In TikTok’s early days of largely dance challenges and lip-syncing exchanges, Shola West, a Gen Z profession advocate, speaker and educator, noticed a spot.
“I made a decision I needed to return on the platform to share suggestions and tips from my profession working within the media business,” she says.
Now affectionately often known as the “Huge Sis to Younger Creatives” — with accolades together with Forbes 30 Underneath 30 — West is constructing a digital model round offering profession recommendation to rising professionals.
“I didn’t go into it pondering it will be a social media enterprise per se,” says West. “It was about including worth.”
Now, it’s her full-time enterprise.
The social media entrepreneur makes her cash from model partnerships, workshops, and different aligned collaborations.
Wish to be taught extra? You’re in luck. I chatted with a few of the finest in social media entrepreneurship and I’m diving into traits, suggestions, and extra beneath.
Desk of Contents
What’s social media entrepreneurship?
Social media entrepreneurship entails constructing a enterprise utilizing social media because the predominant technique of driving gross sales and advertising.
The idea goes hand-in-hand with a surging “creator economic system” — the time period used to explain influencers or content material creators who leverage their digital platforms to supply, distribute, and monetize their content material, usually producing income from model partnerships, paid ads, and affiliate hyperlinks.
Different types of social media entrepreneurs might need companies in sectors comparable to ecommerce, consulting, and past.
Why is social media entrepreneurship so standard?
It’s uncommon to come across a enterprise that’s not tapping into social media not directly. Within the U.S. alone, 77% of small businesses use social media for important features like gross sales, advertising, and customer support.
It’s no marvel, as these identical on-line platforms are the looking grounds for patrons: One in four consumers choose trying to find manufacturers on social media platforms over engines like google. And in terms of how customers worth particular person creators, 49% make daily, weekly, or monthly purchases based mostly on influencer posts.
I believe it’s secure to say social media is a profitable channel for entrepreneurs. It’s additionally a low-cost, high-reward enterprise instrument for individuals with inventive minds however tight budgets.
Prime Social Media Entrepreneurship Tendencies
1. Quick-form video is dominating.
Throughout the board, social media platforms are actually pushing and prioritizing video proper now. Quick-form video is the fastest-growing content category on LinkedIn, and the platform lately began testing a vertical video feed (much like the codecs on Instagram and TikTok).
“I’ve been seeing an explosion of video podcast interviews,” says Gigi Robinson, founding father of Hosts of Influence. “It’s allowed for alternatives the place you possibly can higher relate to a model, or a founding father of a model, which can make you a extra loyal buyer.
2. Individuals need to see behind-the-scenes.
On the same word, how-the-sausage-is-made content material is booming.
“Some manufacturers do that fairly effectively,” says Emma Sneddon, a contract social media supervisor, referencing examples like REFY and Free Soul.
Within the Free Soul put up beneath, the model celebrated Worldwide Girls’s Day with numerous occasions — and a video that showcased not solely what the model is about however the individuals behind it.
“Quite than purely saying, ‘Right here‘s our product, please purchase it,’ they’re displaying extra behind-the-scenes content material. They’re getting their workers concerned.”
3. There’s an increase in influencer advertising.
“We’re transferring in direction of extra authenticity over aesthetics,” Sneddon additionally shared with me. “Social media entrepreneurs are beginning to give attention to uncooked, relatable, extra personality-related content material.”
As manufacturers catch on, many are turning to micro-influencers (creators with 10,000 to 99,999 followers) slightly than celebrities to showcase their services and products via authentic content material.
Sixty-four percent of entrepreneurs have labored with micro-influencers within the final 12 months, and 47% say this group generated probably the most advertising success.
“Again within the day, individuals felt such as you needed to have one million followers to get partnerships, to land model offers, to get alternatives,” says West. “That’s not the case anymore. When you’ve got a powerful area of interest and a well-engaged group, even you probably have 5k followers, you are still capable of acquire entry.”
Ideas for Social Media Entrepreneurs
1. Don’t be afraid to carve out a distinct segment.
In a saturated business, presenting one thing recent by leaning into your distinctive expertise, experience, and pursuits is what’s going to set you aside. That’s what West did, and she or he tells me it’s working in her favor.
Equally, my publication, podcast, and group platform Stella is a community particularly connecting Black ladies in media. That’s by design — and it really works: Area of interest communities can foster greater user engagement and loyalty. Additionally they promote a stronger sense of belonging and relatability.
2. Be adaptable.
A part of mastering social media is experimenting throughout platforms.
“I believe platform diversification is vital,” says Robinson. Don’t be afraid so as to add and evolve — oftentimes, what’s ready are large rewards and new clients. Don’t be afraid to pivot, both.”
For instance, Substack launched the Creator Accelerator Fund, which incentivized creators emigrate their subscriber communities to its platform, providing a bunch of instruments and providers.
3. Be constant however intentional.
Develop a social media posting schedule that most accurately fits your corporation mannequin — and persist with it. However don’t get slowed down by the notion that you have to put up at a sure cadence simply since you’re seeing it from one other particular person or model.
“Consistency for everybody appears to be like completely different,” Sneddon tells me. “I at all times say high quality over amount. You need your posts to be value-driven and to truly add one thing to your viewers. You do not need to be posting each day simply to attempt to maintain constant.”
Whatever the frequency, social media upkeep can get tedious. Schedulers like Vista Social and Buffer are useful alternate options to guide posting, and I do know quite a lot of firms and creators who’ve had nice outcomes with them.
Additionally, most social media platforms have built-in scheduling instruments you possibly can faucet into.
And in the event you’re ever feeling burned out creatively, West has a tip: She says that AI, when used responsibly, is usually a nice useful resource to assist generate new content material concepts.
For instance, HubSpot has an AI-powered blog idea generator tool that may enable you brainstorm concepts once you’re caught or hone an concept into one thing you possibly can work with.
4. Gather your individual knowledge.
If there’s something we realized from TikTok’s temporary U.S. ban, it’s that we are able to’t assume platforms — and the info that comes with it — will exist eternally.
Create your individual e mail advertising system to make sure you’re accumulating emails and different pertinent data out of your on-line group.
5. Construct a group.
Profitable social media entrepreneurs, says Robinson, know the distinction between an viewers and a group. The most important differentiator lies in engagement.
“Your viewers is the individuals which might be usually supporting you, however your communities are the people who purchase into you. When you’ll be able to achieve success with social media, you‘re capable of convert, and also you’re capable of generate income as a result of individuals need entry to you.”
In different phrases, group is central to conversions.
Sneddon agrees. She says you have to be always “participating along with your viewers, asking them questions, and replying to feedback.”
She provides, “It will construct your group and have individuals coming again to your web page as a result of they know you are going to work together.”
Don’t be afraid to self-promote.
If I may share one most important takeaway from these conversations — and my very own experiences — it will be that it’s a must to drive your corporation ahead your self. This is the reason among the best methods for sustaining a profession as a social media entrepreneur is self-promotion.
“Closed mouths don’t get fed,” says Robinson. She’s locked in 15 gigs for the reason that begin of 2025 by sharing her previous work loudly throughout her social media channels. Work, in any case, results in new work.
