Women have been more and more shifting to and utilizing social media platforms when starting their business. They have been creating ventures that are digitally driven. Recent technological advancements have supported and the pandemic has contributed to that phenomenon. Women as social media entrepreneurs (SOME) are co-creators of the modern digital entrepreneurial culture. A culture shaped by a mindset of embracing job-creation and being technologically savvy, a culture which is especially true for the female society now and going forward.

Different ways to become part of this modern digital entrepreneurial culture as a woman SOME.

One way is starting as a successful influencer to engage into co-banding and, ultimately, create your own brands. Based on the latest Trackalytics data by Statista as of June 2020 on „Leading beauty brands ranked by number of Instagram followers“, we find Kylie Cosmetics leading the ranking with 24.2 million followers. The number has increased to over 25 million followers by May this year. Behind Kylie Cosmetics is the social media star Kylie Jenner, she is now only 23 years. She is definitely among the most successful woman social media entrepreneurs. The success of her brand Kylie Cosmetics is largely attributed to her and her social media clout (as a side note: she comes from a very wealthy background, which might have helped her on the way to success). She has 236 million followers as of May 2021. She started out as an influencer. At age 14, in 2012, she collaborated as brand ambassador with the clothing brand PacSun (Pacific Sunwear of California, retail clothing brand for youth oriented culture and lifestyle of CA). Together with her sister Kendall she created a line of clothing, which is branded Kendall & Kylie. In 2015, Jenner launched her own cosmetics line branded Kylie Lip Kits, which was rebranded to Kylie Cosmetics the year after. Furthermore, they branched out and released a mobile app Kendall and Kylie that quickly became number one on the iTunes App Store. In 2017 she engaged in co-branding with her half-sister Kim Kardshian creating the KKW by Kylie Cosmetics crème lipstick set. In May 2019 she extended her brand franchise by successfully launching her Skin Care brand Kylie skin. She continues co-branding for the Paris Fashion Week and so fort. In the same year, she sold a 52% majority stake of her beauty branded house to Coty for $600 million. A deal that catapults her branded business at a value of $1.2 billion, freeing her to focus on product development and social media. That is monetarization!

“One-stop-shops” for influencers

Along with influencers starting their own brands, a new industry is evolving. Companies, which are “one-stop-shops” for influencers enable them to build their own product and apparel brands taking care of different parts of the value-chain activities, such as design, production, warehouse, shipping, customer service. These influencer merch companies (Merch is short for merchandise of hoodies, t-shirts, etc.) like Teespring, Icon Printing, Merchlabs, to name a few, help to create and sell influencer merchandise. They focus mainly on, Nano-influencers with few followers of around 1000 and micro influencers of around 50000 followers to boost their popularity and thereby generating an additional income stream.

Monetizing platforms

In general, there are numerous ways for influencers to monetize their platform. To reduce their dependence on brand partnerships, they direct their followers to private social media pages where they share original content available exclusively via subscription-based formats.

One of them is Jasmine Star who is a great example of a woman SOME. She describes herself as “a photographer & business strategist who empowers entrepreneurs to build a brand, market it on social media, and create a life they love.” She is a law school drop out at UCLA, had a scholarship, but picked up a camera, pursued curiosity, and built a digital business of her dreams. This was a decade ago! Now she educates entrepreneurs on how to do the same; to build their brand on social media. She has a social curator content subscription platform, a podcast, and collaborates with others in her sphere who complement her digital services such as Amy Porterfield.

Amy Porterfield shifted from a corporate to a woman SOME in 2010 starting as an online marketing educator helping entrepreneurs build engaged email lists, digital courses and profitable webinars! Now she has a multimillion dollar business. Taking Amy Porterfield’s fast growing online business in education as example among many others there is a strong demand in that field.

 

Marie Forleo is another incredible example of a woman SOME who has established herself as a strong personal brand. She started her business from nothing. Now, she is a life coach, writer, and renowned speaker. Marie Forleo is the host of MarieTV, a show that presents her entrepreneurial and lifestyle journey. She has been named by Oprah as „Thought leader for the next generation“. She has more than 630k followers helping individuals and businesses grow, sharing best practice tips to success. A must read is her book Everything is Figureoutable, a number 1 New York bestseller.

 

Generally, thought-leaders are well-known “go-to”-influencers or spokespersons. They stand out with specialty experience, knowledge, and expertise and have a clear position on current issues. They have something to say, content that is thoughtful, meaningful and often bring about a change. One of them is the American poet and activist Amanda S. C. Gorman. She became famous over night with her powerful and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” she read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Her work focuses on issues that have a long history, issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

 

As businesses shift more and more online, scaling your brand digitally as a woman SOME is vital in order to achieve a sustainable level of growth in your competitive environment. To gain brand awareness creating unique authentic value for your audience is key. Constant and consistent engagement through meaningful conversations will win their loyalty. Leverage new and existing platforms that serve manifesting your profile as a personal brand! Platforms, where your audience is spending its time, where you can connect best with them, help monetize your brand! Consider that monetizing your brand is an iterative process supported by an underlying clear strategy to reach your goals. Goals that are smart, attainable, realistic, timely and can be measured (SMART goals!).

This blog on women SOMEs was inspired by a recent clubhouse panel discussion about the “Role of women in shaping the future of influencer marketing” I was invited to participate. Check out the recap composed by Shamik Talukder, Co-Founder & Chief executive at BeTagged Pte Ltd.

 

If you find this blog useful, share it with your community and make sure to subscribe to my newsletter to get regular updates directly into your inbox. As a big THANK YOU you receive my free Vision guide and meditation audio! Having a clear and meaningful vision is your first step towards becoming your own boss and building your authentic personal brand.

If you are a Brand Lover tune in to my BrandsTalk podcast and learn from brand stories told by my distinguished guests. Listen on

To know more about how I can help your brand shine, book a 30 min intro call or drop me an Email.