All of the Nigeria Customs Service’s public relations representatives from across the Nation attended a three-day retreat where they received training on how to use digital communication tools to interact and communicate with the public effectively.
According to DC Timi Bomodi, National Public Relations Officer of the Service, the training which started on 29th day of June, 2022 and ended on 1st of July, 2022 was an effort to keep up with the quick-paced current digital environment.
The participating customs officers received instruction on the use of digital communication tools and effective storytelling from professional journalists and PR practitioners during a three-day training program with the theme “Upscaling PR Tools and Strategies for Optimum Performance” at the Customs Training School in Ikeja, Lagos.
The program was designed to give Service spokespersons enhanced knowledge of how to use social media for public communication, spot and handle modern-day emergencies, use digital tools, and craft gripping stories.
The purpose of this event is to better equip our public relations representatives to handle and address difficulties in the current digital era.
“This is deemed necessary due to the crucial functions that Nigeria Customs plays in securing the country’s borders and promoting its economic growth.
Experienced broadcast journalists, academics, and public relations professionals gave lectures and led practical workshops at the event.
The seminar on using social media for public communication and current concerns in media relations was led by Yushau Shuaib, editor of PR Nigeria.
The simulation workshops on using internal communication for reputation management and crisis management advice in the digital age were led by Ganiu Okunnu of the Department of Public Relations and Advertising at Lagos State University.
Techniques for crafting a compelling story for digital media were presented by Abayomi Adisa of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Africa).
The occasion is a component of a number of ongoing initiatives for the intellectual empowerment of Nigeria Customs Service officers.
Speaking on the theme of the program, Commandant Customs Training College (CTC), Ikeja Comptroller Kalamu Ayinde Aremu emphasized the importance of managing an organization’s online reputation and brand identity through the deliberate use of digital and social technologies in the modern era.
“Public communicators should build a passion for their work by being original and creative in their messaging, especially in this digital age,” he said, advising the Customs spokesman’s to use digital media for public communications.
The Editor-in-Chief of PR Nigeria, Yushau Shuaib, noted in his presentation on “Effective Public Communication in a Digital Age” that social media has expanded the channels utilized to communicate with new audiences and establish reputations.
With the immediacy of social media, he stated: “Deployments of hypertextuality through the use of hyperlinking and web-Linking to postings are some of the features of online PR efforts.
Similar to how combining music, video, and images into digital media platforms increases multimediality, it also improves interaction through comments and engagements.
Computers, smartphones, editing software, search engines, and sharing platforms are important engagement tools, he continued.
In their various presentations on crisis communication and story telling, other speakers like Ganiu Okunnu of Lagos State University (LASU) and Abayomi Adisa of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) pushed attendees to use contemporary methods of engagement in their line of work.
They believe that by doing this, they would be able to maintain relationships with their target market that will benefit both parties.