Social media networks have become so ingrained in our daily lives that we tend to forget that the phenomenon is only 15 years old in terms of mainstream use. We also tend to forget that, for almost all of the most popular social networks, aside from Twitter, the early users were teenagers or students.
As social media normalised across age groups, the apparent generational barriers vanished towards the end of the last decade. There was a sense that the youngest users were abandoning the traditional platforms for the new — first Instagram, then Snapchat and now TikTok. It’s obvious that these will also eventually become “old”, and the next young thing will take over.
But right now, the youth market across Africa is flocking to social networks, says Stephen Newton, MD for sub-Saharan Africa of Aleph Holding. The ad agency dominates social media advertising in emerging markets, including South Africa where it acquired local leader Ad Dynamo a year ago.
The company partners with leading digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok and Snapchat to give them “access to new geographies and underserved markets through its complementary suite of digital media service companies”. It has a presence in more than 70 markets globally.
It is expecting rapid expansion across Africa, says Newton, not least because the continent has “such a young population”.
“We have 1.4-billion people on the continent, rising rapidly. And, of course, that rise will be people under the age of 18.”
But contrary to the stereotype of Africa as a deprived continent, he says, this will be the most digitally enabled youth population yet.
This younger population, which will be one of the largest youth populations in the world, as a continent is poised to become No 1, maybe No 2 to Southeast Asia, in social media growth
— Stephen Newton
“They have affordable devices, affordable data, locally relevant content, ubiquitous payment mechanisms and trusted delivery mechanisms. This younger population, which will be one of the largest youth populations in the world, as a continent is poised to become No 1, maybe No 2 to Southeast Asia, in social media growth. We’re certainly not seeing signs of stagnation in that area.”
Newton says the overall social media profile of the continent is shifting as national dynamics change.
“We know about Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, but countries like Ethiopia are starting to come on board, and with a population size that probably rivals Nigeria. I’ve been there quite recently. It was a country that basically had no data services over a decade ago, and now it’s doing quite well, opening up spectrum.”
South Africa stands out from other regional markets.
“The amount of social media and screen time that we consume in South Africa is quite high, even in comparison with some First World markets. On average, we spend 3.44 hours per day on social media alone.
“When you think about what’s needed to make social commerce work in an environment, of course, it’s affordable devices, and we have over 100% penetration in phones in South Africa. You need locally relevant content. You need affordable data. We still have quite expensive data in South Africa, but it seems the consumer has found a way to deal with that.
“There have been some economic headwinds in various markets, but we’re not seeing that as a damper so far on social media spend on the big platforms. We’re still seeing quite a bit of year-on-year growth on most of the major platforms. And we’re not expecting 2024 to be any different,” Newton says.
Aleph, which started in Brazil and focuses on emerging markets, is also contributing to developing skills in its area of speciality across the African continent.
The number of hours South Africans spend on social media
per day.
— 3.44
“We have a free platform called Digital Ad Expert and we offer individuals the ability to become certified on at least five of the platforms that we represent. It is a free, in-person online course that is done over three months. When you finish you become certified on those platforms. We encourage young people to have a look at that to make themselves more employable in the future.
“Next year we’re introducing a one-year coding course on the same platform for free. I think it’s a great opportunity.”
Newton does not try to suggest that Aleph is saving Africa or transforming the arena of youth skills en masse, as tends to be the narrative of Western tech giants, but rather that it is doing what it can to contribute.
“It’s our thing. We’re not rocket scientists. We’re not doctors saving lives, but we do think that we can help people become more employable.”
• Arthur Goldstuck is the founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee
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