Discover how a chemical engineering graduate King Monye ventured into online community building and crafted a thriving movie-centric space on social media.
Hey there!
SimplVest is excited to introduce a new series featuring unconventional businesses that are thriving online. In this exclusive, we chatted with Monye Emmanuel, aka King Monye, a data analyst, project manager, and tech enthusiast.
This issue’s highlights:
- Discover how Monye leveraged his love for movies to build vibrant online communities and turn them into successful businesses.
- Gain insights into the art of community building, brand promotion, and value creation within digital spaces.
Monye Emmanuel, aka King Monye, is a data whiz passionate about movies. He has carved a unique niche by building thriving movie communities on social media, especially Telegram. But it’s not just about fandoms; he’s turned this into a successful business, encompassing brand promotion and channel sales. Let’s dive into his unconventional yet fascinating journey.
Career Shift & Inspiration:
Q: You studied chemical engineering – quite a technical field. What sparked the shift towards building online communities around movies?
King Monye: I’ve always loved community building right from my early days, even before I got admission into the university right out of secondary school. I’d always wanted to create something community-related because of the many possibilities they tend to pose. You have many ideas, talents, and resources, and it’s a pool of opportunities. One of the first communities I built was a physical one– Blessed Kings— centred on drama and dance, and we would perform at events and shows.
I eventually had to leave because maintaining the community at that time was proving difficult due to constraints with my location. It was one of the most challenging decisions I had to take, leaving behind a community I put so much into. So, when the opportunity to create another community, this time online, came around, I jumped at it. It meant I could still build a community and not have to abandon it yet again. And that’s how King Monye’s Movie Community was created.
Q: What inspired you to create movie communities on Telegram specifically? Did you see a gap in how movie fans connect online?
King Monye: What led to creating a budding movie community was simply seeing a gap between how movie fans, casual and avid, connected online, and I thought it could be better handled. I started by publishing movie recommendations on Twitter (now X) — talking about movies I’d seen in the past, the latest, the most anticipated, and everything in between (even the hidden gems nobody knew about). It was just a hobby until I noticed I had attracted a large following, now at 90k+ on Twitter alone.
However, I found tracking activity and adequately engaging with followers on Twitter difficult, so I moved the conversation to Telegram. It had all the features I needed for community engagement, and in no time, I had created a big brand.
Building & Managing the Communities:
Q: Creating a vibrant community takes effort. Can you share some strategies for keeping members engaged and fostering a sense of belonging?
King Monye: It’s pretty easy if you know what people want—you can quickly provide it to them. It’s like when people want to watch old movies such as 12 Monkeys, the Godfather trilogy, or Scarface and ask where they can be found.
Because I know where to look, I can make recommendations and solve problems. Or give recommendations on titles people would like. Essentially, you’re providing value or a solution to a pressing need, which is one of the most essential things in the first place. But that’s not all. You also need to remember that what makes a community thrive is how active it is. How do you ensure that? Engagement.
That’s the key. Engage your members accordingly; they’ll keep returning because they trust you and feel heard/ seen. Imagine a scenario where someone comments on a post and is completely ignored. If this happens regularly, they will stop interacting with you and leave, or they may even bad-mouth your brand.
Q: Managing a sizeable online community can be challenging. What roadblocks do you encounter, and how do you ensure a positive and respectful environment for your members?
King Monye: I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. One of the most challenging things to do is lead/ manage many people and their needs. Say you have 20k people making requests you must attend to— which is essentially impossible. Still, some subs get upset and abusive at not being responded to. The answer is to set up community guidelines to help manage such outbursts so you or whoever is helping you manage knows what to do.
I’ve also found that because I’ve set a precedent for attending to issues, my community members help to desolate any drama—because they know I don’t joke with their requests, they can confidently vouch for me.
Q: Can you describe the different ways you generate income from your movie communities (e.g., Brand promotion, channel sales)?
King Monye: Interestingly, income generation wasn’t my priority when I started. But, I found that having a large and organic social media following means brands and PR agencies will seek you out to micro-influence or increase their reach, so I went thoroughly into brand promotion. To that effect, I’ve worked with brands like Coca-Cola and Malta Guinness, to mention a few.
Another promotion arm that generates income is music promotion, a supplement to an artist’s or record label’s publicity efforts. I’d give the track a listen, do a review and push it out to my audience, or more subtly, add it to my content so folks get used to it whenever they interact with my page. And sometimes, I help foreign brands looking to break into the Nigerian market establish a presence, which is pretty cool. Many of them come to me based on my viral content, so that’s a sign I’m doing something right.
Of course, I also grow and sell social media channels, particularly Telegram. On the side, I also consult for individuals or businesses looking to grow businesses. Doing it all isn’t easy, but it all involves knowing what people want and how to provide it.
Business Side of Fan Communities:
Q: The Value Proposition: What value do you offer brands to promote themselves within your movie communities?
King Monye: When brands approach me, my central selling point is that all my followers/ community followers are entirely organic. Organic platforms always yield better results. It’s “people” who make things happen, and I have that—unlike other brands that may be full of bot subscribers. I also provide value as a complete package: the organic audience, better content production (I create content finetuned to segments of the market that convert)—everything is genuine.
Q: Building & Selling Channels: Selling established Telegram channels sounds fascinating. Can you explain the process and factors determining a channel’s value?
King Monye: As mentioned earlier, the critical metric is the organic element. It determines the value. Building a community of 50k organic members brings more value than an 80k channel with bot subscribers. That’s how you show you’re serious.
Anyone who knows what they’re doing can easily spot an organic channel over one that’s bot-filled. A simple trick, for example, is the naturalness of the channel’s activities. A fully organic channel will always have people leaving and joining. Bot channels, however, always maintain their subs, no matter what happens. That’s not natural.
Future & Insights:
Q: How do you see the future of online movie communities, especially considering the rise of new platforms? Are there any exciting trends you’re keeping an eye on?
King Monye: I believe they will always exist. Many platforms will come and go, but the art of movies will always be there. It’s a potentially viable product because people will always want to watch movies. What is at stake of not existing for long are the individual brands, but the easy answer to that is being consistent and developing a formula for your channel/ brand/. I have one for mine, which I unfortunately can’t share for obvious reasons– it’s a trade secret.
Q: For anyone inspired by your journey, what advice would you give to someone who wants to build their online community?
King Monye: Well, I’ve had many folks come to ask how to build communities. When I give breakdowns, the process is so tasking that many lose interest. The ones who stick around and go ahead have one thing: passion. You only need a little passion, and the rest will follow. I say this because for something to grow despite any challenges, it needs to be run by people who care about it beyond the drive for money/ income. Imagine trying to keep a movie channel running when you don’t even care about the art of movies, old or new. You need to care about the subject matter.
In a nutshell, the winning formula is Time, Passion and Dedication.
