So you’re curious about how to start and grow a woman owned business, and you’re not sure where to begin. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let us show you a glimpse of the power of social media marketing.
First, let’s start with the stats.
There are at least 4.76 billion (yes, billion) social media users around the world, a number that continues to grow by the month. Therefore it only makes sense that business-savvy brand leaders would use social media as a platform for effective and far-reaching marketing.
The Social Ktchn team has had the pleasure of working with many such brand leaders, including four women in particular, each one of them a masterclass in how to start a woman owned business and keep it growing. Read on to see how they’ve found ways to enrich their established enterprises by using social media advertising and other marketing strategies.
Mariah Gannessa, Founder of Four Visions Market
Founded in 2018, Four Visions Market has become the marketplace leader in bringing unique
ceremonial tools and traditional art from Indigenous Amazonian communities to the modern world. Four Visions strives to build opportunity, share culture, and connect the Western Mind with Amazonian botanical medicine & spiritual tools.
A stunning 50% of the proceeds of each purchase goes directly to the partnering tribes, artisans, and healers who create these products. So when the pandemic struck in 2020, Mariah and her colleagues knew they had to act.
“During the pandemic, our indigenous partners reached out to us in panic; most of their income streams had been completely shut off due to the borders being closed and international travel no longer being an option. It was then that we decided to really ramp up our marketing efforts, in order to expand our reach and really begin to scale the company.”
For Mariah and Four Visions, this meant throwing even more weight behind marketing strategies like social media ads and email campaigns and raising the bar for quality content. With an advertising partner like Social Kitchn by their side, Four Visions was able to use social media marketing to help safeguard the livelihoods of these Indigenous partners.
“For us, Social Ktchn has been an incredible ally to support us in dominating the Facebook and Instagram ad space, which has been fundamental in our scaling…We've learned that if you really believe in your product and company, other people want to, too! You just have to give them the information to allow them to become a fan and supporter.”
Erica Chaliff, Co-Founder of BRITE Brands
Bride BRITE was born out of a universal human desire—to have the whitest, brightest smile on your wedding day. This was exactly what prompted Erica Chaliff and her then-fiancé (a dentist) to start Bride BRITE, a brand intent on creating an effective, enamel-safe, and sensitivity-conscious whitening formula to ensure the whitest of smiles for the “big day.”
Now called BRITE Brands, the company offers three different variations of the original Advanced Teeth Whitening Kit, and products such as StayBRITE (on-the-go teeth wipes) and BlingBRITE (on-the-go ring cleaner).
Erica and BRITE Brands are unique in that these products were originally intended to solve a close-to-home issue. She never thought twice about why or how to start a woman owned business. She only discovered the marketability of these offerings after the fact, a detail Erica identifies as one of the brand’s toughest hurdles.
“Had we sat down to write out our one-, three-, five-, and ten-year goals, rebranding and scaling would have been much easier. Now I am working backward to fill in the gaps. With that being said, it’s not too late. My biggest advice to any entrepreneur is to learn from past challenges. This will only improve business and support growth. ”
One sure-fire way to “fill in the gaps” is to use social media marketing strategies to connect with current and potential consumers, a strategy with which Erica and BRITE Brands found great success.
“As an e-commerce brand, we would be missing out on potential customers without the power of social media advertising. Through social media advertisements, we are able to build audiences and hyper-target customers. In addition, we are provided with all data through the ability to track our Returns on Ad Spend (ROAS). The access to this type of reporting enables a business to constantly analyze, adapt, and improve our current social media marketing strategies.”
Samantha and Hailey Glogiewicz, Co-Founders of Two Park Princesses
Meet Two Park Princesses, an e-commerce business created in 2018 by two sisters, Samantha and Hailey Glogiewicz. For anyone with a passion for theme parks, having great style, or both, this is a brand for you. Two Park Princesses designs and creates theme-park-inspired accessories to be worn for park day or every day.
As with any niche brand, one perennial obstacle the sisters experience is keeping track of the latest trends and styles, and finding ways to stay relevant to their consumers. “Keeping up with ever-changing trends yet still staying true to your audience is always a challenge,” they say.
And what better way to keep up with constant fashion shifts than through social media? Samantha and Hailey have worked with Social Ktchn to implement social media marketing strategies that keep them up-to-date with their consumers’ desires, which is also an effective way to receive feedback on how their products are being used.
“The ever-changing social media requirements and algorithms can become overwhelming when you have so many other areas of your business which require your attention. We felt that it was important to make the investment in social media advertising as a way to continue to grow in this changing environment.”
Are You Ready to Elevate Your Woman Owned Business With Social Media Advertising?
It’s safe to say that social media advertising is one of the more potent tools a business owner could have in their toolbox. For Mariah, Erica, Samantha, and Hailey, social media ads helped them reach new audiences and learn from consumers and the larger market.
At Social Ktchn, we are proud to have supported these brands and their inspiring founders, who are not only leading figures in their industries but also an inspiration for how to start a woman owned business and keep it running successfully. Whether you’re just starting your journey of building a brand or are looking for new ways to connect with consumers, we’re here to help. Let’s show the world what your brand can do!