Social Media Cliques: True Success Tool or False Illusion of Progress?

Hey girl, I’m back and I just wanted to vent a little. A few months ago, I finally started an Instagram account. Okay, what I really mean is I started one that I actually ended up using. I’ve had a few shadow accounts before to follow my fave celebs and watch interesting things so this was by all accounts new territory for me. Posting pictures and talking to strangers? Everyone who knows me from corporate thought I had lost my mind.

So, we’re 2, 4 months old now and I’ve made some interesting observations that have really gotten me thinking. We all know at least one ‘clique’ on the gram… And I mean it in the nicest way possible, there’s nothing wrong with friendship circles on IG – I wish I had one LOL! To be specific, I’m talking about the Boss Babey cliques – where everyone has a business, leaves cute ‘I’m proud of you’ or ‘love this for you mama’ comments on a fellow babe’s posts regularly and their feed is beautifully curated with coffee here, nice bags there and fabulous laptop shots captioned ‘work’ everywhere. And I’ve often wondered, is your business doing as great as yours and its feed look? Please don’t bite my head off, I’m just thinking out loud.

But, I’m a HOW EXACTLY person having worked in business management and helped and watched women build SMEs that you’ve likely heard of. And no, building my own isn’t quite as easy, this is why I’ve pushed my agency launch back almost a year already! Anyway, my point is. I want to know how it works? Are we friends with benefits or are we just going to sprinkle those ‘hustle mama!’ comments and call it a day?

Let me digress just a little. IT IS SO DAMN HARD TO MAKE NEW (BUSINESS) FRIENDS ON IG because hello, everyone already has membership elsewhere! These cliques are tight! Especially if you pictures look like they were shot with a Motorola V360 and not a stoveplate iPhone. (Admit it, it’ll take a lot for you to take someone serious with grainy pictures!)

I’m grateful for the amazing ladies I’ve gotten to digi-meet in my short time on IG but whoa, introduce me pls? Entrepreneurship is such a tough and lonely road, we all need a little support.

Okay back to the topic. Unless your business literally makes money per follower or like, is it worth shooting your shot to be part of some a group of CEO baddies? I’ve wondered this for a long time and I just need one girlie to tell me, how has being part of a clique (don’t feel bad please, you know exactly what I’m talking about, you’re a tribe with codewords and sh*t LOL) benefitted your business? Do you get referrals? Have you successfully explored a fruitful collabo? Anything?

I’m just trying to figure out where to focus my energies. I’m not the best social butterfly but if it will benefit my bag, when are we having lunch and taking pictures of our food?

That being said, I’m inviting you to share your thoughts on this with me, send me a DM, @bossbabecolumn on IG and let’s chat?

If you’re new here. This is my diary and I’m Mmina, a struggling aspirant Boss Babe. I have some really good news to share with you. My column will now be published exclusively on ww.type4girl.com whenever I want. So, you don’t have to wait until the next DW Edition to read part 2 of this piece and see how I make it make sense. Simply visit the website and sign up! And you’ll be notified everytime I post something.

Be good to yourself, and if you can, take a roadtrip, it looks fantastic on you.

Love,