Digital Marketing Instructor | Podcaster | Content Creator
My name is Simon Maingi Waweru also known as Simon Says. I am a digital marketing instructor and podcaster who has an energetic soul who is full of active creativity. My journey began in Central Kenya where I was born then my family relocated to Birmingham Alabama where I grew up. Growing up I was always an active child playing sports like Basketball and American Football. These sports were key towards me finding the ability to be disciplined and to always be consistent in what you do.
Through my late teenage years we moved back to Kenya where I got a culture shock and learned quickly that people who come from different upbringings have a different outlook on life and behavior than I would. This helped me learn to understand how to fit in various rooms that I walk in; and as I walked into my tertiary education, I sharpened my communication skills while I studied Communications.
Through my youthful energy, which I still have, I jumped into radio competitions like “the capital one” competition. This competition in 2015 opened my eyes towards being a fluent communicator. I ended up reaching the finals of that competition and jumped straight into another one called “The Presenter Show” on Kenya Television Network (KTN).
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
The hurdles I encountered when going through these competitions, like the fear of being judged publicly, since these competitions were televised or publicly promoted. This gave me the perspective that you will be judged when you release content to the public, but you will also be able to evoke emotion and action to people through the content that you release out there.
This then led me to create my own YouTube channel where I was constantly covering the current events within Kenya. My YouTube channel led to me eventually getting my own Television show in the year 2017-2018 called “according to simon”. With the help of a personal friend of mine, we developed a course to train people how to create content for the digital sphere and thus began my journey to becoming a Digital Marketing Instructor in Zalego Institute in Westlands, Nairobi. Through the scaling up of my skills, I specialized to train small business owners or entrepreneurs who would like to know what content to create for their business and I went further to even create some content for my clients.
Advice to an upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally?
It’s through this journey of content creation and training people to create content that I have learned many things about myself and also learning how to actively listen to others so that you can speak with more insight with people. This helps build a better connection with people. Connecting with people through the content that you make is critical for them to trust you and most importantly it makes your content more impactful. So, make content that is impactful through your own voice.
Social Media Handles:
Twitter: Twitter @simonsaysmaigi