Introduction
In recent years, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for online communities to enhance awareness and mobilize campaigns on various issues. Women are increasingly participating in various social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc and giving a boost to women entrepreneurship in social media.
Popular women’s networks have led to changes in laws and norms. The recent emergence and explosion of social media have transformed and influenced the business environment so that women entrepreneurship in social media is encouraged.
In fact, women never had the easiest way to be entrepreneurs and gain economic independence. This raises the question of whether the social media can enlarge the business opportunity for women and Provides a conducive environment for the revelation of entrepreneurial activities and the promotion of women entrepreneurship in social media.
Fortunately, some innovations, such as the Internet becoming increasingly commonplace in society, lead to women being able to effectively use social media to conduct business.
Women Entrepreneurship in Social Media: What You Need to Know
Social media has changed the landscape of how information is shared globally and the relationship between citizens and governments. For the first time, everyone is sharing their content and ideas with a global audience by means of transmitting the information. Social media has been of immense help in reaching online audiences in several ways:
- Targeting a Larger Audience: Some media platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin, and Facebook have enabled activists worldwide to broadcast events live to a broad online audience.
- Awareness and Empowerment of Women: Social media has proven to be a powerful mechanism for drawing attention to women’s issues and providing effective and efficient support to them. This increase in opportunities has strengthened awareness and women’s access to important public goods and services such as health care. The advent of social media has empowered women to take charge of their own lives.
- Power to Reform Business-Making Processes: Social media has helped to create a new kind of entrepreneurship called “social media entrepreneurship,” meaning that “Individuals or small firms that use their own or others’ resources to create value by extracting opportunities via offering a service or product consisting of innovation in product/service characteristics, processes, distribution channels or places, or different innovative usage, to media market, or any other market which media is its main channel of interaction.”
- Requires Minimal Investment and Resources: Social commerce proposes a new way of doing business that does not require much infrastructure, investment, or risk. Thus, it strives to support lesser privileged groups, specifically women entrepreneurs who are considerably less present. The reason is due to financial problems, lack of family support, lack of social support network, and family responsibilities which are the challenges that restrict the full utilization of women’s potential and their ability to develop their business.
- Encourage More Women to Start Businesses: Women entrepreneurship in social media influences the process of the entrepreneurial business ranging from exploring ideas to starting a business. It helps identify and validate the entrepreneurial opportunities and raises women-created small businesses in developing countries. Subsequently, entrepreneurs use social platforms to support business growth through social capital.
One of the most attractive features of women entrepreneurship in social media is “low entry barriers.” In other words, entrepreneurs do not need extensive resources because the features of social media platforms cover the lack of skills, resources, technical knowledge, marketing costs, and communication with customers and partners needed to start a business.
Definitely, the advantages of women entrepreneurship in social media are less risky than other types of entrepreneurship. Social media ultimately empowers women who can now run their own businesses from home.
In other words, starting a business through social media is actually an easier way to do business. With the rise of new ventures, the creative use of social media to promote everything from fashion, beauty, and jewelry brands to home bakers has increased.
In 2019, 163 million women became entrepreneurs and commenced businesses. It indicates that digital tools and technologies provide the greatest level playing field for businesses. With e-commerce evolving into a permanent trend, women started becoming more passionate about their e-commerce businesses.
Therefore, raising awareness of the opportunities and benefits created by social media is essential. Technological innovations also can particularly support women entrepreneurs and provide a suitable ground for their improvement.
How is Social Media Used as a Customer Base?
Social media is considered a key tool for women entrepreneurs for several reasons.
Affordability: Creating an audience on social media is very affordable. On some platforms, women can attract new clients without paying for expensive advertising campaigns.
Personal Branding Tool: Women stay connected with their audience by posting photos and details related to their products on social media.
They know how to build customer trust and loyalty using social networking platforms, often eliminating the need for expensive marketing campaigns. Brands like Thinx and Glossier have achieved much of their success with marketing campaigns that focus on real women and the issues they face.
Businesswomen know that social media can reach many purposes simultaneously, such as marketing, branding, and even customer service.
There are some ways women can use popular platforms to build their customer base, including:
- Customer Service: Social media allows one to quickly respond to customer questions, criticism and feedback. An efficient customer service channel has the power to turn a bad situation into a good one.
- Advertising: There are some platforms that offer inexpensive advertising options that can be very effective, especially for new users, to enhance their business.
- Branding: Women can use social media to create a voice and aesthetic for their brand through photos, videos, and posts.
- Networking: There is a possibility to use social media to find support and guidance from other women.
As a matter of fact, women using social media marketing in their business know that they need to be consistent with posting and interacting. Most businesses will eventually need to invest in a social media management tool. There are many social media marketing and schedule management tools available these days. They offer features like content scheduling, analytics, and monitoring.
An appropriate tool for a business depends on the platforms women use, their customers’ expectations, and their specific needs. The most famous social media management tools are SocialPilot, Viraltag, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, and MeetEdgar.
Although these tools often have a monthly fee, they are highly cheaper than hiring someone to post and monitor an account regularly. If women are willing to use social media to grow their business, they need to look at the features of different tools and choose the one that best suits their needs.
In spite of all the tools and tactics of social media, it is imperative that women support each other for mutual growth and success.
This is one of the most powerful aspects of social media. These platforms allow women entrepreneurs to connect with their customers, but the sites can also connect them with other like-minded women whom they can learn from.
Creating strong networks is one of the most important keys to women’s professional success, as a network can provide valuable advice, word of mouth, and new opportunities.
Conclusion
In fact, the social media revolution gives women incredible options to succeed in women entrepreneurship in social media with platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
There are a lot of great online tools available for women who want to grow their business and build an empire, but before they can be a leader, they have to think like a leader. Social media is a great way to promote businesses and grow networking. It helps women grow their personal brand, be more confident about their professional successes, and become entrepreneurs in their businesses. If a woman takes advantage of social media properly, she can generate much more outcomes than ever imagined when she first started her business.
For a long time, women had to fight against the glass ceiling to succeed in business. However, things have changed, and now, it’s time to celebrate and acknowledge women entrepreneurs’ dreams.