Building their brand: Gen Z's social media takeover

Young influential entrepreneurs have made social media platforms their gold mines. They can make about $44 billion a year, according to 2018 Millennial Marketing. 

Generation Z is using its presence on social media to open doors early. Gen Zers are starting businesses, podcasts, organizations and much more. Social media not only is helping Generation Z get out there early, but it is helping them secure a financial future too.

Establishing a brand on social media is a must. It’s all about the community and the number of followers. Businesses used to spend a lot of money to promote themselves. Today, it’s more about gaining followers than spending money to make money. 

 Followers are everything when starting anything on social media. To build hype, a strong following base is needed to increase chances for getting the word around.

Mitch’s Soulè Kitchen

 “I found social media to be a mutualism world,” said Mitchell Kelly, owner of Mitch’s Soulè Kitchen in Pennsylvania. “I have a kitchen where I cook for students on my campus and because we use a lot of hashtags, a lot of people find me to not only get food but to team up and other projects around campus."

Kelly, 22, is a senior at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He is a theatre major and poetry coach. He is from New Orleans, Louisiana, and loves to cook, especially big meals. 

One year, Kelly couldn’t go home for Thanksgiving and decided to do a Friendsgiving with others who also didn't go home. He said that one time was all it took, and his friends were hooked and asking for food every weekend.

It started out small until word got around about how good his food was, and Kelly began to get direct messages on Instagram and Twitter from random people around campus asking to join. That’s when it clicked to him that he started something that could be big. 

 At first he had no problem feeding people out of his own pockets, but what started with a few friends quickly grew to over 30 people asking for food. 

Kelly came up with "Sunday Funday." On Thursday he would make a flyer for the food that he was going to cook on Sunday and allow students to preorder plates for five dollars. 

 “My first official weekend I had about 15 people show up,” he said. “Those 15 turned into 20 and so on, all because more began to spread the word by sharing and reposting my flyers.”

After four weeks he said he was motivated to give his kitchen name, "Mitch’s Soule Kitchen."

The Hair Plug

Social media is like another search engine nowadays, especially for hair stylists, nail techs and more. 

“I do hair out of my home and not a salon, so I’m not on Google,” said New Orleans hairstylist The Hair Plug. 

 Many young influencers do not have ads on Google, but they have hashtags under their posts. People can type in the search bar #NewOrleansbraider or #Dallasnailtech to find hundreds of pictures of people in that area of work. 

The Hair Plug is a popular braider in the New Orleans area. She has 2,537 followers on Instagram for her hair page. She said her clientele is strong and growing because her followers are supportive and not only repost her work, but also refer their family members by word of mouth. 

 She started doing hair in her dorm at Howard University and then came home and made the room in the back of her house a personal salon. She said she makes on average $2500 a week. She plans to soon build her own salon by her 25th birthday.

Having a platform on social media is crucial because it allows you to keep up with competitors and form alliances. You can let the world know you exist for free in a space where millions have access.

 Generation Z has no problem taking advantage of what social media has to offer. The goal is to get exposure, make sales and grow. Many traditional entrepreneurs aren’t quick to jump into social media, but the youth entrepreneurs waste no time making multiple platforms and getting started. 

 Young Black and Gift

Thuy-Ahn Smith, a senior at Louisiana State University, started a podcast during a controversial time in the country that slowly but surely began to take off. 

The summer of George Floyd’s death, she started a podcast called Young Black and Gift that is available on all platforms.

She said there was a need for people to express themselves in a safe place. Since she was just starting, she went to social media and made posts asking people to speak their truths. 

 The podcast is slowly growing, but she didn’t stop there. She attends LSU, where the black student population is underrepresented. 

 Smith started working at LSU’s radio station and started a radio show called New Orleans Jazz in Congo Square. The purpose of the show is to create a black culture around LSU. Students call and talk about anything that’s going on; Smith has guided topics that people call in for.

 The future of this country is Generation Z. This group is social media because of what members have done with it. They use it to their advantage and are making progress and connections in society early. 

 These young entrepreneurs are taking over the game, finding new ways to promote and grow and with the help of social media, creating a voice and a brand has never been so easy.