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Africa Hannibal BioBlog

Paid Search & Social Media Strategist

Who Am I?

Today’s Millennial Generation of online media experts are continuously streaming in waves of fresh intellectuals and talent to document the cybernetic times ahead. Of the Early Adopters, one in particular will help merge the landscapes between modern advertisement and the age old advertising tool called word of mouth. Current SEM & Social Media Specialist at an online agency and budding entrepreneur, Africa Y. Hannibal will be that voice.

Africa was introduced to Search Engine Marketing back in 2006 when she was offered the opportunity to work in an entry level position at a Search Engine Marketing Agency. It was here where she  fell in love with online media and flourished as a Production Coordinator at Didit Search Marketing and eventual Account Executive and built her expertise as a knowledgeable and experienced Search Engine Marketing Professional. She is an effective communicator, writer, problem solver and optimizer who helps clients’ grow and achieve positive results. Africa is known for crafting successful strategies to achieve business goals and proven to increase ROI in the Retail, Software, Telecommunication and Health verticals working with brands such as Rodale, Motorola, BareNecessities, Corel, Redcats, Register.com and many more. Her dedication and team working spirit has made her a valuable asset to all of the organizations she is a part of.

Africa  is now one of the leading experts amongst her peers in Search Engine Marketing, with an enterprising blog that benefits emerging and aspiring entrepreneurs and has been said to exemplify the determination and common sense that it takes to succeed in search marketing  and referred to as a dedicated and very knowledgeable search marketing professional by colleagues. She is currently establishing the First Self Serve Daily Deal & Loyalty Rewards Website/Application entitled TalkisCheep.com, creating a new standard for brands to manage how they interact with consumers. With great initiative and out of the box ideas, Africa continues to strive in the Search Engine Marketing Industry as well as in her personal endeavors.

Services

Your Online Presence I Make it Better

 

Strategic Planning: Defines the best strategy for your business to meet it’s goals

Personal Branding: Take your brand to new heights by raising awareness and visibility appealing to new audiences while maintaining your current clientele.

Search Engine Marketing: An integrated approach to marketing your business by building custom Search Engine Marketing campaigns that fit into the Global marketing strategy of your brand.

Social Media: Employ strategic social marketing plans that increase social presence and growth on key social networks.

Competitive Analysis: Assess the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors by doing extensive research and examination of your competitors and industry trends to ensure that each client has a competitive edge.

Resume

EXPERIENCE:

Morpheus Media                                                                                                                              03/12 – present

Senior Strategist

  • Creates and executes advanced level SEM strategies for Luxury e-commerce accounts – Montblanc, TSE Cashmere, Baccarat and James Perse
  • Generation, implementation, and management of groundbreaking digital campaigns via ppc campaigns and GDN

○         Includes: Long and short term strategy; milestones, SEM goals, deliverables etc.; adaptability to changes in landscape; comprehensive testing ideas that support core goals

○         Testing new opportunities such as click to download ads, sitelinks, Google shopping, Google display network and tablet and mobile marketing

  • Runs and manages weekly client meetings as well as presents and articulates executive client level presentations
  • Manages budgets, project work flow and deliverables and delegates to Strategist and Associate Strategist
  • Coordinates and chairs client discovery meetings and leads the on-boarding process

 

Kitara Media

Search Engine Marketing & Social Media Specialist                                                                   08/10 – 03/12

  • Creates, implements, and executes online marketing plans for all aspects of the Search Engine Marketing strategy for Kitara  Media including Google, Bing, YouTube and other 3rd party systems for clients in the Gaming Vertical as well as works with online marketing websites and social networks to maximize exposure
  • Managed multiple gaming sites and actively books online advertising campaigns, manages all optimization, profit goals and growth of game downloads
  • Responsible for project management and the implementation/completion of projects within a timely manner
  • Relays information about new trends within the industry as well as new opportunities within the accounts to the team

 

360i, LLC

 Associate Media Manager                                                                                                               12/09 – 07/10

  • Responsible for effectively managing all aspects of search campaigns for The Children’s Place, Motorola, Blue Cross Blue Shield in addition to  other accounts including spend, IOs, tracking the budget creating and booking online campaigns as well as optimization
  • Implemented and Oversaw daily online promotions
  • Set expectations for media deliverables and ensure the timely delivery of all client requirements and effectively manage media inventory
  • Provided Media Manager with key points/findings regarding campaign performance vs. targets and communicates details of optimization results and analysis from completed initiatives for all weekly calls.
  • Served as a primary source of reporting
  • Communicated campaign KPI’s and goals to client during weekly client meetings as well as assisted in handling request, questions and resolving client conflict
    • Collaborated with team to  develop media plans for advertising budgets, integration plans and pitches

 

Didit, LLC                                                                                                                                            10/06-12/09

 Account Executive                                                                                                                            09/09 – 12/09

  • Responsible for effectively managing the search spend, IOs, and tracking the budget
  • Managed Multi-Tier Campaigns for Redcats, Corel, BareNecessities, Register.com, Rodale, etc. with budgets upwards to $500k in spend a quarter and over 1 million keywords
  • Lead weekly calls with back up from the Account Manager for Corel, communicated campaign initiatives, performance updates and
  • Responsible for project management, campaign development and the completion of projects in a timely manner by managing the production and QA  of task given to Associate Account Executive/Account Coordinator
  • Lead the AAE in development of their optimization and account assessment skills
  • Partnered with the client and Strategist to plan tactical execution of campaign management projects, testing initiatives and account stability based on client business goals
  • Provided Account Director and Account Manager with key points/findings regarding campaign performance vs. targets and communicates details of optimization results and analysis from completed initiatives for all weekly calls
  • Managed weekly reporting deliverables and served as a reporting liaison between Account Team and Outsourced Reporting Team

Associate Account Executive                                                                                                               01/08 – 09/09

  • Managed over 6 accounts and performed daily campaign optimization, monitoring and stabilization initiatives
  • Reviewed daily campaign trends and opportunities and communicate them to Strategists and Account Executives
  • Made decisions on any adjustments made to engine campaign structures and keyword/creative/landing page groupings
  • Reported  daily initiatives/tasks that are performed on client accounts
  • Communicated status of tactical and strategic initiatives, performance updates and new opportunities to clients
  • Setup client tracking and core metrics using an in house analytics tool
  • Responsible for project management and the completion of projects in a timely manner via Production and QA  of Account Coordinator
  • Project assignment and management of all production tasks handled by Account Coordinators
  • Review and verify projects for correctness and communicate any errors or issues to Account Executives
  • Attend weekly client meetings and assist in handling request, questions and resolving client conflict
  • Responsible for creating and reviewing marketing data and quantitative reports, customize reports and QA of weekly reports                                                                                    

Account Coordinator                                                                                                                           10/06 – 01/08

  • Point person for implementation tasks and building of campaign structure across the team for Redken, Chanel and Rodale
  • Report daily initiatives/tasks that are performed on the accounts as well as any issues observed
  • Deliver key findings from campaign initiatives to AM for inclusion in client communications
  • Development of client reporting as needed

Contact Me

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If this is an urgent matter feel free to contact me via phone: (347) 560-8174

Blog Index

Would You Mind if Paid You in Gum?

4 Replies

Although it is a humorous line in the commercial, as a new business owner, it seems as if clients are seriously asking that question. This is most often when your earliest customers may be family and friends. There is a temptation to try to offer your goods or services at a lower price to grab attention or to account for limited service record or experience. However, you are a business owner, and not only must you cover your overhead, but you do need to also earn a worthwhile salary. Altruism and “hook-ups” do not pay your expenses. So how do you go about determining what is a fair value of your goods or services as a new business owner?

Knowing how much to charge is one of the toughest decisions for any would-be entrepreneur. Understand, there’s no fixed formula to determine what is the correct amount that you should be compensated for your services. It is imperative as a new business owner to research your industry of interest and find out what your competition and others are charging for their services or similar services. You do not want to charge too high or low and price yourself out of the market even if you haven’t established any credentials or expertise.

How low can you go? You may think that having lower prices to grab attention to account for a limited service record or lack of experience is a good way to acquire new business but this can back fire in your face. The cost of your services should depend on how much time, effort and value you place on your work. Ultimately you want your prices to reflect the work that you put in and show your clients and prospective clients that they will be paying for the results that they would like to see. In planning your pricing structure, try to get the lowest and highest prices in your market and determine the features of your services. You can call various companies as if you were a customer and inquire about the services that you are planning on utilizing for your business, making sure that you ask what you will be getting for your money.

Now that you have done your research on competitive pricing, you should be able to determine your rates based off of the expected time that will be spent and your expertise. Once you have discovered your rates you now are faced with the challenge of defining your annual pay along with your overhead and operating cost. This can be what you earned for doing similar work when you were an employee, what other employees earn for similar work, or how much you’d like to earn. Overhead includes all of the costs you incur to do business as well as the cost of your fringe benefits, such as medical insurance, disability insurance, and retirement benefits, as well as your income taxes and self-employment taxes.

And last but not least have a back up plan. In this economy keeping your head above water is very hard, having a survival plan in case of emergency is important. In certain situations such as market decline or market saturation, you must temporarily set a price that will cover costs and allow you to continue operations. You want your business to be able to sustain a crisis as well as be able to maintain the same prices or somewhere close to the price range you originally forecasted so that you will be able to stay a float unless you can survive on Gum.

Now you should be able to prove to individuals that you are serious about your profession and will not perform any task for less than what your products and/or services are worth. So the next time a family member, friend or potential client poses the question “Would you mind if I paid you in gum?” don’t chew them out just remember the steps above.

I would like to thank Christopher Ervin for being so influential in this recent post, you are always an email or tweet away be sure to follow him on Twitter @CPRDOC

  1. Great advice, I will be sharing it. I understand the tendency of the new entrepreneur to under price their services. It tends to backfire, by less respect in the community, if the pricing structure is too low!

  2. Exactly Sandra, it is a double edged sword, if your prices are too high people don’t want to do business with you, but if your prices are too low people may not trust you or your services and feel as if they are not of value and that is why the prices are so cheap.

  3. A note about “high” prices. Your price will ALWAYS be “too high” for some people. As long as your price is “right” for your target market you’ll do well.

    It’s important too that you communicate the VALUE of your product or service clearly to your prospects. If a prospect doesn’t understand the benefits you’re offering, you’ll still be sunk. You really have to have a good understanding of your own products and services to convince someone else to buy from you.

  4. Hello Africa,

    I finally got to read you post, My apologies for the delay.
    Indeed, setting you price, as a new business owner, can be tricky but it is essential. Confidence to charge your worth can come with a little bit of experience, once you have a few miles under yout belt. I have written a post about brainpicking on my blog, in case, you are interested.

    Very nice read.

    Thank you.

    Karima-Catherine

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