By Ephraim Oseji

The founder of House of Amearypearl, Engineer (Mrs) Shyllon Adeola, has lamented that following the indefinite suspension of Twitter in the country by the Federal Government, many commercial activities have been adversely affected and many online vendors have lost their businesses due to their inability to reach customers whose sole means of communication was direct messages on Twitter.

She said, ”the economy of the country 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 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,”.

According to Amearypearl, ”with the way things are moving, there is no assurance that other platforms will not be hit too, then what happens to entrepreneurs who have defied all challenges to build businesses on social media platforms? The government needs to consider the effect of policies on the people and not on its own sensitivities alone. Actions that push the poverty index should be avoided”.

She further advocated the need 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.

She further said that women need to excel their potentials especially in leadership wherever they are, even if it is on social media, adding that they are special beings and tend to excel in the most critical aspects of life. She 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.”

“Engaging in business in Nigeria is really not easy but with consistency, hardwork and prayers, it will definitely get better,” she said.