Few months ago, Coca-Cola reached out to Bookings Africa’s team to help source for talents for their upcoming ad shoot. We looked through our vast professional service providers and were able to deliver the number of talents required within a short period.
But the big question is- what did the service providers do differently to be selected among the many others available on the platform.
To increase your potential for attracting clients and successfully securing lucrative group bookings, we have compiled valuable tips to help you achieve these objectives.
Optimize Your Profile:
Your profile serves as your digital business card on Bookings Africa, so it’s crucial to make a strong first impression. Optimize your profile by providing a clear and concise overview of your services, highlighting your expertise, and showcasing your unique selling points. Use high-quality visuals, such as professional photos or videos, to visually represent your work and capture the attention of potential clients.
Showcase Relevant Skills and Experience:
Group bookings often require specialized skills, experience and it is often demanded for huge projects. To attract clients seeking group bookings, ensure that you prominently showcase your relevant skills and expertise. Highlight any past projects, qualifications, or notable achievements that demonstrate your ability to handle group events or projects effectively. This will instill confidence in potential clients and increase the likelihood of securing group bookings.
Provide Detailed Service Descriptions:
When it comes to group bookings, clients want to know exactly what they can expect from your services. Provide detailed descriptions of the services you offer, including the scope of work. Using the transparent pricing and availability feature available on Bookings Africa platform, you can position yourself rightly to be group booked. This level of detail will help potential clients make informed decisions and increase their trust in your services.
Engage and Communicate Effectively:
Communication plays a vital role in securing group bookings. If you have a track record of promptly responding to inquiries and messages from potential clients, demonstrating your professionalism and attentiveness, securing group bookings won’t be hard. Clear and concise communication will build trust and confidence, increasing the likelihood of securing group bookings.
So make that move today. Create a compelling profile, hone your communication skills, and adopt a client-centric approach. By doing so, you can position yourself as the go-to talent for group bookings on Bookings Africa.
In September 2022, Google announced Bookings Africa alongside other startups as beneficiaries of the Black Founders Fund Africa. While this might be popular, we thought it would be great if you also understood what we do and why you need to partner with us today.
Bookings Africa is Africa’s largest online gig marketplace, connecting brands and clients with top talent to meet their business and industrial needs. We use cutting-edge technologies that allow clients to Search, Compare, and Book service providers without having to haggle. Our app makes it simple for service providers to be booked. Interestingly, we have amazing features that are unique to our platform which aid in simple and quick bookings. Visit our website to learn more about our services.
Some of the reasons you should partner with us include
Track record of consistent successes
In our Estee Lauder blog post, we revealed to our readers how our partnership with this top beauty and skincare manufacturer resulted in a significant increase. Our results at Bookings Africa are evident to the blind as we were able to scale our partners’ brands.
We contributed to the success of the blockbuster film “Blood Sisters” in 2021 by giving the cast a tight deadline. Without a doubt, we provide the solutions our clients require to have faith in us and focus on other business activities.
Easy Bookings of top talents in various fields
Our digital solutions also include matching professional talent with the appropriate clients. The testimonials on our website amplify this point and demonstrate that we are exceptional at what we do. Currently, the platform has over 46,000 service providers with in-demand skills that clients are looking for. Signing up as a freelancer or client is simple, and you can start immediately.
Provision of quality influencers for your brand
At Bookings Africa, we have a one-of-a-kind influencer marketing strategy. We have provided influencers for Betway, Mac cosmetics, Essenza, Coca-Cola, and many other brands. Before deciding to use an influencer for any campaign brief, we ensure that the influencer is tailored to the brand’s objectives. You can read the feedback of these listed brands to get a sense of the quality we always provide.
Bookings Africa is the future of digital work. Now is the time if you haven’t booked talents, partnered with us, or trusted us with your brand’s marketing through influencing. You can contact us via chat or direct message on any social media platform.
We are ready to provide you with the best solutions for all of your business needs.
Are you looking to reach local markets in Nigeria and do not know where to start? You just hit the jackpot, as the answers you need are right here. The first thing to know about expanding beyond your conventional market sphere is that influencer marketing is one of the best allies to have. It doesn’t matter if it is a consumer or service business; you will have the upper hand when your customers can trust you through influencers that speak their needs.
The big question is “How do you penetrate the market using influencer marketing?” Read on to find out the strategies you can implement to access the Nigerian market.
Find local talent
The first approach in finding talent in Nigeria is to source for local influencers. In searching for local talent, you must remember that the same approach in your country might not work in Nigeria, so you need to move strategically. There are different kinds of influencers; micro, nano, and macro. When you know what type of market you are targeting, it will be easier to select the influencer that fits the market.
Risk assessment
When expanding a new market in Nigeria or any other novel market, it is crucial to weigh the risk to minimise it well. If the influencer you choose doesn’t fit your brand but knows everything about the market, that can pose a challenge to getting value for the money spent. This is a major problem for businesses in a new environment as they have a limited understanding of the targeted market. Another risk is going into the market without brand awareness. This strategy will not be a wrong move if you have something planned with your influencer marketing agency or in-house team. But if not, it is a major risk.
Minimise the risk
While you can’t eliminate all the risks, it is possible to minimise them. How do you minimise the risk?
Start with a strategy – Make sure the strategy is in line with the goals of your company and the expected result you want to gain once started.
Get a good number of influencers – Many times, what you need the most is not just one or two influencers but having different capable hands onboard. This doesn’t mean you will start with plenty of influencers, but the right amount is the best way to avoid wasting money.
Research African influencers before hiring – You need to get familiar with the influencers before you start a conversion, which can be done when you do your research correctly.
After minimising the risks in the best way possible, you should contact an influencer marketing agency to support expansion. Whether you have an in-house partner or an external partner, any of them will work well for your expansion as they have the right knowledge you need. Bookings Africa is a significant influencer marketing agency in Nigeria that provides the services of different kinds of influencers. Infact, if you need other talents, we have them readily available for easy bookings.
With our help, you can book influencers matching your brand identity and reach submarkets in Nigeria. We have access to premium Nigerian influencers registered on the Bookings Africa platform that you can collaborate with as you expand your business. The team at Bookings Africa will also help manage influencers and develop strategies to target the right audience.
With the best influencers in your team, you can speak to your consumer and be confident they will trust your brand. So, to access a new market in Nigeria, take a cue from these four points and be guaranteed the right exposure your brand needs to scale.
Currently, we have 46,374 thousand freelancers signed up on the Bookings Africa platform and earning daily. This is such a huge deal for us as a company and for Africa as a whole.
Africa is rich and vast with so many talented people who have much to offer the world, and we love how Africa is taking shape already. Bookings Africa is on a mission to ensure that by 2040, African freelancers will be the most sought-after Freelancers.
This is a defining time for Africa and there’s no better time to join the train than today. Become a part of the finest gig workers on the planet by joining Bookings Africa today.
With every service provider that is signed up, we have twice the number of clients willing and ready the book them. This just goes to speak of the open playing ground and the boundless opportunities that Bookings Africa has to offer to both clients and service providers.
Few things in life have RELIEF written all over them like taking your wig off or taking off your shoes after a long day of work. Using Bookings Africa has that very same effect. I mean can you beat having to get organized, get booked, and get paid all in one place?
And that’s not all, there’s more.
The features of the Booking Africa platform are tailored to the freelancer’s everyday, work-life needs. It helps freelancers with their promptness and professionalism towards their clients and it also ensures that the freelancers have a well-rounded online profile. The Bookings Africa App is even more fitting as it is very on-the-go in terms of ease.
Frankly speaking, everyone should sign up as a freelancer on Bookings Africa.
Need more convincing, check out these benefits:
Professional Profile: Optimum professionalism is guaranteed when using BA (Bookings Africa). The registration process for both clients and service providers is very easy to navigate. You can upload your portfolio, pictures, and videos thereby increasing your versatility and credibility. Here’s an article where we share how to upload your portfolio.
Guaranteed Payment: Our wallet tab shows you where to find payment transactions. The Escrow wallet shows you where your money is stored before a booking is completed and then the available wallet shows payment after a booking is completed. With this, you are assured of your payment and you can track your finances. The whole process of transfer is also automated so yeah, big win for us the non-techies.
Upload work portfolio: No need for any external links. All information about you and your freelance gigs is all in one place. You can upload your portfolio right there on the app.
Social media Promotion: After properly uploading your profile, you are provided with a unique link that you can share on all social media platforms. This link can help you get more bookings. And if you want to go the extra mile, you can run sponsored Ads on your services and convert your special link to a landing page for all leads. Cool right?
Access to a Client Demand: We want our freelancers to be as professional as possible and so we went ahead to create an app for you. Via the Bookings Africa App, you get notified as soon as a client books you. You also get access to all your scheduled appointments. The features of this app set a freelancer up for success.
Note: If a booking is not confirmed within an hour, Bookings Africa automatically declines on behalf of the service provider/freelancer. So we encourage you to download the app on Android or iOS.
Ability to Set price rates and availability: You can set competitive prices and your available time on the Bookings Africa site or app. You can choose to earn a fixed price or charge per hour, you can also decide to work on Sundays if it is your cup of tea. The site embraces any availability you set, allowing you time for personal things. The best part has to be that the setting is haggle-free. No frustrating back and forth. Whew!
Penalty charged to clients for late cancelations: We protect the interest of all users. As such, if any client cancels a booking less than 48 hours before the time of completion, we charge a penalty fee. The client is obliged to pay 50% of the agreed Service Provider’s rate. Service providers need to not worry about the intricacies because we resolve the challenges. However, if you experience any challenges, contact us.
Track sales, growth, and credit history: Joseph Assah, a Bookings Africa service provider, spoke about the tracking benefits of using the app. You should be able to track if you are advancing in your freelancer career in terms of sales, ratings, reviews, and income.
The Bookings Africa app gives you access to all these analytics without you paying a dime. The Gig Industry is growing so rapidly, join the train today!
Bookings Africa is one of Africa’s largest gig markets with over 15,000 registered service providers. Freelancers from many walks of life call it home. You can hire makeup artists, chefs, photographers, actors, event planners, accountants, and other professionals through the platform.
Since the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been compelled to adjust to new techniques of hiring and outsourcing. The innovation of technology has also helped facilitate this quick transition.
Irrespective of whether you own a business or work as an employee, we all have goals. These goals stem from childhood dreams and our ever-evolving ambitions. Outsourcing or hiring a freelancer is one of the many ways you can achieve your goals faster.
Reasons Why Businesses Outsource to Freelancers
Businesses and organizations discovered that their employees don’t need to be seated behind a desk, dressed in business attire, and work a standard 9-5 schedule. With the stay-at-home policies that came with C0VID-19, most employees were under obligation to work remotely to meet and exceed deadlines.
As a result, businesses turned to expert freelancers to get their new goals achieved.
Apart from running their firms, business owners have other goals and priorities, and hiring full-time employees can be time-consuming and difficult at times. Having full-on staff will usually necessitate the presence of freelancers on-site, to supervise and, on occasion, take on additional tasks that should normally be handled by their employees. Business owners will have less time to devote to other areas of their lives as a result of this.
Some business owners and even employees require time to learn a skill or engage in recreational activities with friends and family. Others want to enroll in a professional training program, or simply travel. The central objective is that people want to free up time. More and more people are looking for ways to do less but earn more.
Rather than allowing their workload to suffocate them and prevent them from pursuing these goals, they hire freelancers to relieve the pressure and provide them with the time they require.
Four Ways to Achieve Your Goals
By hiring a freelancer, you can develop a flexible schedule and make more income or profit either at your job or business.
The following are four compelling reasons to hire a freelancer.
1. Cost-cutting: Employees who work full-time require a lot of upkeep. Business owners must also pay salaries in addition to paying costs for electricity, water, and office space.
Not only that, but business owners are also responsible for expenses such as training, end-of-year incentives, and health insurance. Freelancers on the other hand help to reduce these costs. They do not require a space in the office. They also aren’t included in company and employee benefits.
When you engage freelancers, the terms are laid out in advance. There is no expectation of long-term work, so if your numbers decline, you can abruptly stop sourcing tasks to freelancers.
You won’t have to worry about computer log-ins, health-care issues, or potential legal issues. Hiring a freelancer is simple, and you may change the contract before making a final decision to ensure that your business is set up for success at every stage of the process.
When it comes to employing freelancers, pricing is also a significant plus. The majority of freelancers charge industry-standard rates for their services.
This means that outsourcing tasks to a freelancer will boost your profits and free up funds for other uses in your small business budget.
Individuals who also want to cut costs can Search, Compare and Book on the Bookings Africa platform to see the best fit for their budget.
2. Scheduling flexibility: Freelancers are known for their availability on-demand. Many freelancers in their various skills provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These experts are used to working in a variety of environments and have a track record of meeting deadlines. Because most freelancers don’t get paid by the hour, they’re also eager to complete projects. You can expect your work to be completed on time even if you engage a freelancer on a retainer or package agreement because the freelancer isn’t paid until the job is delivered to you.
It’s a win-win situation for both you and the freelancer you hire.
They also want to establish a positive working connection with business owners like you so that they may anticipate more work in the future. This suggests they aren’t scared to go above and beyond to fulfill a tight deadline while still delivering high-quality results.
Once you’ve established a great working relationship with a highly competent freelancer, they’ll be able to provide you with the flexibility you need so that you and your full-time workers can focus on other time-sensitive projects.
3. Specialized expertise: You might not realize it, but the majority of freelancers are just as talented and capable as full-time employees. Some freelancers are specialists in their profession because they work to develop their skills regularly.
This is because, to get new freelance jobs, freelancers must keep up with industry trends, and businesses can easily tap into the expertise of these talented freelancers.
As a business owner, if you need help with a project, such as a web design, copywriting, or creating templates for an e-mail campaign, you know that there are times when no one is available to pick up the slack. So, it all falls on you.
Finding a freelancer who has spent years honing that skill, offers more insights into how to make that project a success and also takes the pressure off you.
A freelancer’s experience determines how much value they can add to your business. Without investing in internal resources or adding a permanent job to their payroll, the company can profit from the freelancer’s experience.
Freelancers are flexible with their time and so can meet targets, they are resilient and often have good time management.
4. New perspectives: Freelancers are hired primarily for their creative abilities. They can see beyond the situation and generate new ideas that can benefit businesses. They appear to be always relaxed working from home because they are not in a work environment that could put pressure on their performance. As a result, they can brainstorm and find business loopholes.
Taking breaks and setting their work hours are two things that help freelancers create a clean environment in which to generate fresh ideas.
These are just a handful of the reasons why freelancers rather than full-time staff should be hired.
More than 15,000 freelance service providers are available on the Bookings Africa platform. Bookings Africa can help you find whatever type of freelancer for your business and personal needs.
Trusting a freelancer who you have never met to deliver on a task you paid for is quite daunting but it doesn’t have to be rocket science. In four easy moves, you should be able to identify the right gig worker fit for you.
Attributes of a Quality Freelancer
In the gig industry, one of the most troubling questions customers ask is, “How do I know which freelancer to hire amongst many options?”. With hundreds of individuals joining the gig market every day, it’s only expected that customers ask these questions.
Every quality freelancer or gig worker should have the following:
A good headshot: This seems inconsequential but it isn’t. If they take their appearance seriously, it is an indication that they also take their work seriously. A good headshot provides a brief insight into the personality of the freelancer.
A clear, crisp image, revealing their facial features, immediately communicates to the potential customer that the freelancer is authentic. A good headshot is a freelancer’s first take at making a good impression on the mind of the customer.
A unique bio: What you say about yourself speaks volumes to a person who’s just meeting you. As a client, you should read your potential hire’s bio and immediately feel the urge to do business with him.
A unique bio is concise yet carries all the relevant information. It highlights the unique value proposition of the freelancer and then shows the personality of the gig worker. When deciding on a quality freelancer to hire, look out for ingenuity.
Organized Portfolio: If there’s no collection of work attributed to the gig-worker, you should keep searching. Irrespective of if the gig worker is new to the marketplace, there should be something that shows us what kind of work they’ve done or are into.
An organized portfolio should showcase the style of work, the process of work, and the final result. For example, a makeup artist’s portfolio should show the before and after of a completed job; a graphic designer can upload a video reel showing the process of design from initiation to completion.
Good work should be showcased creatively, and compactly.
Reviews and Ratings: Based on the caliber of work a freelancer does, they should get ratings or reviews. Reviews give an insight into the quality of service a client received while ratings give an overview of how hire-able a freelancer is.
In the case where a freelancer is new to the gig market, the first three qualities should be able to cover up for a lack of ratings/reviews.
Why Bookings Africa?
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, how people view work has drastically changed. Most individuals have opted for an easier, simpler life; and freelancing is the go-to solution for most persons. Any work that stresses you out should be outsourced. If you feel overwhelmed by it, you should hire a freelancer to get the job done for you.
The gig-industry has made it possible for customers to choose who they work with and pay at rates they can afford. There are also several gig platforms out there but if you are African rooting for Africans, Bookings Africa is your best bet.
With Bookings Africa, you have the option to Search, Compare and Book. On our platform, you can search up to 500 different categories of service providers ranging from Make-up artists to Writers to Accountants for your small business. Our platform also gives you the option of comparing prices and services and it guarantees a seamless booking process.
As a client, you are only expected to pay after your service has been rendered. We also guarantee our clients a complete refund if they feel dissatisfied with the kind of service they received.
How to Hire the Right Freelancer
As we stated earlier, choosing the best fit for you doesn’t have to be rocket science. Hire a quality freelancer in these four simple steps:
Pay attention: We made a comprehensive list of qualities to look out for above. To avoid dissatisfaction with the service received, pay attention to that list. If freelancers on the platform will not put in the effort to fill out their profiles, they probably aren’t excellent at their work.
It has therefore become imperative that any customer seeking to hire a freelancer on the Bookings Africa platform must be detailed in their choice of hire.
Compare: We also encourage freelancers on our platform to set comparative prices. We never advocate that people should charge less than what they are worth, however, we do encourage them to set prices that portray them as bookable.
While searching for your best fit, try to compare the prices, quality, and caliber of the freelancers in that category. Depending on the service you are looking for, we’d implore you to go for the best service provider your budget allows for.
Verify: Because we understand the complexities of the internet, the Bookings Africa Platform ensures that all service providers registered on our platform are verified. However, we still encourage you to do deep research on the potential hires.
You can certainly take our word for it but if you would like to further verify, that’s equally great. Check out their profiles on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. to verify their legitimacy. In case you feel concerned about a certain service provider, you can reach out to the Bookings Africa team via email- [email protected] and we’d be happy to help.
On our end, we run background checks as it is very expedient to us but we encourage you to also verify to your satisfaction.
Book: After verification, proceed to book your quality freelancer. Enjoy your service and don’t forget to leave a review.
