Ugo Aliogo
For popular Brand Influencer, Princess Jennifer Umeh-Ubaka popularly known as Princessjecoco not many may know about her background in law and how she went up to the extent of pursuing a second degree in the discipline only to be later wooed by a new found love which has endeared her to many at home and abroad.
Princessjecoco, who has become a household name, by all standards is a qualified lawyer, having studied Law at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom before proceeding to Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, for Masters in oil and gas law (LLM).
Against all odds, she has become a woman of many parts delving into fashion design, hotel and event management while boasting of over 83,000 following on popular micro-blogging platform, Instragram.
Her capacity to deliver and trust engendered has seen her delegated with the responsibility of serving as the brand manager for one of the Big Brother Naija Shine Ya Eye housemates, Jackie Bent popularly known as Jackie B.
The journey to becoming a brand influencer
Princessjecoco’s rise to prominence was never the one paved with stones as she has had to pay her dues by recognising an opportunity after taking initiative with the tenacity to build her aesthetic on Instagram which attracted brands who were impressed by the uniqueness of her page.
She grabbed the opportunity with both hands by going the extra mile to reach out to more brands that were convinced beyond reasonable doubts to hand her deals in exchange for payment for collaborations.
Passion for humanity
Interest in human rights and being a voice to the voiceless initially spurred Princessjecoco to study law but as what may be considered as fate would have it she has channeled that energy into collaborating with brands that serve the needs of people.
She believes taking to brand influence can lead those who take it seriously out of poverty as the proceeds will be enough to clear their bills, noting the internet which she sees as the new age is a viable space for anyone to thrive as long as they are creative and consistent. To drive home her point, she cited the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen many organisations exploring technology to remain in business.
Advice to prospective social media influencers
She advised people interested in becoming social media influencers to focus on a niche and platform through which they build a significant following. Like she started out, the enthusiasts were advised to reach out to brands and pitch their services to them.
By Princessjecoco’s experience, building organic relationships with brands through engagement with their social media content and mentioning their products for free also go a long way in doing the magic.
While benchmarking 1000 follower mark as a good start, she noted there is no minimum requirement on the number of followers, as anyone can be an influencer as long as they have a loyal audience and expertise in their niche..
On platforms to explore, she explained all social media platforms have their own pros and cons, but all are good for earning money, adding people believe that YouTube is most profitable as payment is based on ads shown on videos and the earning potential is unlimited. She revealed it is more difficult to become an influencer on Instagram with a considerable profit coming with a substantial following.
For Facebook, she disclosed influencers can make money by creating and posting sponsored content for brands that they collaborate with. Another avenue, according to her, is to sell own products on Facebook to earn money or become an affiliate and promote other brands’ products on Facebook.
Using herself as an example, she opined there is no harm in trying out the possibility of becoming a brand influencer for anyone who is convinced about it as recognising the opportunity and making efforts without procrastination or giving excuses on why it won’t work out made all the difference for her.
