Social Media for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Written by Ruby Cline
If you want to get to people, you’ve got to get onto their screens.
This is the philosophy of the contemporary age, and it’s completely accurate. The average global screen time for those aged 16 to 64 around the world is over 6.5 hours (Independent, 2023), with mobile devices accounting for the majority of this. Charities and social movements have been quick to catch on to the value of social media to gain publicity and mobilise individuals for a cause. From spreading awareness of social issues on Instagram to sharing locations and timings for climate protests, social media is a valued tool for in-person causes.
But businesses haven’t yet recognised that social media can be more than just a tool to top-up in-person causes. Real, fundamental change can be made through social entrepreneurship online – without ever leaving the screen.
In April 2020, I was enraged by the lack of information being made accessible to students about their own lives. I was enraged by the danger we were in from a virus we knew nothing about. I was enraged by the fact that we didn't know whether we would be able to take our exams at the end of the year. If the government and traditional news organisations weren't going to tell us what was going on, I was. I began making TikTok videos outlining and analysing current events and the latest COVID updates, and campaigning for greater importance to be placed in the UK education system on spotting and combatting misinformation online.
Four years later, I have a well-established social brand where I continue to campaign for the same causes. I have worked with brands including Currys and Adobe UK, and have worked with national newspapers and Cambridge colleges on their social media strategies. This work has all been done online. My social entrepreneurship is fundamentally digital.
Online social entrepreneurship is a recent possibility, and because of this it has escaped the imaginations of many keen entrepreneurs. You can make meaningful change entirely online using free platforms, receiving detailed analytics as well as commenters’ feedback, and you can do it all from your bedroom.
What does this mean for social entrepreneurship?
The barriers for entry to social entrepreneurship have never been lower. For the first time you can direct, share, and organise your own entrepreneurial visions without spending a penny on platforming yourself. This means that you need an idea, an account, and a system of engaging viewers – and nothing else. So what’s stopping you from getting started?
The time commitment of online entrepreneurship is rapidly decreasing. In the name of authenticity many viewers actively seek a rough-around-the-edges approach to the content they consume. This means you can be listened to without editing skills or access to a studio. The rise of short-form content allows you to break up what you want to share into snappy, meaningful chunks. This presents a challenge but it also means that entrepreneurs are not burdened by the need to know “everything” – like the viewer, you are able to create as you go along and teach as you learn. I often produce videos on an essay I wrote the same day, explaining to the viewer the very same logic I had constructed or learned that morning.
However, this also means that social entrepreneurs have greater responsibility than ever to make sure they are publishing accurate and meaningful content. Misinformation is rife online and that’s because it sells to shock people. Don’t fall into this trap. Views do not necessarily translate to trusted or mobile followers, and a longstanding community will be far more valuable to the change you want to make than a single “viral” video. The digital world offers an aspiring social entrepreneur more power than ever before, but this power comes with responsibility.
Make the change you want to see in the world – and I recommend starting that change online.
Ruby Cline
Ruby Cline (@ConversationsWithRuby) is an educational creator who has shared news and politics content with over 30k followers on TikTok for four years. She studies Human, Social, and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge as a member of Murray Edwards College and has been a member of the E-Lab since 2023. An aspiring journalist, Ruby has written for newspapers including Varsity Publications, The Telegraph, and Tab Cambridge.