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”
lol
Movies(2)- 1200
Water (2 bottles)- 400
Hot dogs (2)- 1000
Yogurt- 1200
Total- 3800
Use the change for public transport ☺ pic.twitter.com/5QRldFABrS— Ore ^_^ (@Missmoshiku) March 29, 2017
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.
Let the young deal with their errors in judgment; you deal with this grammar. It is "I'm" as in "I am" not "Am" okay? #KeepThatChangeBro https://t.co/JMuKG9SteO
— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) March 30, 2017
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Then, there was Valentine's day "men are scum" conversation between @AmericanHoneyNG and @CampariNigeria.
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.
We've been powering clapbacks for God knows how long. We are here for all those fund transfers. 5k, 3800, you name it. 👌👌👌
— Quickteller (@Quickteller) March 30, 2017
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.
Things you can do with #5K in #Ibadan
Call Malaysia
Call Dubai,
Call China
Call Germany… & still #KeeptheChangeBae
Dial *131*5#😊 pic.twitter.com/cPg7jXzupG— MTN Nigeria (@MTNNG) March 31, 2017
With less than 5k you can get any of our ✨glow products and still #KeepTheChange 😊☺️#5kbae pic.twitter.com/P0TeHYjU1m
— LamySkincare✨ (@Lamy_skincare) March 30, 2017
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
Thank you so much for the movie tickets @etisalat_9ja so excited to see #okaforslaw...... @etisalat_9ja peep the green in the background😉😜 pic.twitter.com/ndqR04Ygh5
— Ore ^_^ (@Missmoshiku) April 1, 2017
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.
#RefundMadeEasyByFirstMobile #Keepthechangebae #BoldforChange #MarchforWomen cc @missmoshiku @pabloauodeji pic.twitter.com/qmaF1u1qNX
— FirstBank Nigeria (@FirstBankngr) March 30, 2017
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.
Pablo thank you for inspiring a song. 😂
— BIG FISH 🦈 (@adekunleGOLD) March 30, 2017
Ayo even inspired a song. It is after all social media, there are no rules.
