First runner-up in this category, Delcio Jorge da Silva Baptista is an Angolan urban rap style artist known as “Delcio Dollar”. He is known for his energetic stage performances and creative music.
Delcio leverages his popularity and 400 000 followers across various social media platforms as a digital influencer programme for brands and products. Recipient of three gold badges from world-wide agencies for his digital influencer programme, Delcio attributes his success to his organic audience, creativity in promoting brands, unique exposure of ideas, and his reach.
Delcio has always been attracted to fashion, design, online marketing and collaborations. He started off as a musician collaborating with other artists and brands. This allowed him to grow an interactive fan base which was eager for fresh content. He used his growing fan base to spread the word about different brands and retail.
While being a digital influencer developed organically at first for Delcio, he has since learnt about professionalising the career. He has learnt from marketing experts and other brand influencers that being an influencer is more than leveraging one’s following.
It is instead about maximising content and delivering it in a way that will sway the consumer into desired action. It is also about interacting with one’s fan base and delivering relevant and engaging content.
On a quest to become a diamond marketer, Delcio believes that it is through compromise that he will be able to achieve his dreams and have a greater impact on society. He contends that the strength of unity is found in compromise.
Delcio is motivated by the evolution of the marketplace. Consumers control how and where brand engagement occurs. Digital revolution has amplified and accelerated its reach to the point where word-of-mouth is no longer an act of intimate one-on-one communication.
Today it operates on a one-to-many basis. It is this unpredictable consumer behaviour that keeps Delcio motivated. It is the prospect of solutions to future problems that keeps him going.
To Delcio, young people are best placed to influence the Africa we dream of. He challenges that should young people stop caring only about themselves but recognise the potential of their actions and think about future generations, their impact would be immense.
While young people are making significant strides in fighting for causes they believe in, Delcio feels that they are yet to understand the power and influence of social media, and are not harnessing the potential and power of social media to reach more people and have a wider impact.
Delcio believes that it is critical for Africa’s growth and personal development that one finds a cause that is greater than oneself and fights for it. He plans to use his following to promote conscious consumerism and the growth of local markets by buying local products.