#5kbae: How brands should use social media to their advantage

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April 3, 2017
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4 min read
Twitter meme

If by now you don’t know the story behind #5Kbae and #KeepTheChangeBae hashtags it means you just do not care much for Twitter which is understandable, too much drama! Therefore, for the benefit of those who do not already know, here it is.

All you need to know about the #5kbae and #KeepTheChangeBae trend

It all began the way all dates begin. Guy, Ayo (@Pabloayodeji) asks a lady, Ore (@Missmoshiku) who he met on Twitter, out on a date. She agrees to go out with him and they went to some mall in Ibadan for their date. Apparently, the date did not go as planned for the guy so he took to Twitter last Tuesday night to rant and call the lady out. Bear it in mind that he did this in the pettiest way possible but her response was the most shocking of all. Arguably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Twitter Nigeria.

Instead of responding to his jabs with a Twitter thread as most people do these days, she refunded his money and displayed a screenshot of the transfer. Apparently, the whole date cost the guy N3800 but she transferred N5000 with the transfer narration “keep the change bruh”

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This created so much buzz especially when @subdeliveryman tweeted about it. After so many insults were directed towards Ayo, he later apologised. Following his apologies, he wrote a blog post on how he met Ore and the full story of the aftermath of their date which went viral.

Trust Nigerians, many skits and hilarious tweets supported by memes with the hashtags have been flying all over Twitter since then.

https://twitter.com/surh__says/status/847899999413391364

How brands were able to cash in on the trend

More Nigerian brands have been able to humanise their social media handles over time. For example, the EFCC official Twitter handle, which you would expect to post serious tweets has been able to appeal to the average Nigerian with the use of popular slangs and yabs.

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Then, there was Valentine's day "men are scum" conversation between @AmericanHoneyNG and @CampariNigeria.

American Honey and Campari conversation on Nigerian Twitter

The fact that more Nigerian brands are beginning to humanise their social media handles was evident in the way they quickly jumped on the #5kbae trend with all sorts of creative tweets that had the #5Kbae and #KeepTheChangeBae hashtags.

Twitter trends have been attracting engagements for brands/companies – whoever can come up with creative and hilarious tweets that go with the trend -- since its effects were discovered. They do not necessarily mean sales at the time but it gives brands the opportunity to engage, endear and advertise all at the same time to potential customers. And this particular trend was no different, as a matter of fact, it took things to a whole different level.

A lot of people were impressed with poise with which Ore responded and brands/individuals did not hesitate to gift her with different items ranging from perfumes, spa treatments, hair weaves, movie tickets to even furniture. The guy was not excluded especially after he owned up to his mistakes and apologised.

https://twitter.com/Twwigsofficial/status/847431067627802627

Ore transferred the money from her FirstBank account to Ayo's Wema bank account so it was not surprising that the banks also joined the trend.

Wema bank #5kbae

 FirstBank offered her N5000 and she was pronounced FirstBank "FirstGem”. FirstGem is an account designed by FirstBank specifically for women aged 18 years and above, whether working professionals or entrepreneurs.

While some might question Nigerian brands and their lack of creativity, many companies have been able to garner more followers by getting involved in social media trends and this is not just peculiar to Nigeria.

https://twitter.com/aneetah__/status/847431180152487945

The importance of social media engagements for your brand cannot be overemphasised and if you see a window of opportunity in any trending topic on social media, by all means, jump on it as fast as you can. It would not only create awareness for your brand, it could also mean more customers for you.

The parties involved in the trend have moved on to become famous and the brands who took advantage of it have gained new customers or at least new followers who could be potential customers.

Ayo even inspired a song. It is after all social media, there are no rules.

I'm always open to new experiences.
I'm always open to new experiences.
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I'm always open to new experiences.

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