Who Is Afolabi Ojabowale?

A Rising Star in Content Creation, SEO, and Content Marketing

I had a feeling that you would Google me, so let me make it easy for you. My name is Afolabi Ojabowale, a name that might not yet be a household one, but I bring a wealth of experience and expertise in content creation, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO).

With over eight years of professional experience, I have explored various roles, honing my skills and leaving my mark in the digital landscape. Currently, I am the Content Marketing Lead at Heroshe, overseeing all content projects within the company. Now, let’s delve into my journey and expertise in more detail.

My Career

Let us start from the beginning (of my career, at least). I started my career as a content creator at Careers 24. Careers24 is a specialist online recruitment and career development platform owned by Naspers. They provide staff evaluation, recruitment and management for companies. I worked in every aspect of content creation, and some of my tasks included publishing on the blog, creating and sending weekly newsletters, posting job entries, and managing social media accounts. Here, I learned how to prioritize tasks and two other things.

Then, I moved to Opera News, where I spent 3 years in three roles that enriched my skill set. Opera News is a global news platform owned by Opera Limited. It is a personalized news app that lets users follow trending topics, view the latest entertainment videos and keep current with local and global news. My role here evolved from being a newswriter to a copy editor and then a content editor.

Starting as a newswriter, I churned out 10–15 SEO-optimized news articles daily across Politics, Business, and Sports. And my articles had over 5 million clicks and an average CTR of 9.32%. Launching the Opera News Hub platform led to my promotion to an editorial position. As a copy editor, I recruited, managed, and collaborated with freelancers to populate the platform with high-quality news and editorial content. I was then promoted to content editor. In this role, I managed the news articles displayed to First Users based on their preferences during sign-up. I was also responsible for sourcing and selecting the top ten news articles returning users. My core responsibility was to increase the daily average of users (dau) on the app. The retention of both old and new users and one major way we achieved this was to always provide a mix of trending news, funny memes/videos, and editorials.

It was also around that time I fell in love with content marketing. Around that time, Opera News expanded its services and started providing advertising services to companies. As the “star writer” of the team, I was usually in strategy sessions. I loved how “silly ideas” thrown around during those sessions became successful campaigns. I only paid a little part of this since I did only create P.R. content, and I wanted more. So, I started taking courses to improve my skills and become better at persuasive writing.

My time at Opera News was pivotal in shaping me into who I am today. It helped in refining my copywriting, data analysis and strategizing skills. I emerged from this experience with a versatile skill set characterized by analytical thinking, attention to detail, and a knack for clear communication.

How I Got To Heroshe

I first heard about Heroshe in late 2020 when I wanted to buy a pair of MMA gloves from Amazon. The prices on Nigerian e-commerce sites were ridiculous, and I was sceptical about their quality anyway. I asked a couple of friends how I could ship from the USA to Nigeria, and Heroshe was one of the names that popped up. I carried out a check on the options and chose them because their process seemed smoother. I was not wrong. I paid about N15,000 less than the Nigerian value, and it arrived in Nigeria in about 14 days.

One afternoon in 2021, I received a LinkedIn message from a mutual connection, Akintoye. He was recruiting for a content marketing specialist position at Heroshe and wanted to know if I was interested. At that point in my career, I knew I wanted a lot more than I was doing, so I said yes! He sent an application link, and I knew then that I wanted to work for this company. The Typeform had thoughtful questions and remains the most memorable job application of my career.

The interview process was smooth and seemed more like a conversation than an inquest. I got an offer three days later. Coincidentally, I got an offer from a major newspaper company that day. For some context, my late dad worked there for over a decade, and when I was younger, I wanted to join them and surpass his achievements. However, the thought that I could predict what a particular group of people are looking for answers for and create content that will be helpful to them and make them carry out the intended call to action was more appealing.

I weighed my options, and there was no doubt when I chose Heroshe. Not only had I fallen in love with content marketing, but I had a gut feeling that I would enjoy working with them, and I was right.

Working At Heroshe

Heroshe is a service company that uses technology to solve the problem of access to quality products for Nigerians. Heroshe’s mission is to make shopping from anywhere in the world seamless. At the moment, we currently ship from the U.S. and U.K. to Nigeria and Ghana. When I joined Heroshe, the first difference was that I was handed tasks and clear instructions in my former role. But now I was in charge of everything related to content on the Heroshe-verse. Everything from the website copy, transactional email copy, and blog posts. They were all my babies. One of the first things I did was develop a content strategy based on analytics and user research. From the user research, we discovered people didn’t understand what Heroshe did, so we had to overhaul the entire website copy using the best SEO and marketing practices.

We also started creating content targeting high-volume keywords with low search difficulty. When I joined, the entire website traffic was around 15,000, and organic traffic contributed about 3%. In September, we had 89.6k visitors, and organic traffic accounted for about 28%. I am happy to say that even though I joined as a content marketing specialist, I currently lead the content marketing team.

As a Content Marketing Lead, my role encompasses a range of responsibilities to ensure the success of Heroshe’s content marketing efforts. This includes developing and executing a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with our business objectives and resonates with our target audience. I oversee a team of content writers, guiding them in producing high-quality content across various mediums. I also optimize our content for search engines, using SEO best practices and keyword research to improve visibility and attract organic traffic. I also regularly monitor content performance through analytics, informing data-driven decisions and allowing us to fine-tune our strategy. Promoting and distributing our content through multiple channels, engaging with our audience, managing the content marketing budget, and maintaining a well-organized editorial calendar are all integral to my day-to-day responsibilities.

In the last two years, I learned a lot about the place of content marketing in growing a company. I have carried out many experiments and used the resulting data to make decisions that resulted in measurable business outcomes.

My Favorite Project

I have worked on many projects since joining Heroshe, including launching features like Heroshe Proof of Purchase, Split Pay Heroshe Post, and Heroshe Pro. But my favorite project was the UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) project. The project pushed me outside my comfort zone. It forced me to grow as a content marketer, data analyst, and project manager.

We started the UTM project to address a need for better tracking and analysis of our marketing efforts. We wanted to gain more insight into how various marketing campaigns, channels, and strategies performed.

If you were as clueless as I was initially, let me quickly walk you through how it works. UTM parameters are a way to add specific tags to URLs, allowing for detailed tracking and analysis of website traffic. But, to use them effectively, you must have the right tools. So, we set up Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, and Google Ads Pixel.

Here’s what we did step by step:

• We started fresh with a new Google Analytics account to ensure we had up-to-date information and removed any old issues.
• We improved our ad performance by replacing old, unreliable Google ad conversion events with new ones.
• We added Microsoft Clarity to our website to capture heatmaps and user session recordings, which gives us more insight into how users interact with our site.
• We eliminated any inactive or unnecessary tags in Google Analytics to keep things neat.
• We also added accurate event tracking on our website and web app for specific actions. This helps us better understand how users engage with our site.
• We also resolved a previous issue where our tracking pixels weren’t working correctly. All Facebook and Google Pixels are active on all the relevant pages, ensuring we capture valuable data accurately.

Thanks to these changes, we can now track how users move from their first visit to our website through our web app.

I played an extensive role in the campaign. I was responsible for explaining the project’s significance and benefits to internal teams and external stakeholders. Before the campaign, I didn’t like analytics tools or was just fine with knowing the surface. But thanks to the campaign, I took courses to deepen my knowledge and gained hands-on knowledge of using these tools. I had to analyze the data generated by UTM parameters, which included tracking the performance of various marketing campaigns, channels, and traffic sources. I was also the de facto project manager. I played a major role in coordinating different aspects of the UTM project. This included defining project goals, creating timelines, assigning tasks, and ensuring the project progressed according to plan.

The UTM project was a significant growth opportunity, pushing me beyond my comfort zone.

What Will I Bring To Your Team?

As a content marketer, I bring a wealth of experience and a diverse skill set that I have developed over my eight-year career in the digital landscape. Here’s what I can bring to your team:

Content Creation Expertise: I have a strong background in content creation, having worked in various roles across different platforms. I can bring my creativity and writing skills to develop engaging and effective content for your brand. I am a versatile writer. I sometimes like to think about it in football terms. The best footballers are those who are not just good at one thing. If you can only pass the ball, it means you will drag the team down in matches when you need to cross the ball to your teammates. It is the exact same way I think about writing. I have extensive experience writing in different formats like blog articles, listicles, P.R. articles, social media posts, and case studies.

And I know what writing style best fits each format. My writing style is concise and informative for news articles, while my long-form content is engaging and educational. I have developed a unique voice and style for writing listicles. I understand the importance of being creative and engaging in social media posts. Lastly, I excel in persuasive writing for P.R. articles, which allows me to create messaging that resonates with target audiences and drives desired outcomes. Overall, my range of experience makes me confident in my ability to create compelling content that meets the specific needs of any project or campaign.

SEO Knowledge: I have a proven track record of creating SEO-optimized content and improving organic traffic. I can use my SEO expertise to enhance your website’s visibility, ensuring your content ranks well in search engine results. Hey, you found this article, didn’t you?

Journalism Experience: With a robust background in journalism, I bring a wealth of experience to the realm of content marketing. As the lead editor at MMA Planet, a prominent mixed martial arts blog, I’ve honed my storytelling skills, strategic content planning, and audience engagement, making me adept at crafting compelling narratives that resonate with diverse audiences in the dynamic world of content marketing.

Data Analysis and Data-Driven Decision-Making: My involvement in the UTM project allowed me to develop strong data analysis skills. I can leverage these data-driven skills to help transform business ideas into reality. By harnessing the power of data, I can provide valuable insights and recommendations to drive the successful implementation of business plans and turn innovative concepts into tangible outcomes.

Project Management Experience: Managing the UTM project and other projects afterwards required me to coordinate various aspects, define goals, create timelines, and ensure project progress. I can apply my project management skills to manage content marketing projects and campaigns effectively.

Adaptability and Growth Mindset: I enjoy pushing the limits of my comfort zone because this lets me adapt to new challenges. I have a growth mindset and am open to learning and expanding my skills to meet your team’s evolving needs. I take at least one course every quarter and spend that quarter executing one major lesson learnt from it.

Clear communication: I have a knack for clear and effective communication, which is crucial for content marketing. I can ensure that your content accurately conveys your brand’s message and resonates with your target audience.

Team Leadership: As the current Content Marketing Lead at Heroshe, I have experience leading a content marketing team. I can provide guidance and direction to your team, fostering collaboration and productivity.

In conclusion, Afolabi Ojabowale may not be a household name yet, but in the world of content marketing and SEO, I stand as a force to be reckoned with. Afolabi Ojabowale is more than just a name; it represents a professional who consistently goes the extra mile to achieve set targets. With a passion for delivering top-notch content, a track record of significant website transformations, and a proven ability to drive conversions, I know I will continue growing until more people have reason to search for me and read this.

If you want to elevate your content marketing efforts, let us work together to drive your brand forward. We can work together to create a strong content plan to help your brand reach its goals. Contact me today on LinkedIn or send an email to folaojabowale@gmail.com. Let’s talk and get you those results.