of YouTube from earlier
on and being able to predict the up
and up trend they have been able to
turn it into a cash cow. The beauty of
YouTube as a space is its simplicity
and freedom policy.
Bureaucracy red tape is non-existent
and you can make it what you want
it to be. Good quality for videos can
easily be achieved seeing that we now
have phones that have made award
winning films. Cat videos, baby videos
and make up tutorials can go viral all
in one breath.
Joan Kabugu is a Writer-Filmmaker
running her own company Ecila
Productions Limited. She’s a published
author of Boom boom bus and writes
a creative blog under Joansdiary101.
blogspot.com. You can commune with her
on this and related issues vai mail at:
[email protected]