In business school, I learned about different types of leverage such as capital and labor. We are now in the 4th industrial revolution and it introduced tech and automation. Naturally, this has created newfound wealth for the individuals who have successfully leveraged it. But I would like to talk about the new leverage: audience.
Yes, audience. Social media created a new way of promoting businesses and getting ideas across. As cliche as it is, you don’t need everyone to like you. Hell, you don’t even need most people to like. Enter people such as the Kardashians, Donald Trump, insert any popular influencer here. They figured out a way to successfully use social media as a tool to get their agenda across. Why can’t you do the same?
Decentralization is a buzzword nowadays but many have only hit the tip of the iceberg. What if I told you this applies to media, too? What if I told you have the same tools they have (Except the social media team(s). Authentic content is better anyhow). In addition, with the functionality of these sites, you don’t have to be on them all day every day. You can schedule posts and go about your business.
Imagine the implications this has with capital raising. Traditionally entrepreneurs would have a Friends and Family round to raise money for business ventures. If you have a sufficient audience, 1 post about your project can be all you need to raise the capital. There are people right now raising $10 million in 1 week from Twitter followers. And these same followers will help you get the word out so you have customers on day 1. This drastically improves the success rate of new ventures as many businesses fail in the first year primarily due to lack of profitability.
Building an audience isn’t easy. Nor fast. Like most good things, it takes consistency and effort. But it will pay dividends going forward.