SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE

I've been trying to gain authority in the social media space, and I've also been privileged to work with corporate brands who have gained a level of authority on social media. Gaining influence whether as a person or a brand is a lot of work, something so many do not understand. It's also a process that requires strategy, setbacks and consistency. But overall, the goal is to become influential on social media in order to achieve a purpose greater than money. Working with brands that have succeeded in gaining authority, I realized that money is secondary, their ambition is often long term, sometimes selfish, for others it could be selfless, but it is always greater than money.

PICTURE CREDIT IS MINE

So yes I would love to gain influence on social media, especially in the area of business. Statistics show that a lot of business startups don't last more than 5 years before closure, this is something I have experienced myself, and it's something I would love to rise above and gain influence in. I'm still a work in progress though with a lot of setbacks and failures from trying to get it right, but I'm sure I will get it right as long as I don't give up. But then again, building such a brand comes with a lot of learning and dedication, something I feel is the reason I am yet to make good progress.

When I get to the point of success in this niche, I would be reaching out to small businesses whose owners are ready to grow into big brands and then forming up a connection with these businesses that will enable them to thrive in the long run. I think businesses would be more productive if they are more collaborative. For example a person who sells beans and a person who sells bread are likely to have a good number of similar customers, if they collaborate more, they will thrive better than they would alone. Even though it seems like the bread seller would sell more, the beans seller can also collaborate with another business that sells roasted plantain 😂 otherwise known as Boli (well known among Nigerians.).

Another form of collaboration which would be vital can be a collabo between a bread seller and a bread producer, or a bread producer and a flour producer. Now you see how the collaborative process goes deep into the market, forming some sort of chain between businesses. The flour producer sells to the bread producer at a very subsidized rate, so the bread producer sells to the bread seller at a lower price and the bread seller collaborating with the beans seller makes both sellers sell more, and cheaper too. Chances are that some customers of the flour producer would like to buy beans and may just find the bread attractive too going for the combo, and foodies might go for bread Boli and beans😂.

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What a very interesting chain this would look, but it's a simple example of how businesses would keep thriving and not stand alone which often leaves them at the mercy of the government and economy. This would be like forming an entirely new economy through a collaborative process. This is something Amazon tries, shopify and these big brands try to achieve, but are probably too big to reach the grassroot level. If I am to achieve this, my focus would be new businesses coming into the market, needing some form of guidance that would help them thrive. As simple as this sounds, it is very complex to achieve, but I believe with the right effort, I should be able to achieve it within the next five years.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO THE HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 86 EPISODE 2