The founder of House of Amearypearl (Mrs.) Shyllon Adeola, has pointed out the Federal Government’s indefinite suspension of twitter has affected many online businesses.
Adeola explained that many online vendors have lost their businesses due to inability to reach customers whose sole means of communication was direct messages on Twitter.
According to her, the economy will ultimately be affected because in barely four weeks of the ban, many online businesses have crashed while others are struggling despite the availability of other social media platforms.
“Most online businesses are interlinked with influencer marketing space and the reach of this mainly is on Twitter which is the primary platform and while some now use VPN services
“Many customers that make the business functional do not feel the need for this and have abandoned Twitter until the government decides to lift the ban, this is crippling for small online businesses and startups.
“Social media, especially Twitter, is what many use to market, run campaigns and build relationships with their customers and without access to this platform.
“It is like a death knell for businesses because while vendors can move their businesses to other platforms, their posts might not gain as much engagement as Twitter provides,” she said.
According to her, government needs to consider effects of policies on the masses and not just its sensitivities. Actions that push the poverty index should be avoided,” she stated.
She further advocated the needs to utilise social media platforms to boost commercial activities for entrepreneurs as a sure means by which they can expand the frontiers of budding businesses to increase profit, adding that social media remains a good platform for business if used properly.
“God bless the creator of all social media apps, you get to interact with all kinds of people all over the world who will patronise your business and you even get to be friends with some. It is unfortunate that some people do not use their social media handles well.
“Rather than utilise it well, they are careless to the extent that they block opportunities that can set them on the path of breakthrough. Entrepreneurs should not fall in this trap because social media is a space where you don’t know who you are talking to and impressions matter in business,” she said.
Adeola however warned that doing business on social media comes with its challenges.
“My challenge is basically in having to literally do everything all by myself; posting goods, taking orders and having them sorted out for delivery.
“Another challenge is in having to attend to all my customers at the same time. If you spend too much time with one, another customer will complain that you are ignoring him or her.”