YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE MATTERS

by Nzingha Florence

With COVID-19 ruining everybody’s 2020, small businesses are being hit especially hard. From the entire country quarantined to every media outlet encouraging social distancing, small businesses are being shut down and the streets are empty. It is now more than ever that these businesses need to up their game when it comes to their social media presence. Your page being prominent on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be helpful when trying to increase business sales. It is important for blackowned businesses specifically to stay engaged with their followers and promote themselves as much as they can.

Spelman College students DeAndria Madden and Arianna Valbrun are both the owners and creators of their own businesses. DeAndria started her own skincare line providing her customers with quality and inexpensive products. “I have been selling since the end of February and my sales are about $400- $600 a month before buying supplies & containers,” says Madden.

However, when COVID-19 hit, there had to be a shift in the way that entrepreneurs sell their products. “Quarantine has had a positive and negative effect on my business. Some of the negatives include a decrease in sales. Majority of the revenue I received was because I was on campus and it was easier for someone to place an order and pick it up the same day. Now, my customers have to pay for shipping,” Madden explains. “Additionally, there have been many delays with receiving supplies and containers, which has caused a delay in pushing out orders. On the bright side, since I’m home, I have more time on my hands. This has allowed for me to test and release new products, create more interactive content, and brainstorm new ideas.”

Madden’s skincare page on Instagram, @sunny.deskincare, features an aesthetically pleasing color scheme that focuses on the color yellow and a sunflower theme. “Social media has given me a platform that allows me to reach people from nearly everywhere around the U.S. As of recently, I have shipped orders to half of the United States! These platforms have given my business exposure and revenue that I don’t think I’d have gotten otherwise if I wasn’t as active on social media. It’s also given me the opportunity to expose my business to my followers and advocate for my brand and my purpose; switching over to all-natural skin care products and “ditching” harsh and unknown chemicals.”

Valbrun’s crotchet business, Knotty by Ari, and its online presence is also a testament to how social media branding can positively affect your business. Valbrun started her business in 2019 but has been crocheting for a total of seven years. Although she started out only making custom crochet pieces for close friends and family to make money, social media catapulted her business to even greater heights. “I guess my experience is unique because social media actually jolted me into starting a business rather than me starting the business first and using social media as a secondary tool. One day I was bored and had made a bunch of new pieces that came out really well. I was proud of myself and my work so I decided to upload pictures on Twitter. When I woke up in the morning the tweet had gone semi-viral and I had over 70 DMs of people with serious inquiries about purchasing clothes from me,” says Valbrun. That summer, the crotchet artist made almost $2,000 in sales and has continued to go viral on Twitter with her work.

Not only is social media a place to acquire more customers, but it’s a great tool to see what appeals to people and what does not. “I think an online presence is so important for small online businesses because it’s one of the only ways that we can receive mass visibility in a short amount of time. If I have a new design coming out, I can literally take a selfie, put it on Twitter, and get a bunch of orders right then and there. Social media is also amazing for feedback,” says Valbrun. “I get to connect with other black crochet artists (many of whom I’ve grown up following and watching their tutorials early on). We inspire each other and share business opportunities. Also, a lot of my followers will tag me in posts for people who are looking for crochet artists. A magazine once contacted me about pulling some of my pieces for shoots all because my followers tagged me under their posts. I have an Instagram account specifically for my crochet but in general I prefer to promote my work on my personal Instagram and Twitter pages.” Valbrun’s Instagram crochet page is @knottybyari and her personal page is @ariannavalbrun. Her Twitter page is @ aribigshoes.

A tip for keeping track of how much exposure you’re getting is making your Instagram page a business page. This allows you to see how many people sent your posts, how many people viewed them, and how many people saved them. Twitter analytics are also helpful when you click the View Tweet activity tab underneath one of your posts. There are so many ways to see your growth and where you can improve in certain areas of your social media branding through these platforms. In this day and age, word spreads more rapidly through technology than word of mouth. In order to have an outreach that expands beyond in-person contact, a social media page or presence that promotes your brand is necessary.