CHENNAI: Social media has made the world a smaller place. This has made life a lot simpler for those with small businesses. It provides a large window of opportunity to widen their client base and engage in meaningful, one-on-one interactions with their audience. Meet four young women who have used social media to promote their vision.
“The only reason my brand is known today is because of social media,” says Shreni Kashyeb (22), founder, Organic Mill, that makes organic skin care products. “I used to make face packs and soaps for family and friends and later decided to make it a business. Intially I got orders only via social media. Today I have effectively managed to scale up my operations,” she shares.
For pan-India deliveries, social media is a god-send as it is a cost effective and powerful medium for promotion. Kashyeb, says nearly 80% of her enquiries and orders come from New Delhi and Chandigarh. To tap the potential of this growing market she hired a team to concentrate solely on promotions and marketing on social media.
Facebook and Instagram are the most sought after platforms that businesses and individuals are looking to monetise. “Without social media, I doubt I could’ve gotten this far in just a year!” says Avantica Hemanth (23), founder, Limn, which makes stationery for ‘stationery junkies and font freaks’. “I have a Facebook and Instagram page. I’m not a fan of Facebook as you’ve to spend a lot of money to get any reach online so I only post on it for the sake of it. Instagram, on the other hand, is wonderful! Just use the right hashtags, take pretty pictures, analyse your insights properly and you’re sorted. Most of the customers who visit my website go through Instagram,” she smiles.
While it is clear that these two cannot be ignored, there is another platform that people believe is quite useful to gain traction — WhatsApp stories. Aditi Maithreya (24), creative director, The Phoenix Company, the umbrella organisation that sells everything from clothing to tableware, says,“The advantage with WhatsApp stories is that it provides access to a wider age bracket. Many of my friends’ parents who may not be active on other platforms would still get to see my products. I started receiving enquiries from people who had never seen my Facebook or Instagram pages and were keen on checking out my products.”
For creative people, these sites provide a vast platform to showcase their work and get instant feedback. “Working from home, the opportunities to meet people is a lot lesser,” says Alamelu Annhamalai (24), who has been working as a visual artist since 2015. “Social media has helped in getting my work across. Art, being very visual and not something everyone does, gathers more interest. I’ve been able to connect with people who I would not have if it wasn’t for social media. And it is not just the monetary aspect but the feedback from people all over the world that keeps me going.”