Written by Donny Walford - Founder and Managing Director at behind closed doors

Female Entrepreneurs Use Social Media

There is no debate on the power of social media in boosting business. Women all over the world are recognising this truth and going all out in capitalising on this. One paper was even written by the University of Johannesburg on this subject matter where, according to the study, 43% of women entrepreneurs use at least one social media tool for their business compared to 37% of male entrepreneurs – definite proof that women are ruling social media.

So, what is it that makes women better at using social media for their business?

1. More Empathy and Social skills

Women are better ‘wired’ for empathy than men, according to a theory propounded by psychologist Baron-Cohen after extensive research from a genetic and biological viewpoint. This means that generally women are better at social skills and adaptability – both great assets when it comes to social media.

2. Better Communicators

Women were also determined to be better communicators than men. According to the findings, “when talking about serious issues such as current affairs, men and women were on the same wavelength in terms of the language used, but while socialising women are the more skilled communicators.” This was attributed to the fact that men have trouble expressing themselves while chatting to friends because their words contain less variety than women.

Another study sheds more light on the fundamental difference in linguistic behaviour between the genders. Drawing from earlier research, the study on Gender, Status and Power in Discourse Behavior of Men and Women deduces that women focus on the emotional quotient of an interaction more than men do, using linguistics to increase solidarity.

Using social media successfully calls for the communication to others in a social manner, over the new media. Women being good at the various communication skills are the reason why they are so good at social media.

 3. Women listen

While social media and conversations make up the building blocks of an online presence for an organisation, the ability to listen to what others say and respond proactively is what enables women to keep the conversation and the clicks going. According to a HBR research “if a group includes more women, its collective intelligence rises.” Linking the results to the probable reason, Anita Woolley, one of the researchers said, “What do you hear about great groups? Not that the members are all really smart, but that they listen to each other. They share criticism constructively. They have open minds. They’re not autocratic.”

Being successful on social media is not an extraordinary feat. Women at all levels and demographics have used the power of social media for their business and have been rewarded for their efforts.

A case in point is Caroline Ceniza-Levine, the co-founder of SixFigureStart, which specialises in corporate training, HR consulting and leadership coaching along with placement consultation. Caroline’s social media efforts resulted in the company’s 600% growth within the first four years and CBS, CNN and Fox Business lauding her social media efforts.  “It’s simply establishing relationships and getting people to trust you and know you better and that can lead to something tangible,” she says. “As a career and business coach, being seen on these social media outlets is important. My ability to meet people and grow my client-base is enhanced by social media.”

How you can start to up your social media efforts

4. Personalise your message

The uniqueness of social media marketing lies in that you can market your product without actually appearing to do so, and when you do market your product, it needs to market to what the people want. People like reading stories, so share your story, and even get the people in your company to share theirs. Engage your customers further by giving them a slice of the action and get them on your pages. Let it be about the people. The moment people sense you are pushing your products, they will lose interest and look at your efforts as just another marketing gimmick.

5. Stir emotions

The ability to move and appeal to human emotions is something that has been proven to work time and time again for marketing campaigns. Work towards messages that appeal to the emotions and your campaigns will be a success.

Another vital component of social media networking is collaboration between women-owned businesses. The desire to help each other advance in careers has led to the emergence of a rich ecosystem of networking groups, which has been a great source of business contacts and opportunities.

Opportunities on social media are aplenty, but it’s you that can capitalise on these opportunities and use them as tools of success.