What is an NFT ?

An NFT is a digital asset that symbolises physical objects such as art, music, in-game goods, and films. They are purchased and traded online, commonly using cryptocurrency, and are typically encrypted with the software just like any other digital currencies.

NFTs are unique and each art contains a digital signature that prevents NFTs from being swapped for or equivalent to one another. 

NFT have been suggested as a way for establishing ownership over an item that may otherwise be easily replicated. So, when someone purchases an NFT, they are receiving a digitally authenticated receipt proving that they are the only owner of the asset. Furthermore, unlike traditional works of art, NFTs cannot be destroyed since they are recorded on a blockchain identical to cryptocurrencies.

Despite the fact that they have been present for nearly a decade, NFTs are gaining attention rapidly as a popular means to buy and sell digital artwork. Initially, NFTs existed as digital artworks in a variety of forms, such as video clips of memorable sporting events or digital artworks reproductions of high value that were maintained under strict protection.

However, NFTs gained popularity in 2021 and made news when the auction house Christie’s produced a record-breaking NFT sale of 69.3 million dollars for Mike Winkelmann’s digital art “Everydays: The First 5000 Days.”

So how Does an NFT work?

NFTs are a component of the Ethereum blockchain, which houses the vast majority of the world’s NFTs. Ethereum, like bitcoin and Dogecoin, is a cryptocurrency, but NFTs include extra information that allows them to operate differently than cryptocurrencies.

NFTs are supported not just by the Ethereum blockchain, but also by other block chains, such as Tron’s NFT TRC-721, which was launched on December 20, 2020.

Because the majority of the people in the world is unfamiliar with the realm of NFTs, here are some examples of NFTs that exist at the moment.

• Graphic Art
• Videos
• Digital Collectibles
• Game skins
• Music
• Designer sneakers

NFTs are essentially digital collector’s items, like actual collector’s items. So rather than receiving a genuine painting or a unique piece of sculpture, the buyer receives a digital file that only belongs to the owner.

In essence, if an individual possesses an NFT, the person can easily verify that they are the owner using your private key, which is the evidence of ownership that the NFT owner obtains from the NFT creator, which is the certificate of authenticity. The NFTs are built in such a way that future resale provides a possibility for the developer to receive a royalty share.

On the other side, if you are an NFT creator, you get to define the scarcity of the digital objects and have the ability to sell in any NFT market or peer – to – peer, rather than being confined to any platforms or middlemen.

What is the purpose and where is it used?

Increases the earning capacity of Creators

The most common use of NFTs nowadays is in the field of digital content. This is due to the fact that the industry is now in a state of disarray. Platforms are sapping content producers’ income and earning potential.

When a creator shares their work on social media, the platform earns money by selling adverts to the artist’s followers. They earn exposure in exchange, but exposure alone does not cover the artist’s expenditures.

However, NFTs pave the way for a new creator economy in which creators retain control of their work rather than handing it over to the platforms that promote it. Ownership is ingrained in the content and the creator has the advantage.

When a creator manages to sell their work, the money goes straight to them and If the NFT is sold by the new owner, the original creator may indeed be entitled to royalties. Since the creator’s identity is part of the token’s metadata, which cannot be changed, this is ensured every time an NFT is sold.

Potential to improving the game experience

Game makers have shown a lot of interest in NFTs. NFTs may be used to keep track of who owns what in-game items, drive in-game economies, and deliver a variety of other incentives to players.  

Like In many regular games, you may purchase in-game items that can be used in your game. However, If the item was an NFT, you can recover your investment by auctioning it once the game is over and if the creator is lucky and that item is more appealing at that time, the creator can even make a profit.

As producers of the NFT, game makers can receive a royalty every time an item is bought and sold on the market. As a result, a more mutually advantageous business model emerges, in which both players and developers profit from the subsequent NFT market. 

This also implies that even if the creators stop supporting a game, the items you’ve gathered continue to stay as yours. As a result, in-game artefacts become digital collectibles with a significance beyond the game.

Making Domain names more notable 

The Ethereum Name Service employs NFTs to provide Ethereum addresses the flexibility to names like thisismywallet.eth that are easier to remember. This implies that instead of a more technical domain like 0.X098781, you might ask someone to pay you ETH via the customised address

This functions in the same way as a domain name on a website does, in that it makes an IP address more relevant to the company. ENS names, like domain names, have a particular value based on their length. Unlike domains, ENS does not require a domain registry to permit ownership transfer. Instead, you may use an NFT marketplace to sell your ENS ids.

NFTs in the world of Advertising and Branding

Nothing has sparked as much interest in the marketing of brands as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the past year. Some companies are utilising NFT collectables or special editions to generate new income streams, increase brand loyalty, and raise funds for a great charity, while others have used them to promote their brand, tell a narrative, or reach more customers

While they gained interest in 2021, they are expected become mainstream instrument in the marketing industry in 2022. Brands like Asics, Clinique, Taco Bell, Coca- Cola regardless of their industry have started using NFTs in novel ways to advertise new product launches, increase social media following, support a campaign, or demonstrate support for a charity or cause.

Coca-Cola produced four NFTs, animated, one-of-a-kind digital artworks that give multi-sensory experiences and unlock surprise goods for the first owner upon purchase. The surprises included a ‘Coca-Cola Bubble Jacket Wearable’ that can be worn in virtual reality platform Decentraland, which was designed to build anticipation and provide entertainment value.

How to buy NFTs

Getting your first NFT can be summarised into these simple 4 steps.

Step 1: Purchase Ethereum from a regulated broker or exchange, such as Binance, eToro

Step 2: Create a Metamask wallet and deposit your ETH into it.

Step 3: Link to an NFT marketplace like  Crypto.com

Step 4: Using the ETH in your metamask wallet buy your first NFT

Setting up a cryptocurrency wallet is the first step in purchasing an NFT. There are many of alternatives to select from, but an Ethereum compliant wallet is the best place to start.

The following are some of the websites that sell NFTs like Rarible, Foundation, OpenSea.io

There are two approaches of selling NFTs. You can do it by owning an NFT. An NFT can also be minted by the person selling it. NFTs may be created on sites like OpenSea, SolSea, and others. After minting the NFT, it may be listed for sale on any of the sites.

The future

Even as NFTs rise in popularity, there is always the chance that the bubble may burst, just as there is with any other asset class. NFTs may be the hottest thing in town right now, but they still have a long way to go before being generally accepted and become mainstream, just like any new technology. Despite the staggering amounts of money injected into the economy, NFT remains to be a niche commodity that may prove to be a passing interest.

However there is still more that is yet to be explored in the realm of NFTs with major developments coming through. If you are looking for more information on NFTs or seeking to invest the below mentioned podcast could be a good start

Sources:

Codedesign. 2021. How brands are using NFTs?. [online] Available at: <https://codedesign.org/how-brands-are-using-nfts> [Accessed 12 April 2022].

ethereum.org. 2022. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) | ethereum.org. [online] Available at: <https://ethereum.org/en/nft/#ethereum-and-nfts> [Accessed 12 April 2022].

Kane, I., 2022. TRON introduces NFT standard TRC-721. [online] Dappradar.com. Available at: <https://dappradar.com/blog/tron-introduces-nft-standard-trc-721> [Accessed 12 April 2022].

Sardana, S., 2021. NFTs: what are they and why are they so popular?. [online] Moneyweek.com. Available at: <https://moneyweek.com/investments/alternative-finance/bitcoin/602928/what-are-nfts-non-fungible-token> [Accessed 12 April 2022].

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Sponsor a Gambian Girl is a non-profit organisation dedicated to educating and empowering girls and women in The Gambia. SaGG aims to target its efforts on connecting Gambian schoolgirls with potential sponsors in the United Kingdom and throughout the world. Sponsors are mostly engaged through the SaGG Foundation’s website and social media. As a result, a social media listening exercise was conducted for the SaGG foundation to determine the marketing efforts that the foundation has employed for its social media accounts between January 1 and March 24 of 2022. 

Primary Summary

To begin the existing social media accounts of SaGG Foundation was investigated using SEMrush to identify the total audience, total posts, and engagement across all social channels. The main social channels of the foundation are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The total audience for SaGG Foundation in all social media accounts to 5421 followers. In relation to activities, there has been an increase in the number of posts (86 posts) in all social channels in this period compared to the previous. However, engagement on these posts is decreasing, except for Twitter, which is increasing. All social media platforms associated with SaGG are linked to their website. 

Audience Demographics

The majority of SaGG foundation’s social media following is made up of women within the age bracket of 25-44 years rather than men. Though the gender divide in Instagram following is stark, with 72% of females and only 27% of males. This is not the situation with Facebook, where the difference is insignificant.

Most Engaging Posts

Above is the most popular content published across all social media channels during this period. This was an appreciation post with a positive sentiment on the foundation and its accomplishment. 

The above are the top performing social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When compared to other platforms, it can be argued that Instagram has a higher number of engagements. However, vast majority of posts are either unengaged or get only a reaction or likes, indicating that audience’s habit of engaging through comments is modest to non-existent.

The activities on SaGG Foundation’s social media accounts were found to be positive or neutral sentiment towards the topic that were published. Most of the content published aligns with foundation’s vision to support Gambian girls, the value of female education and the success stories of the girls that has been sponsored. 

Hashtag Analysis

30 significant hashtags for SaGG Foundation were discovered from numerous posts across all social media platforms, with #educategirls, #education, and #supportgirlseducation being the most popular.

Competitors

In respect to this report, charities in The Gambia that are working for similar causes must be considered to identify and compare social media activity.

Competitor Analysis

In terms of engagement SaGG Foundation’s audience, activity, and engagement are lower than its peers’, suggesting that it must improve its social media presence with engaging content like stories and reels.

Content and Posting trends of Sagg Foundation and its Peers

In terms of frequency of posts, SaGG Foundation is observed to be more active on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. SaGG Foundation’s most popular post type is photo, followed by video. Carousel, on the other hand, has been used on Instagram.

SaGG foundation’s engagement rate per post is very low across all platforms, even though the number of posts on one of the platforms is higher, it yields very low engagement rate when compared to other organisations, which is a concern that must be addressed.

The top contents for other organisations included support for children’s education and how they transforms lives, as well as gratitude to the charity community for their efforts. The Ukrainian issue was also one of the most popular topics.

Even though other organisations have committed to the Ukraine crisis, SaGG and Camfed has yet to do so on any of its social channels

In terms of general aesthetic, all SaGG social media channels have the same pink colour tone, which appeals to a female audience. However other organisations have gone with a neutral outlook.

Girls Education & Charity Industry Social trend

Girls education is one of the most popular hashtags on SaGG’s social media platforms, this report investigated into the global social trend for girls education. The interest in this keyword peaked between the second and third weeks of February, according to the analysis Afghanistan and African countries were the most popular by region. According to BuzzSumo’s content analyzer, the sentiment towards this keyword is positive, with the top emotion being Love.

Since SaGG Foundation is a non-profit organisation, the report also investigated the social trend for charity. The interest in charity has always been strong, but it spiked in the latter week of February this can be because of the Ukrainian crisis, it was also discovered that the ideal day to post about charity is on Friday as the level of engagement is higher.

Social Media Goals & Recommendations

Knowing how SaGG Foundation compares to its peers in terms of brand awareness, post volume & engagement, channels where customers communicate, and sentiments allows to explore and find out the reasons behind other organisation’s success, so to alter strategy and catch up. One of the SaGG Foundation’s goals in this scenario should be to get closer to Child fund International and SOS-Children’s-Village, is to acquire large audience, improve engagement rate and develop gender-neutral content that caters to all audience.

Below are recommendations for SaGG Foundation in view with the analysis

• The present image on the Facebook cover page needs to be replaced with more relevant image
• Use Facebook Live to promote fundraising events, which encourages donors to donate more.
• Create content to build a community for volunteers to join the SaGG Foundation
• Creating a TikTok channel is an efficient strategy for SaGG Foundation to capture the attention of potential audience via Reels and increase engagement.
• Develop attention-grabbing content that increases engagement among male audience
• Request followers to post content with the SaGG Foundation tag to their social media networks.
• Create and share content for stories about SaGG Foundation’s accomplishments, as stories get more views than routine posts.
• Increase engagement and visibility by tagging other organisations and individuals in SaGG Foundation Instagram stories and posts.
• Advertise SaGG Foundation Twitter account to other social media channels
• Engaging with other Twitter accounts enhance the likelihood of the post being retweeted to their followers.

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