The last week in February saw the launch of our French website, A Simple Word (Vérité Simple), in Togo and Benin. 

Our launch strategy involved investing in Facebook ads as a first contact. The ads offered a free book, “L’Historie de Dieu et Votre Historie” (God’s Story, Your Story), to all those who enter their contact information. (Facebook analytics listed over 1.5 million subscribers in Benin and Togo in 2018). Our goal was to gather the names of the people who responded. We would then forward those contacts to a team in Togo. As we stated previously, the individuals who lead that team are from the 6DI in Togo, a ministry of Converge IM.

Over the past two weeks, we received the preliminary figures (provided by Facebook) from the two sites we used for the ad. Here are those results. 

Over 180,000 persons in Togo or Benin viewed the advertisement. Over 11,000 people LIKED the ad. More than 100 people left comments, and 120 people SHARED the ad with their Facebook contacts. We are now involved in inviting those persons who LIKED the Facebook ad to LIKE the Vérité Simple page. That will increase the probability that they will receive notification of all of the new posts that appear on the page. Anyone who makes contact with us through the Vérité Simple website will be followed up by a person resident in that country. 

Clear and Simple Media currently has partner teams in Burkina Faso, Togo, and Benin to respond to website inquiries. Our prayer is to build these response teams in each country in Francophone West Africa.

A Simple Word is a website (in both French and English), which has as its goal; “To help people read the Bible and help them understand what they read.” 

Please pray that many will see the ads in Togo and Benin. Pray that those who see the ads will be curious. Pray that those who receive the book will read it. Pray that, as they read, the Holy Spirit will give them a desire to know the God of the Bible. And pray that God will use his word to change their hearts and lives for all eternity.

POSTSCRIPT

One thing that did surprise us was the way that people engaged with the ad. Many read the ad. Many shared the ad. Many did visit the website. But few (less than 50) downloaded the free book. Why? One of our preliminary conclusions has to do with the answer to this question. What constitutes a “free” gift in the internet universe (at least in West Africa)? 

If I require something from someone (even if it is only their contact information), the material is no longer seen as truly “free.” Because?Someone has to give me something that has value to me before I send the gift. So now we know…